Chapter 12 - The Woman in the Red DressThe media loved Isabella in handcuffs.
They loved the red dress.
They loved the hospital suite.
They loved the pregnant wife and the billionaire husband and the secret camera that caught every cruel second.
Within forty-eight hours, Isabella Rossi became the most hated woman on every social platform in America.
But public hatred was cheap.
Khloe wanted justice that lasted longer than a headline.
She refused every interview request.
She ignored every publicist who begged her to “control the narrative.”
She stayed in the hospital, followed medical orders, and let Marcus handle the firestorm outside.
But silence did not mean weakness.
On the third morning, she asked Adrian for a secure laptop.
Marcus raised an eyebrow. “You’re supposed to be resting.”
“I am resting.”
“You’re reviewing bank records.”
“Quietly.”
He almost smiled.
Almost.
Khloe opened the files she had been building for weeks.
The forged approvals were only one layer. Beneath them was a network of vendors, fake nonprofits, medical supply brokers, and investment vehicles. Many led back to Rossi Holdings.
But one path did not.
It led to a woman named Helena Marsh.
Khloe recognized the name immediately.
Helena was a senior compliance officer at Thorne Global.
Quiet. Polite. Invisible at parties.
The kind of employee powerful men overlooked because she wore beige and never raised her voice.
Khloe clicked through the records.
Helena had flagged several suspicious transfers months earlier.
Then the reports vanished.
Her access was restricted.
Her performance review suddenly dropped.
Then she resigned.
Khloe sat up straighter.
Marcus noticed. “What is it?”
“Someone inside your company tried to stop this before I did.”
“Who?”
“Helena Marsh.”
Marcus frowned. “Compliance. She left last quarter.”
“Did she leave, or was she pushed out?”
Marcus’s expression changed.
Within an hour, his investigators found Helena living under her sister’s name in a small town in Vermont.
She agreed to speak only to Khloe.
Not Marcus.
Not the lawyers.
Not the police.
Khloe understood why the moment she saw Helena’s face on the video call.
Helena looked exhausted.
Afraid.
“I warned them,” Helena said. “I sent reports. I documented everything. Then Peter Lang told me I was confused. Two days later, someone broke into my apartment.”
Khloe’s chest tightened.
“Why didn’t you go public?”
Helena laughed bitterly. “With what protection? Vincent Rossi owns judges, donors, police captains. Edward Thorne protected him while he was alive, and after Edward died, I thought Marcus might be part of it too.”
Marcus, standing out of frame, flinched.
Khloe asked softly, “Why speak now?”
Helena looked at her.
“Because they attacked you while you were pregnant.”
Her voice hardened.
“I stayed quiet when they ruined my career. I stayed quiet when they threatened me. But I won’t stay quiet while they pretend this was about jealousy.”
Helena leaned closer to the camera.
“I have the original audit files.”
May you like
Khloe’s breath caught.
“And I know where Vincent kept the real ledger.”
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