Chapter 3: The Secret Behind the Camera
The recording continued.
Nobody in the room moved.
The only sound was the soft hum of the hospital equipment and the faint ticking of the wall clock.
On the screen, Isabella stood beside my hospital bed.
But this time, there was no fake smile.
No performance.
No tears.
She looked different.
Cold.
Determined.
The officer increased the volume.
Isabella’s voice filled the room.
“You need to understand something, Khloe. Marcus was never supposed to choose you.””
My breath caught.
Marcus looked at me.
Then back at the screen.
The video continued.
On the recording, I was sitting exactly where I had been moments before everything went wrong.
My hand rested on my stomach.
My face showed confusion.
“What are you talking about?”” my recorded voice asked.
Isabella walked closer.
“Marcus and I have known each other our entire lives. You came into his life and changed everything.””
I felt Marcus tense beside me.
“That’s not true,” he whispered.
But nobody answered him.
Because the screen kept playing.
Isabella continued.
“You think a wedding ring means you won?””
My heart sank.
I remembered that moment.
The way her words had confused me.
The way I couldn’t understand why someone who claimed to be my friend hated me so much.
On the video, I shook my head.
“Isabella, you’re obsessed with something that isn’t yours.””
The room went silent.
Even Isabella looked shocked hearing those words again.
Then she moved closer.
“You have no idea what I’ve sacrificed for Marcus.””
Marcus stepped toward the screen.
“What does that mean?””
Isabella didn’t respond.
The officer kept playing.
The recording showed Isabella reaching into her purse.
My eyes widened.
I remembered that moment.
I remembered thinking she was reaching for her phone.
But now I saw something else.
A small envelope.
Marcus noticed it too.
“What is that?””
Nobody answered.
On the video, Isabella placed the envelope on the table.
“Open it.””
My recorded voice sounded uncertain.
“What is this?””
“You’ll find out.””
I looked at Marcus.
“I never opened that.””
He frowned.
“Why not?””
“Because before I could, she grabbed it back.””
The recording showed exactly that.
I reached toward the envelope.
Then Isabella quickly took it away.
The entire room froze.
Because now everyone could see.
She had lied.
She hadn’t come to help me.
She had come with something she didn’t want me to see.
Marcus turned slowly toward Isabella.
“What was inside?””
Isabella’s face became pale.
“It doesn’t matter.””
“It clearly matters.””
She looked at him.
“Marcus, please.””
“No.””
His voice was quiet.
That made it worse.
“No more secrets.””
The officer continued the footage.
A few seconds later, the video showed something nobody expected.
A message appeared on Isabella’s phone.
She looked down.
And her entire expression changed.
The screen didn’t capture the message clearly.
But it captured her reaction.
Fear.
Real fear.
Then she said something that made my blood freeze.
“I need to fix this before Marcus finds out.””
Marcus looked at her.
“Find out what?””
Isabella remained silent.
The room felt smaller.
Like the walls were closing in.
Then the officer stopped the video again.
“There’s more.””
Marcus looked frustrated.
“Why did you stop?””
The officer pointed at the screen.
“The next part is from another angle.””
He opened another camera feed.
The hospital hallway.
A few minutes earlier.
A woman appeared walking toward my room.
Not a doctor.
Not a nurse.
Someone I recognized.
Someone I never expected to see.
My heart dropped.
“No…”
Marcus looked at me.
“Who is that?””
I couldn’t answer.
Because I knew exactly who it was.
The person standing outside my hospital room was the last person I wanted involved.
My husband’s mother.
Elaine.
The woman who had spent months telling me I wasn’t good enough for Marcus.
The woman who had never accepted my pregnancy.
The woman who once told me privately, “Some families are better without outsiders.””
Marcus stared at the screen.
“My mother?””
The hallway footage continued.
Elaine entered the room.
And Isabella immediately stood straighter.
Like she had been waiting for her.
Marcus whispered.
“They were working together?””
I looked at him.
And suddenly every strange moment from the past seven months came rushing back.
The unexpected arguments.
The missing documents.
The rumors.
The pressure.
This wasn’t just about Isabella.
This was bigger.
Much bigger.
The video played.
Elaine leaned toward Isabella and whispered something.
The microphone barely picked it up.
But one sentence was clear.
“Make sure she loses that baby before the truth comes out.””
The room went completely silent.
Marcus stopped breathing.
I covered my mouth.
May you like
And Isabella closed her eyes.
Because the camera had captured the one thing she never wanted anyone to hear.
