The Divorce He Signed Without Reading

For six years, Dante Romano kept our marriage hidden. In public, I was only the executive who managed his family’s legitimate businesses, and even our son had to call him Uncle. When his newly divorced childhood friend returned to New York, Dante missed Leo’s birthday to stay with her. That night, Dante signed the divorce settlement without reading it, and I took our son out of his world. The man who never lost control ordered every Romano contact to find us, then crossed the world to bring us back. This time, Leo and I would not turn back. Chapter 1 “Mrs. Romano, are you certain you want to proceed?” The attorney pushed the divorce papers across the desk. “You’re making no claim to the marital assets and requesting only primary custody of Leo. Once Mr. Romano signs the divorce and custody settlement, together with the parental travel authorization, we can file everything immediately. The travel authorization will allow you to leave with Leo while the divorce is pending.” “I’m certain.” I signed my name on the final page. Elena Moretti. The attorney placed the signature page for the divorce and custody settlement and the parental travel authorization beneath the firm’s routing sheet, then handed the packet to me. “Should I notify his private counsel?” “No.” I placed the two signature pages in my bag, left the law firm, and returned to Romano Holdings. When the private elevator opened onto the top floor, Dante was walking toward me with Camilla DeLuca. His black coat rested over her shoulders, and her fingers curled lightly around his sleeve. As an employee passed with a document cart, Dante shifted to the outside, placing himself between Camilla and the cart without hesitation. I had meant to tell him about the divorce. “Dante, I need to—” “Ms. Moretti.” His gaze shifted toward the employees and guards along the corridor. The warning was clear. Inside Romano Holdings, I was one of his executives. “Mr. Romano, I need to report something privately.” Camilla loosened her hold on his sleeve. “I’m sorry. Am I keeping you from work?” “You aren’t.” “I can meet the attorney alone. The divorce is over, and my former husband’s men may have been trying to frighten me.” “Until the DeLuca family takes over your protection, you stay with my security team.” “You’ve already canceled two meetings because of me.” “Your father asked me to get you safely out of that marriage. I gave him my word.” Camilla lowered her eyes. “I hate causing trouble for you.” Dante called for the physician and motioned the guards toward the private lounge. As he passed me, he glanced at the folder in my hand. “We’ll discuss your matter later.” He left with Camilla before I could mention the divorce. My phone lit up with a message from Leo’s watch. Mom, will Dad come home for my birthday? I sent Dante a message. Today is Leo’s birthday. Can you come home tonight? Across the corridor, he checked his phone before following Camilla into the lounge. A reply appeared a few seconds later. I’ll be home before eight. That afternoon, I left the office early to pick Leo up from school. He ran toward me with his backpack bouncing against his shoulders. “Mom, is Dad coming home tonight?” He used that word only when we were alone. “He said he’d be home before eight.” “Really?” “Really.” Back at the apartment, Leo changed into his favorite white shirt and placed the birthday card he had spent several days making beside Dante’s usual seat. He had drawn three people. A child stood between his parents, holding both their hands. Beside them, he had written: Happy Birthday to Me. At seven thirty, Leo checked the private elevator for the third time. Eight o’clock passed without a sound from the hallway. By nine, dinner had gone cold, but he still refused to let me cut the cake. “Dad might still be handling family business.” I sent Dante a message. Leo is still waiting for you. It was delivered, but he did not reply. Close to ten, Leo finally lowered his head. “Mom, is he not coming again?” Before I could answer, a notification from Camilla appeared on my phone. The photograph had been taken inside the Romano family’s private club. Dinner and two glasses of wine sat on the table. Dante’s face was outside the frame, but his hand and the Romano family ring were visible at the edge. The black coat Camilla had worn that afternoon hung over the back of her chair. Her caption contained a single sentence: Thank God someone still remembers how to make me feel safe. Dante had not forgotten Leo’s birthday. He simply believed we would keep waiting. I turned off the screen and placed the birthday hat on Leo’s head. “Let’s cut the cake.” “Should we still wait for Dad?” “No.” I lit the candles. Leo closed his eyes and pressed his hands together. “I wish I could stay with