I Divorced the Don and Took His EmpireChapter 3

The look he gave me was terrifyingly sharp, but his face was visibly drawn.

Beneath his suit jacket, a corner of a hospital gown was still showing.

To keep me from hurting Clara, he'd rushed back before the anesthesia had even fully worn off.

Two years ago, when I'd been hospitalized after a miscarriage from overwork and needed a family member's signature, Adrian had said over the phone in that flat tone of his:

"Get some rest, then get back to work as soon as you can."

He'd even docked my performance review for the two days I'd taken off to recover.

The moment Clara saw Adrian, her eyes welled up with tears.

Adrian saw her crying, then glanced down at the broken glass on the floor. His expression turned to ice in an instant.

He pulled out his phone and said coldly:

"Elena Hayes attempted to assault my fiancee. I want her held accountable."

The taste of rust spread through my throat.

I wasn't given a chance to explain. The officers took me by the arms and led me out.

The second I stepped outside the villa, dozens of cameras with blinking red lights were shoved into my face.

"Ms. Hayes, can you confirm reports that you've been stalking and surveilling Don Moretti for the past three years?"

"Is it true that you attempted to harm his fiancee while Mr. Moretti was in surgery? Please comment!"

I was jostled so hard I nearly lost my footing. The edge of a camera knocked against my temple, drawing thin lines of blood.

Adrian was coming downstairs when he saw the scene. He frowned, almost reflexively.

For a moment, I thought he might intervene.

But he only stepped forward and said in a low voice:

"This is a private family matter. It doesn't concern any of you."

It looked like he was shielding me.

In reality, he'd just confirmed every question the reporters had asked.

Off to the side, Clara put on the perfect victim's expression—though a quiet laugh she couldn't quite contain slipped from her throat.

The last flicker of hope inside me went dark.

At the police station, Adrian looked down at me.

"Apologize to Clara."

"And if I don't?"

His tone went cold.

"Then I'll press charges for unlawful entry into a private residence."

"Unlawful entry."

I closed my eyes and suddenly laughed.

When we'd first bought that villa, Adrian had been so happy he'd scooped me up and spun me around in the garden, over and over.

He'd said I would be the lady of that house forever.

Turns out forever had a shelf life of three years.

Adrian's brow creased slightly. He was about to speak when Clara cut in, eyes red-rimmed:

"Maybe just let it go. I was scared, sure, but Elena was just too jealous of me..."

Adrian's face darkened instantly.

"Apologize."

When I still said nothing, he leaned in and lowered his voice to a warning.

"Unless you want something to happen to your father in that hospital."

My thoughts ground to a halt.

My father, Thomas, had been bedridden with a stroke for three years, housed in a private hospital owned by the Moretti family.

I used to believe that was love.

I looked at Adrian and felt every urge to fight back drain out of me.

"I'm sorry."

I said it word by word.

"I shouldn't have broken into your home, and I shouldn't have disturbed your fiancee. Is that enough?"

Adrian's frown only deepened.

After two seconds of silence, he produced a document.

"As long as you stop harassing Clara, I won't short you a single cent of what you're owed in the settlement."

I gripped the divorce agreement.

He continued.

"As for your position at the company, I've already handed it over to Clara."

"She's a smart girl. She's adapted well."

His expression finally softened.

But my pen paused.

I was the one who had built Moretti Holdings alongside him, step by step.

His lungs were bad, so I'd forced myself to learn to smoke, stepping into every negotiation that required cigarettes and liquor so he didn't have to.

During the busiest stretches, I didn't even go home. I slept on the office couch for over a month straight.

But now, he'd forgotten all of it.

A bitter winter wind swept in through the station entrance. I exhaled a cloud of white.

Under Adrian's gaze, I signed.

When he saw how quickly I put pen to paper, he raised an eyebrow.

"You don't want to review the asset division a few more times?"

I smiled faintly.

"I want the deed to that villa. Would you give it to me?"

Adrian was silent for a long moment.

"Anything but that."

I opened my mouth, then decided it wasn't worth it.

It was just a house.

Let it go.