The Frame-Up He Believed Chapter 03

The Frame-Up He Believed Chapter 03

I cleared out the townhouse.

Everything I didn’t need got boxed up and dumped into the trash compactor.

That night, Dominic actually came home for once.

Turns out, my drafted asset division agreement never got used.

Dominic slapped his own papers on the table first.

“Ela, Irina’s insecure. She doesn’t want our kid born a bastard.”

“We sign the divorce papers first. Once the kid’s status and trust are set up, we remarry.”

No wonder. An hour ago, Irina had messaged me on the encrypted channel, telling me to expect a “surprise.”

She wanted to set me off. Wanted me to tear into Dominic again.

Too bad. I didn’t love him anymore. Fighting felt like a waste of energy.

I scanned the terms calmly.

Generous. Fair. He’d left me almost every asset under my name in the Castellano family. Including three properties in Brooklyn and the Long Island estate.

I signed without a second thought.

After I finished, I downed the espresso on the table and got up to leave.

Dominic wasn’t expecting me to be that quick. His eyes flickered with surprise. He grabbed my wrist on instinct.

“What’s going on with you?”

I looked back at him, cold and distant.

“Something else?”

Dominic shot a wary glance at my bedroom. A beat of silence. Then he walked in, removed anything sharp, and called two maids from the main house.

He thought I’d try to kill myself again.

I laughed.

“Don’t bother. I’m not dying anymore.”

His phone rang. Irina calling him back.

He gave me a distracted nod, his feet already carrying him out the door.

The next morning, Dominic pushed me to get downstairs. We were heading to the family’s law firm to sign the formal separation agreement.

His car was covered in stickers he used to call childish. Irina’s taste.

I opened the back door without being told.

He paused.

“Why aren’t you sitting up front?”

I watched the Manhattan skyline slide past the window, answering absently.

“Isn’t that seat Irina’s?”

Dominic went quiet.

He kept glancing at me through the rearview. Opened his mouth a few times. Nothing came out.

After we filed the papers, the family Consigliere read the terms. Once the waiting period was up, the final judgment would come through.

I let out a breath.

Dominic stood there, his expression complicated, his eyes dark and unreadable.

“I’ll drive you back.”

I was about to say no.

Then Irina appeared out of nowhere, hopping up to kiss his cheek.

Dominic caught her waist in a panic.

“Careful—the baby!”

The second she showed up, all his attention locked onto her. He didn’t even notice when I left.

That night, my bags were all packed.

After confirming the private jet schedule with Alex for tomorrow, I took two sleeping pills and turned off the lights.

The doorbell rang.

I checked the monitor. Irina. Again.