Chapter 4: The Grandfather’s Will
It was 2:00 AM when Khloe finally found what she had been looking for.
The Thorne penthouse was dead silent. Marcus was out—supposedly at a "late-night emergency board meeting," but Khloe’s tracker on his car showed it parked outside Isabella's downtown loft.
Khloe sat cross-legged on the floor of Marcus's private study, illuminated only by the small flashlight between her teeth. She had managed to crack his secondary floor safe using the birthdate of his first dog—a pathetic security measure for a man who thought himself a genius.
Inside the safe were stacks of legal documents, passports, and a heavily redacted file labeled: THE ESTATE OF JONATHAN THORNE.
Jonathan Thorne was Marcus’s grandfather, the ruthless founder of Thorne Industries. He had passed away two years ago, leaving the entire empire to Marcus. But as Khloe flipped through the yellowing legal pages, she realized the inheritance wasn't unconditional.
There it was. Paragraph 4, Section B. The Ironclad Clause.
Khloe read the words, her heart pounding against her ribs.
“Control of the primary trust, consisting of 51% of voting shares in Thorne Industries, shall remain in escrow until Marcus Thorne produces a legitimate, blood-born heir within his current legal marriage. Should the marriage end in divorce before the birth of the child, or should he fail to produce an heir within three years, the shares will immediately transfer to the Board of Directors for liquidation.”
Khloe gasped, dropping the file onto the carpet.
Everything suddenly made sense. The entire marriage. The forced smiles. The reason Marcus wouldn't divorce her even though he was obsessed with Isabella.
He didn't love Khloe. He never had. He didn't even care about the baby. Khloe was just an incubator. She was the key to unlocking a multi-billion-dollar trust fund. And worse—once the baby was born, the condition would be met. He would have his shares.
And Khloe would become completely disposable.
Her mind flashed back to the hospital. To Isabella's violent attack. To Marcus's cold indifference. Had Marcus planned it? No, if Khloe had miscarried, Marcus would have lost the trust. That’s why Isabella attacked her. Isabella wanted the baby gone so the trust would fail, or perhaps she was too impatient and acted on her own jealousy, nearly costing Marcus everything.
Khloe pulled out her phone and took high-resolution photos of every single page of the will. Then, she photographed the secondary ledger beneath it—a handwritten log of every bribe, every payoff, and every illegal threat Marcus had made over the last three years to cover up his affairs and financial mismanagement.
She carefully placed everything back into the safe, spun the dial, and stood up.
She wasn't just going to divorce Marcus. A divorce would give him exactly what he wanted—he’d take the baby, take the money, and leave her with nothing.
No, she was going to take Thorne Industries.
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Khloe dialed a number. It rang twice before a gruff voice answered.
"It's 2 AM, Khloe. What did you find?" Uncle Richard asked.
"Call Elias Vance," Khloe said, referring to Richard's brother, one of the most ruthless corporate litigators in the country. "Tell him to draft the papers. We aren't suing for divorce. We're filing for a hostile takeover."