Mom forever.” After a moment, he glanced at the empty chair across from him. “Just the two of us would be okay.” I pulled him into my arms. “Okay.” After Leo blew out the candles, I put the card with the three of us into a drawer and left the signature pages from the attorney on the dining table. This time, I was waiting only for his signature. Chapter 2 The private elevator finally sounded at two in the morning. By the time Dante entered the dining room, dinner had gone cold and only two small pieces of cake were missing. Leo’s birthday hat sat on an empty chair, while the card that had once been placed at Dante’s seat was already tucked away. “Is Leo asleep?” “He went to bed at ten thirty.” Dante glanced at the clock. “I’m sorry. Men connected to Camilla’s former husband were seen outside the club, and security needed time to confirm who they were.” “You could have called.” “I forgot.” The messages I had sent were still sitting unread in our conversation. I did not ask what, exactly, he had forgotten. Instead, I slid the attorney’s packet across the table. Beneath the routing sheet were two marked pages: one for the divorce and custody settlement, the other for Leo’s travel authorization. For six years, school forms, household authorizations, and private family documents had passed through my hands. Dante had grown used to signing the pages I marked without reviewing the full packet. “What is it?” “The family attorney needs these signed.” He lifted the routing sheet just enough to reach the first marked line as his phone rang. Camilla’s voice came through the speaker. “Dante, the power went out, and the cameras in the hallway are down. One of the guards isn’t answering, and I heard someone outside my door.” Dante was already moving toward the elevator as he told her to lock herself in the bedroom and stay away from the windows. “Can you come?” Camilla asked. “I don’t want to be here alone.” “I’m on my way.” Without ending the call, he signed both marked pages and pushed the packet back to me. “We’ll discuss the rest when I get back.” I gathered the pages. “There’s no need.” He looked back, but Camilla called his name again from the phone. Dante did not ask what I meant before disappearing behind the elevator doors. I slipped the signed pages back into the folder. He had given up this family with his own hand. The next morning, I delivered the papers to my attorney before returning to Romano Holdings. Near noon, Dante entered my office and placed a neatly wrapped box on the desk. “For Leo.” Inside was a mechanical dog. When activated, it wagged its tail and barked with unsettling realism. When Leo was five, he had accompanied Dante to a family charity event and been knocked down by a security dog that had slipped its leash. By the time Dante reached him, Leo was pressed against a wall, too frightened even to cry. He had refused to go near dogs ever since. I switched off the toy and returned it to the box. “Thank you.” Dante remained beside the desk. “He doesn’t like it?” “Did you choose it?” “I told my assistant to find something a six-year-old boy would enjoy.” “You didn’t open it.” “I didn’t have time last night.” I pushed the box back toward him. “Leo is afraid of dogs.” Dante’s hand rested on the lid. “The incident at the estate?” “So you do remember.” After a moment, he took the gift. “I’ll replace it.” “Don’t. His birthday is over.” He set the box aside and moved on. “Camilla’s hotel is no longer secure. Someone cut the power and disabled the cameras on her floor last night. The safe house may have been compromised as well.” “So?” “I’m moving her into the penthouse temporarily. The security system there is controlled directly by the family.” I put down the file in my hand. “Where will Leo and I stay?” “The East Side apartment is ready. You’ll go there for a few days. I’ll arrange the driver and guards.” He spoke as though he were changing an ordinary schedule. “Camilla doesn’t know about us. I don’t want her moving in and discovering that you and Leo have been living there.” “When is she leaving?” “When the threat is gone.” “All right.” Dante had begun to offer another explanation, but my answer stopped him. “You’re not going to ask how long that will take?” “You already answered.” “I’ll deal with it as quickly as I can.” “I understand.” He remained in front of my desk. “I’ll make up for missing Leo’s birthday.” “That won’t be necessary.” Dante eventually left my office with the mechanical dog. That afternoon, I returned to the penthouse early. Leo was sitting on the living-room rug with a storybook. When he saw me open a suitcase, he carried the book over. “Mom, are we going somewhere?” “We’re staying somewhere else for a few days.” “Is Dad coming too?” “No.” Leo did not ask why. He placed the storybook in the suitcase, then went