Alle Kapitel von The Divorce He Signed Without Reading: Kapitel 1 – Kapitel 8

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 th

Dante arrived at Romano Holdings the next morning expecting Elena and Leo to be at the East Side apartment.Leo calling him Uncle Dante had followed him through the night. So had his son’s quiet words before leaving: I’m not waiting for Dad anymore.The first email in Dante’s inbox came from Human Resources.Elena Moretti — Employment Offboarding CompletedBefore he could open it, Camilla entered and placed a folder on the desk.“These are the DeLuca properties and accounts that may need to be transferred. I thought it would save you some time.”Dante opened the file. The first safe-house number was wrong, several accounts had been matched to the wrong properties, and one compromised residence was still listed as secure.“Who prepared this?”“I did.”“Security records cannot be completed from memory.”Camilla drew the folder back. “You think I’m useless.”“That is not what I said.”“Since the divorce, I’ve been trying to prove I can still handle something on my own. Apparently, all I d

After leaving the banquet, Dante returned to the penthouse for his passport. The alcohol caught up with him during the elevator ride, and when he entered, he loosened his tie and spoke toward the dark living room out of habit.“Elena, bring me some water.”No answer came. He stood in the entrance before remembering that Elena and Leo were gone.When he switched on the lights, the dining table had been cleared and the birthday decorations removed. A faint trace of frosting lingered in the air. Leo’s chair had been pushed beneath the table, and the space where his small shoes usually stood was empty. The apartment looked as though a child had never lived there.Dante went into the kitchen and took a soda from the refrigerator. As he closed the door, the stickers covering the silver surface caught his attention. Cartoon animals, superheroes, and uneven stars spread across the metal, several curling at the edges.He had complained that the stickers made the kitchen untidy and had nearly or

When I asked Leo whether he wanted to see Dante, he remained silent for a long time before agreeing to one hour at a café near the school. The guards remained across the street while Dante waited beside the window.“Uncle Dante.”The title stopped him, though he did not correct it. He returned the storybook, asked about school, and accepted Leo’s brief answers without pushing for more.Dante remained in Sydney, respected the boundary around our apartment, and arranged visitation through his attorney.Three weeks later, the court entered the final divorce decree.Leo was at school when my attorney sent the document. Dante arrived soon afterward, and I let him inside before making coffee from habit, adding two sugars and no milk.“You still remember,” he said.“Seven years of habit do not disappear in three weeks.”I placed my phone on the table with the decree open on the screen.“The divorce is official.”Dante’s fingers tightened around the cup. “I’ll have my attorneys review it.”“Yo