The Stupid Wife’s Last Stand Chapter 06

The Stupid Wife’s Last Stand Chapter 06

Four hours later, a photo of the car owner hit Dante’s inbox.

He did not know the woman.

But something about her was so hauntingly familiar that the air seemed to leave his lungs.

He stared at the screen, brows drawn tight, until the truth dawned on him. The curve at the corners

of her eyes. The line of her jaw.

It hit him like a fist to the stomach.

“Autumn mentioned her mother once…”

His consigliere called.

“Dante, the car went straight to O’Hare International. Security footage shows Mrs. Moretti getting out of the car. She was holding that woman’s hand. There were no signs of a struggle. She looked

calm.”

Only then did Dante realize he had been holding his breath.

He exhaled.

She was safe.

At least she was safe.

But the relief was short-lived, eclipsed by the memory of he remembered the divorce papers on his

desk.

Yesterday, he had laughed them off. In his mind, his foolish wife had nowhere else to go. She was tethered to him by every fiber of her being.

Now he understood.

She had a way out.

She always had.

Dante sat in his study, stunned and lost.

For the first time in his life, Dante Moretti was paralyzed by indecision.

His men were still tracking her route, but the waiting was torture. He pulled up the house security footage, desperate to decipher her intent.

The footage began to play.

He watched himself roar at her.

He watched naked fear spread across her face.

Until that moment, he had not realized how terrifying his own voice had sounded.

Then he saw her tears, and remorse hit him like a tidal wave of ice.

Ten minutes after he stormed out, she walked into the kitchen.

She took out a plate of pancakes, her favorite, the kind she only made on special days.

Then she lit a single candle.

That was when he remembered.

Yesterday had been her birthday.

Then he heard it.

In front of the wavering flame, she whispered her wish.

“I wish Dante and I would be separated forever…”

He could not watch anymore.

His hands began to shake. His lips moved soundlessly.

“No. No, this can’t be happening…”

He scrambled for an excuse.

“She was just angry. Besides, she pushed Mia. If she didn’t love me, she wouldn’t have been jealous.”

He pulled up the bedroom footage next, desperate to find proof that she still cared.

But what he saw was Mia baiting her. Provoking her.

There was no jealousy in Autumn’s eyes.

Only disgust.

He had seen that look before.

It was the look she wore when she had to visit her father in prison.

Before the panic could fully take hold, Mia’s voice came through the laptop speakers.

“I’ll pay off your gambling debt, but you have to help me with one last thing.”

“Don’t be scared. Once I become Mrs. Moretti, I’ll pay you double.”

Dante stared at the screen.

He stared at Mia’s calculating smirk.

So it had all been an act.

She had planned all of it.

And he, the Dante of the Moretti family, had been played like a fool.

He had abandoned his wife for a lie.

He crushed the cigarette in his hand, reached for his phone, and sent Mia a single command.

Dante: [Come to my office immediately.]