Chapter 8 - Dinner with the Enemy
Marcus replayed the board dinner in his mind.
Claudio Rossi had insisted on a private dining room in the hospital conference center and asked Marcus to leave his laptop on the table when he stepped out to answer a call.
"Relax," Claudio had said. "You're among family."
Now that sentence sounded like a threat.
Marcus called Avery.
"I want Claudio removed from every foundation meeting until the investigation is finished."
"You don't have authority to do that alone," Avery replied. "You can request an emergency review and recuse yourself from decisions involving your wife's report."
"Do it."
"And Marcus? You're a witness now. Don't touch the underlying records."
At the hospital, Khloe finally received clearance for a brief wheelchair visit to the NICU.
The nurses helped her wash her hands and explained what she could safely do.
Willa lay under a knitted blanket, her small chest moving with the rhythm of assisted breathing.
"Hello, baby," Khloe whispered.
The nurse adjusted a chair beside the incubator.
"She may not respond the way a full-term baby would. But your voice matters."
Khloe spoke about their kitchen at home, the lemon tree outside the window, and the dog that would probably be terrified of such a small new roommate.
Marcus stood by the door.
She didn't ask him to come closer.
On the way back, a woman in a gray coat stepped into the corridor.
"Mrs. Thorne? I'm from the Rossi family office."
Hospital security intercepted her before she reached the wheelchair.
The woman held out an envelope.
"We just want to settle this privately."
Khloe didn't touch it.
"Tell them to contact my lawyer."
As security escorted the woman away, the envelope slipped from her hand.
Through its clear address window, Khloe could read the first line of the proposal.
PROPOSED SETTLEMENT: $8,000,000.
May you like
Beneath that amount was a single word she recognized at once.
CONFIDENTIALITY.
