CHAPTER 9: Marcus threat

Damian sat alone in his penthouse office, the city lights stretching beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows like a sea of glittering stars. Usually, the view calmed him. Tonight, it did nothing.

His jaw remained locked as he clicked through the financial reports his private investigator had forwarded less than twenty minutes ago.

Lines of transactions filled the screen.

He checked the Dates, Amounts, Accounts, Companies.

Layers of deception.

Whoever had arranged the harassment campaign against Chloe's bakery had been careful. The money moved through shell company after shell company, hidden behind fake directors and offshore accounts designed to make tracing impossible.

Damian clicked another document open.

The deeper he dug, the more familiar the trail became.

His stomach hardened.

he saw A company he recognized immediately.

One tied directly to Marcus. His brother half brother.

For several seconds Damian simply stared at the screen. Not surprised. Just disappointed.

Marcus had always wanted what belonged to him.

Their father's approval, His position, His influence, His company.

But this?

Paying people to terrorize a pregnant woman?

To threaten Chloe? To attack her livelihood?

That crossed a line even Damian hadn't expected.

Without another thought, he grabbed his keys and headed for the elevator. By the time he reached King Enterprises headquarters, his anger had settled into something colder.

More dangerous. The boardroom sat on the top floor. Marcus had conveniently called an emergency session that afternoon.

Perfect timing.

Damian pushed the doors open mid-argument, the room falling silent.

You,” Damian said, pointing across the table.

“You’re the one paying thugs to terrorize Chloe’s bakery. I traced the money.”

Marcus leaned back in his chair, a slow laugh building in his chest. “Finally caught up. Yeah, I want your company destroyed, Damian. Not your precious children dead. Just you bleeding out in public. The board’s already whispering about instability. This surrogate sideshow helps.”

The other executives shifted in their seats. Damian planted both hands on the table and leaned in. “You’re done. I’m freezing your access and starting proceedings to cut you out completely.”

Marcus smirked wider. “Try it. Family secrets cut both ways, brother. But hey, at least I’m not the one slipping meds into your girl’s system. That part’s not me.”

Damian’s stomach twisted. He believed him on that last point—the sabotage on the twins still pointed elsewhere.

"you will regret this" Damien said.

He turned and left the room without another word, the door banging shut behind him.

Back at the penthouse, he found Chloe on the couch, legs tucked under her, one hand resting on her belly. She looked up when he entered, guarded but listening as he dropped into the chair across from her.

“I confronted Marcus,” he said.

“The harassment payments trace to him. He admitted he Wants the company, not the babies. But the medical stuff, the medication in your system. that’s still active. Someone else is pushing it.”

Chloe’s fingers pressed firmer against her stomach, rubbing slow circles over the spot where Twin B usually kicked. “So we cut off one threat and another’s still out there. Your mother? Vanessa? Some random person who hates me for existing in your life?”

“I don’t know yet.” Damian rubbed the back of his neck. “But I’m questioning everyone now. Security, staff, the clinic again. I told you because I’m trying to do this right. Build something real here instead of just managing damage.”

She nodded once but her hand stayed protective on her belly. Is staying worth risking them? Every day it feels like another bomb waiting to go off. “I hear you. But trust is hard when I keep wondering if the next hit comes from inside this penthouse.”

His phone rang. The doctor. Damian answered fast and put it on speaker.

“Mr. King, we need Chloe back immediately. Twin B’s readings have deteriorated faster than expected. The markers are worse. We’re looking at potential early intervention. The saboteur is still active and closing in.”

Chloe’s hand froze on her belly as she stared at the phone.

**********

Chloe sat on the hospital bed, one hand pressed firmly over her belly as the doctor pointed at the latest scan results. Twin B’s heartbeat flickered weaker on the monitor.

“The deterioration is continuing,” the doctor said. “We need to adjust treatment immediately or risk losing this twin.”

Chloe’s fingers curled against her stomach. She turned to Damian, voice barely above a whisper. “I can’t lose them. Not after everything.”

Damian sat beside her chair and gripped her hand, his hold tighter than she’d ever felt from him. His thumb pressed into the back of her hand like he could anchor her there. He didn’t speak, just stayed close while the doctor explained the new protocol.

Hours later they returned to the penthouse flanked by two extra security guards who posted themselves at the elevator and stairwell. The second the door closed, Chloe pulled her hand free and faced him in the living room.

“More meds? After what they already found in my system? No. I’m not taking anything else until we know exactly who’s doing this.”

Damian loosened his tie with a sharp tug. “The doctors say you need them to stabilize the twin. We can’t wait around while someone keeps tampering.”

“Your family has done nothing but hurt people,” she snapped. She crossed her arms over her belly, shoulders hunched forward. “Your mother, Marcus, Vanessa—they all want me gone. How do I know the pills aren’t part of it? I won’t risk them just because you say trust me.”

He stepped closer but stopped when she backed up. “I’m trying to protect all of you. Full trust goes both ways here, Chloe. I can’t fight this if you shut me out completely.”

She held her ground, jaw set. “Then find the person faster.”

The argument hung between them until late that night. Chloe couldn’t sleep. She stayed on the couch with a blanket pulled over her legs. Damian appeared from the kitchen holding a mug.

“Your favorite chamomile with honey,” he said quietly. He set it on the coffee table and sat in the armchair across from her.

She picked up the mug, letting the warmth seep into her palms. They sat in silence for a long stretch. Finally he spoke, voice low.

“I’m scared too.”

Chloe looked up. His elbows rested on his knees, hands clasped tight. Something in her chest shifted, small but real. She took a slow sip of the tea.

Her phone buzzed on the cushion beside her. She glanced at the screen and read the new message. Her grip on the mug tightened until her knuckles went white.

"Leave the Kings or the babies won’t make it."

from an unknown number.