Chapter 11 - THE THREAT AGAINST MY UNBORN SON
Julian had crossed a line I never imagined he would approach.
He was no longer trying to humiliate me.
He was trying to use my unborn child as leverage.
Rachel immediately contacted the investigators.
Gabriel arranged additional security at my request.
Not because he wanted to lock me away.
But because I asked him to help me feel safe.
For the first time, I understood the difference.
That evening, Gabriel found me sitting beside the nursery window.
I'd spent the afternoon folding tiny blue blankets.
My son was due in four months.
And suddenly, the world outside seemed filled with threats.
Gabriel knocked softly.
"Can I come in?"
I nodded.
He sat beside me.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
Then I whispered, "I'm scared."
He looked at me.
"I know."
"Julian knows I'm pregnant. He knows where I live. He's already used my medical history against me."
Gabriel reached for my hand.
I let him take it.
"We're taking precautions," he said. "And the investigators have the evidence Dalia provided."
I swallowed.
"What if it isn't enough?"
"Then we keep working with people who can help."
I looked at him.
"You make that sound simple."
"It isn't."
He smiled sadly.
"But you're not alone."
My eyes filled with tears.
For two years, I'd confused independence with isolation.
I'd believed being strong meant needing nobody.
Gabriel was teaching me that strength could also mean choosing people who treated me with kindness.
Suddenly, my phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
A video appeared.
Julian stood inside his private office.
He looked furious.
"Khloe, you think you've won because a judge rejected one petition?"
I stared at the screen.
He continued.
"You have no idea what Gabriel is hiding from you."
My chest tightened.
"Don't believe everything he tells you."
The video ended.
I looked at Gabriel.
He seemed genuinely confused.
"What's he talking about?"
"I don't know."
Rachel received the same video moments later.
She asked us not to respond.
Instead, investigators examined the file.
The recording metadata showed it had been created inside Julian's office earlier that day.
But there was another attachment.
A scanned financial document.
It showed Gabriel's father transferring a large sum into a private account shortly before his death.
The beneficiary was listed as Thomas Bennett.
My father.
I stared.
"Why would Gabriel's father pay mine?"
Gabriel looked equally stunned.
"I don't know."
Then Rachel called.
Her voice sounded unusually serious.
"Khloe, we've verified the transaction."
I swallowed.
"What does it mean?"
"Your father received fifteen million dollars from William Lancaster."
I couldn't breathe.
Rachel paused.
"And the transfer was made three days before the hospital fire."
I stared at Gabriel.
He stared back.
May you like
Then Rachel whispered:
"The fire that Gabriel rescued you from may not have been an accident."
