The Frame-Up He Believed Chapter 07

The Frame-Up He Believed Chapter 07

Irina curled up on the floor, shaking.

“You know everything?”

A tiny sob squeezed out of her throat.

“Dom, I know I was wrong! I shouldn’t have done it!”

“But she can’t have kids anymore! You can’t do this to me-”

Dominic’s hand closed around her throat.

The fury in his eyes could’ve set the room on fire.

“So you did know she couldn’t have kids. You bitch. Who gave you the right to touch her?”

“Did you forget your place?” His voice dropped low, like it was crawling up from hell. “You were nothing but a tool. I gave you a little dignity, and you actually thought you could be the Castellano

Donna?”

“I’ll only ever have one wife. And that’s Elena.”

Irina’s eyes burned with defiance.

Dominic stared down at her and smiled-cold.

“You don’t want to give up this baby? Fine. I’ll help you.”

“Do it.”

The private doctor and nurses walked in.

The hospital room door clicked shut.

All that came out was a woman’s broken screams.

After Alexander took me away, he kept me confined in his private medical center for days.

The whip marks on my stomach had scabbed over.

He’d gotten some kind of ointment from God knows where and applied it himself every day. His

hands were so careful, like he was handling something that might shatter.

“Ela.” He spoke suddenly. “You promised me-after the divorce, you’d be mine. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”

I shook my head.

“I haven’t. I meant every word.”

Alexander Volkov.

When I was still the princess of the Moretti family, he was their Underboss. But then my family fell apart- -my parents died, and uncles clawed at each other for power. I went to live with my

grandmother, Abuela Luisa, in Brooklyn.

Back then, Alexander visited me often. I just thought of him as that quiet older boy who was always

around.

He once told me something. He said, “Elena, just wait a little longer. I’ll make sure you have a life that’s free and happy.”

I didn’t understand what he meant back then. All I wanted was to chase my own freedom.

So I changed my name, married Dominic, and cut Alexander off completely-blocked him everywhere. I thought I’d wiped the Moretti past clean.

I only found out later that Alexander had never stopped looking for me.

He fought his way through the family wars and became the Don of the Morettis-New York’s oldest mafia family. But the elders had laid down one rule: Moretti blood had to return. He had to find me to secure his seat.

But all those years, he never forced contact. Even though photos of my marriage to Dominic were already on his desk.

Until Dominic cheated. Took Irina. Bought out the whole Times Square screens for her. That was the first time Alexander called me.

“Divorce him.”

Back then, I still wasn’t ready to let go.

After I lost the baby last year, I finally stopped hesitating. I started sorting through the assets in my

name.

On Christmas Day, Alexander sent a card. His number was on it, along with one line:

“I’ll wait forever.”

Last month, when I couldn’t sleep night after night, Alexander stayed on the phone with me until I

drifted off.

A week later, I was discharged.

Maybe afraid I’d change my mind, Alexander dragged me to the most exclusive private couture boutique in Manhattan to take wedding photos.

I’d always remembered him as calm and composed.

But in front of the mirror, his ears were red with nerves. He kept asking, “How does this dress

look?”

I smiled and looped my arm through his.

“Perfect.”

The photo session had just ended when the boutique door flew open.

I looked up. My pupils snapped.

Dominic stood in the doorway, eyes bloodshot. He was staring at me like he wanted to carve my image into his bones.