back to his room to gather his clothes. I packed our passports, identification, copies of the signed travel authorization, and the important documents I had already set aside, along with only a few everyday things. Everything else remained where it was. We would not need it again. That evening, I closed the final suitcase and led Leo toward the private elevator. The floor indicator lit before we reached it. When the doors opened, Dante stood inside with one hand on the handle of Camilla’s suitcase. She was wearing his coat, and two Romano guards waited behind them. For several seconds, none of us moved. Dante remained inside the elevator, his hand still wrapped around the suitcase handle. Chapter 3 Camilla noticed the suitcases at our feet first. “Elena, where are you going?” “The East Side,” Dante answered. “Security is already in place.” “I didn’t know you lived here.” Dante kept one hand on her suitcase. “Elena manages the family’s legitimate businesses. The Romano family provides housing for her and her son.” Six years of marriage disappeared into a family arrangement. To Dante, it had never been a marriage freely chosen. It was the consequence of a night he still believed I had arranged. “I see.” Camilla turned to me. “I’m sorry my situation is forcing you to move. I’ll leave as soon as the danger passes.” “It has nothing to do with you.” Only then did Dante look at Leo. “Good evening, Uncle Dante.” “What did you call me?” “Uncle. That’s what everyone else calls you. You said no one could know.” Dante had taught him that rule. Behind closed doors, Leo still called him Dad, as though secrecy ended once we came home. Now he had stopped pretending. Dante released the suitcase and caught my wrist. “Give me a few days. I’ll explain this to Leo.” “Explain what?” Before he could answer, Camilla steadied herself against the elevator wall. Dante let go of me and turned to support her. I led Leo into the elevator, but Dante stopped the doors from closing. “Wait.” He sent a guard downstairs. The man returned with a white cake box, which Dante held out to Leo. “Happy birthday.” Leo looked at me. “The club prepared it for my welcome dinner,” Camilla said. “No one touched it, so Leo can have it.” I was about to refuse when Leo asked, “Will you eat it with me?” “Yes.” That promise brought us back into the apartment. The doctor took Camilla to the guest room while Dante sat across from Leo in the dining room. The sugar plaque had been removed from the cake, though the faint outline of Camilla’s name remained in the frosting. Dante cut Leo a slice and said, "Here,this is your favorite cake." Leo, flattered, accepted it—this was one of those rare moments when Dante acted like a father. But the instant Leo took a bite, I saw mango between the layers. I snatched the plate from his hands and threw the cake into the trash. “Spit it out, Leo. Now.” Dante rose from his chair. “Elena, what are you doing?” “There’s mango in it.” “He only took one bite. You didn’t need to—” “Leo is allergic to mango.” The anger left Dante’s voice. I helped Leo spit out the cake, took the medication from the side pocket of his backpack, and checked his breathing. “Since when?” Dante asked. “Since he was a toddler.” The doctor arrived within minutes. Leo had swallowed almost nothing, and after an hour of observation, the doctor cleared him to travel. Dante crouched in front of him. “Leo, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” Leo looked at him for a long moment. The excitement he had carried into the dining room was gone. “It’s okay,” he said quietly. “You didn’t know.” Dante reached toward him, but Leo wrapped both arms around my neck. “Mom, I want to leave.” I held him closer. “I don’t want to wait for Dad anymore.” I lifted him into my arms and reached for the luggage. “Elena.” Dante followed us to the door. “The doctor said he needs rest.” “I’ll take care of him.” “At least stay tonight.” I kept walking. For six years, his guilt had always been enough to make me wait again. This time, it was too late. After leaving the apartment, I went to Romano Holdings. I cleared the few personal items from my office, sent the handover files to Human Resources and Legal, and left my resignation letter on the desk. The executed divorce and custody settlement was already with my attorney. I was done working for the Romano family. I was done being Dante’s hidden wife. Leo stayed close to me throughout the drive to the airport. The signed travel authorization rested in my bag beside our passports. Before boarding, I straightened his collar. “Will you be angry with me for taking you away from New York?” He wrapped his arms around my neck. “I only need Mom.” When the boarding announcement sounded, I turned off my phone and blocked every number connected to the Romano family.