Chapter 18 - THE NIGHT HE WAS BORN
Their son arrived at 2:18 a.m.
He bent over Khloe's hand and cried like he had been holding his breath for years.
"He's strong."
Khloe whispered, "Let me see him."
They brought the baby close for only a moment before taking him to neonatal care.
Khloe laughed through tears.
"He's mad."
Marcus kissed her forehead.
"He gets that from you."
"Good."
Not Isabella.
Not Thomas.
Only the NICU monitor and the tiny chest moving beneath a blanket.
One name from Marcus's father.
One from Khloe's.
Two imperfect men whose truths had collided years after their deaths.
By morning, Avery came quietly to the waiting room.
"Thomas confessed after we played the recording."
"Owen?"
"Cooperating."
"Elaine?"
"Also cooperating."
"Isabella?"
Avery hesitated.
"Her lawyer wants a deal."
Marcus looked through the NICU glass.
"For what?"
"Full testimony against Thomas and Owen in exchange for reduced charges."
Then he remembered Khloe on the floor.
The insulin syringe.
"That's the prosecutor's decision."
Avery studied him.
"Not asking you to object?"
"No."
"Not asking you to support it either?"
"No."
Marcus turned.
"She can tell the truth without me rescuing her from it."
Later, Isabella asked to see him.
"I heard the baby came."
"He did."
"Is he okay?"
"He's fighting."
"I'm sorry."
"I know that doesn't mean anything."
"It means something."
Then Marcus continued.
"It means you know what you did."
"I was sick with fear."
"You were dangerous with power."
"Do you hate me?"
Marcus looked at her for a long time.
"No."
"I love you."
"And I will never trust you near my wife or son again."
As he turned away, Isabella whispered:
"There's one more account."
"What account?"
May you like
"The one Thomas never knew I found."
"It has forty-three million dollars in it."
