Chapter 4 - The Man Khloe Believed Was Dead Walked Into the Hospital and Called Her By a Name Nobody Else KnewOliver Harrington survived the night.
Barely.
Roman stood outside his hospital room.
Khloe waited behind him.
“Are you sure you want to hear this?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
Roman opened the door.
Oliver's face was bruised.
His arm was bandaged.
He looked at Khloe.
Then laughed bitterly.
“You shouldn't have come.”
Khloe stared.
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“You used me.”
“Yes.”
“Did you ever like me?”
Oliver looked away.
“For a little while.”
Roman's jaw tightened.
Khloe ignored him.
“Then why?”
Oliver swallowed.
“Because they knew you had something.”
“What?”
“I don't know.”
“Who is they?”
Oliver closed his eyes.
“The man who hired me.”
“Marcus Bell?”
Oliver shook his head.
“No.”
“Who?”
“Your father.”
Khloe froze.
Roman stared.
“Edward?”
Oliver nodded weakly.
“He's alive.”
Khloe's face drained.
“No.”
“He told me to get close to you.”
Roman immediately stepped forward.
“You're lying.”
Oliver coughed.
“I wish I was.”
Khloe shook her head.
“My father died.”
Oliver looked directly at her.
“He came to see me three months ago.”
Roman's eyes narrowed.
“Where?”
“Baltimore.”
Roman stared.
“Why would Edward work with you?”
“He didn't.”
“What?”
“He threatened me.”
Oliver laughed painfully.
“He said if I didn't find what Khloe knew, I'd never see my family again.”
Khloe's voice trembled.
“What does my father want?”
Oliver looked toward the door.
“I don't know.”
Then the room's heart monitor began beeping faster.
A shadow appeared through the glass.
Roman turned.
A man stood in the hallway.
Gray hair.
Dark coat.
Scar above his left eye.
Khloe stopped breathing.
The man looked directly at her.
“Princess.”
The world disappeared.
Khloe whispered:
“Dad?”
The man smiled.
“Yes.”
Roman reached for his weapon.
Edward Carmichael raised both hands.
“I didn't come to fight.”
Roman stepped in front of Khloe.
“You should have stayed dead.”
Edward's smile faded.
“You have no idea what your family did.”
Roman's eyes hardened.
“Neither do you.”
Edward looked at Khloe.
“Do you still have the watch?”
Khloe froze.
“What watch?”
“The one I gave you.”
She remembered.
The broken gold watch in the wooden box.
Her father had given it to her the night before he supposedly died.
Roman noticed her reaction.
“Khloe.”
Edward smiled.
“You found it.”
Khloe took one step backward.
“You left it.”
“Yes.”
“You told me never to show it to anyone.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Edward's expression became serious.
“Because the ledger is inside.”
Silence.
Roman turned toward Khloe.
“What?”
Edward continued:
“The watch isn't broken.”
He looked at Roman.
“It opens.”
Roman felt a chill.
“The ledger isn't paper.”
“No.”
“It’s digital.”
Edward nodded.
“Hidden inside the watch.”
Roman understood.
That tiny object had been in Khloe's possession for twelve years.
Everyone had been looking for a book that didn't exist.
Edward looked at his daughter.
“I came because you are in danger.”
Khloe whispered:
“From who?”
Edward looked at Roman.
“From the person who has been pretending to protect you.”
Roman's eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
May you like
Edward answered:
“Your mother.”
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