Chapter 6 - The Thorne Vendetta
The name Thorne detonated in the quiet hospital room like an artillery shell. Thirty years ago, before the Vance towers dominated the skyline, the land belonged to Thorne Shipping—a legacy family whose empire was swallowed whole in a hostile corporate takeover orchestrated by Arthur Vance. Months later, the Thorne patriarch and his wife perished in a suspicious house fire, leaving behind a ruined estate and an infant daughter who had vanished into the state foster system.
""You,"" Eleanor gasped, stumbling back from the bedside, her hand flying to her mouth. ""You are Jonathan Thorne's daughter.""
""I spent my entire life scraping through orphanages and foster homes while Julian drove Italian sports cars bought with my father’s stolen blood,"" Clara whispered, a terrifying spark of vengeance flaring through her weakness. ""I didn't marry Julian for love, Eleanor. I married him to reclaim what your husband stole from my family.""
""Then whose baby is it?"" Eleanor demanded, horror and bewilderment tearing through her composure. ""If not Julian’s, whose child are you carrying?""
""A Thorne,"" Clara said, her breathing growing ragged as the monitor began to spike again. ""My cousin, Lucas Thorne. We were going to use the child to contest the original trust bylaws. But Julian discovered the medical records. He brought Arthur back to handle it.""
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Suddenly, the lights in the ICU flickered twice and died, plunging the room into total darkness. An instant later, the emergency red backup generators hummed to life, bathing the room in a bloody, sinister glow.
At the foot of the bed, the door handle slowly turned.
