Loading promotion info...
I Divorced the Don and Took His Empire
Novelix
Completed
Elena Hayes spent years loving Don Adrian Moretti, building his empire and surviving his betrayals. But when Adrian protects his mistress, frames Elena, freezes her accounts, and ignores her desperate plea while her father dies in surgery, something inside her finally goes cold. She signs the divorce papers, leaves Chicago, and vows never to return. Then Adrian dies, leaving her his company, his ring, and a mafia legacy soaked in blood. Now rival families are closing in, old enemies are circling, and Elena must decide whether to run from the underworld—or take control and destroy it from within.
Chapters (3)
第1章
Just because his mistress said she didn't like condoms, Don Adrian Moretti booked a vasectomy that very night.
Before he went into the operating room, he unlocked his phone in front of me for the first time.
"Passcode's 010298. Look through whatever you want."
"But when I come out of surgery, you'll have divorce papers waiting."
When he spoke again, his voice turned so gentle he sounded like a different person entirely.
"Hey. Don't be scared. It's just a minor procedure."
"You know the codes to all the bank cards and the safe. If anyone gives you trouble while I'm recovering, that money is your safety net."
When he said "anyone," his gaze flicked to me—just for a second, neither sharp nor soft.
After all, three years ago, the first time I discovered Don Moretti was having an affair, I'd gone half-mad trying to track the woman down.
Tailing him. Sneaking photographs. Pulling hotel records, flight manifests, every private itinerary he had.
But apart from the university tuition he wired to some girl on a regular basis, I found nothing.
Adrian was the Don of the Moretti family. Hiding a woman was child's play for him.
When I said nothing for too long, he finally lost patience.
"Elena, I'm tired. Three years of this—I'm done."
"When I wake up, just let me go. Can you do that?"
The medical staff began ushering him toward pre-op. I calmly locked the phone he'd handed me inside a storage locker.
What he didn't know was that the car accident he'd arranged last week—his punishment for me tracking down Clara's address—hadn't just left me in the ICU for seven straight days.
It had also taken our only child.
This cat-and-mouse game—he wasn't the only one who was tired.
When he saw that I'd actually started contacting a lawyer, Adrian's expression darkened. He immediately turned to his assistant, Lucas.
"Put another team on her. I want eyes on every move Elena makes."
"Also, Elena is suspended from her position as Executive Director, effective immediately."
Cold intent surfaced in his eyes.
"Don't try using divorce to force my hand. That trick doesn't work on me."
"And don't think I don't know what you're scheming. Some people are off-limits to you."
A nurse stepped forward with the pre-op checklist.
"Mr. Moretti, just a final confirmation before surgery. How long have you been fasting—no food or drink?"
Adrian frowned, but before he could answer, I spoke first.
"Eight hours without food. Three hours without liquids."
"Any history of drug allergies?"
"Penicillin allergy. It's triggered a rash before."
The nurse asked a few more questions.
One after another, I answered them all. Adrian stared at me the entire time, his eyes dark and unreadable.
The nurse smiled.
"Mr. Moretti, your family really does care about your health."
"Family?"
He let out a scoff.
"She won't be for much longer."
"Memorizing every last detail of my life doesn't change a thing."
If this had been before, I would have lost my mind demanding to know what Clara had that I didn't.
But now, I just stayed silent.
Before long, the light above the operating room switched on.
I looked away and picked up the overnight bag from the corner.
It was supposed to hold my change of clothes and toiletries. But the moment I lifted it, it was far too light.
I unzipped it. Empty.
Lucas walked over, visibly uncomfortable.
"Ma'am, the Boss ordered us to throw out everything inside."
"He was worried you might... bring something inappropriate into the hospital."
I let the bag drop from my hand, and suddenly I almost wanted to laugh.
How paranoid did he have to be to have a few pieces of clothing inspected and confiscated?
I tossed the empty bag into the trash, took a deep breath, and then dropped Adrian's phone in after it.
The moment I stepped out of the hospital, a message from Maya lit up my screen.
"Girl! I heard Adrian actually handed over his phone and let you go through it?"
"Three years of hiding everything, and he finally grew a conscience?"
I replied, too exhausted for anything but honesty.
"He just couldn't be bothered to pretend anymore."
A long silence from her end.
"So are you still digging? Clara should be back in Chicago by now."
Clara was the girl Adrian had been shielding for three years.
She'd studied finance at the University of Chicago. During her master's program, Adrian had sent her to London on a two-year exchange. After she returned, she formally joined Moretti Holdings as an intern.
He thought he'd hidden it all so well.
But I'd already uncovered plenty.
For three years, all I'd been doing was tearing down my own conclusions and rebuilding them, over and over again—confirming the one thing I didn't want to believe: Adrian Moretti had stopped loving me.
This time, I didn't have the patience to keep playing along.
"I'm done looking."
第2章
I had barely walked into the villa when I heard lively chatter coming from inside.
"Clara, this is your fiance's house? It's insane!"
"No wonder Clara gave up her job in London to come back. Who wouldn't want to marry into the Moretti family?"
My chest tightened. I reached for the door, but the lock let out an error tone.
I tried again. This time, the door opened from the inside.
The girl standing in front of me had long golden hair and was dressed head to toe in expensive pieces—even the tiny clip in her hair was worth a small fortune.
A woman raised on Adrian's money and affection did have a certain kind of beauty—the kind that came from being thoroughly protected.
One of Clara's friends frowned first.
"Clara, is this your maid? She looks awful."
"And she reeks of disinfectant. I'm going to be sick."
Clara didn't correct her. She just covered her mouth and laughed softly.
My voice came out cold.
"Adrian and I haven't even finalized the divorce yet, and you're already here playing lady of the house?"
"Get out. Now. Or I'm calling the police."
The second I pulled out my phone, Clara clapped her hands.
A bodyguard immediately snatched the phone from my grip. Another grabbed my shoulders and pinned me in place.
Some of them were even the same men I'd once hired to investigate and tail Adrian.
"Elena, you're so funny."
Her voice was sweet enough to make my teeth ache.
"Didn't the door lock already give you your answer?"
Clara walked up to me, took my hand, and pressed it against the fingerprint scanner again.
The shrill error tone rang through the entire house.
"Whoever can get in—that's the one who belongs here."
I clenched my fists.
"Adrian and I bought this villa together. My name is still on the deed."
"You think deleting my fingerprint means you can take my home?"
The moment the words left my mouth, Clara's smile only deepened.
She had the housekeeper bring over the property documents and held them open for me to see.
The name listed under the owner had been changed to Clara Hale.
"I told Adrian I liked this house, so he transferred it to me."
"Elena, you're actually the one trespassing now."
My heart seized.
Six months ago, Adrian had brought me a stack of company filing documents with a few blank signature pages mixed in.
I hadn't thought twice about it. I just signed.
So even back then, he'd already decided to erase me from his world completely.
The people around Clara piled on.
"Maids these days are really something. Claiming the house is hers."
"Of all people to mess with, she picks Don Moretti's fiancee. How embarrassing."
I looked around. Every piece of furniture in the house had been replaced.
I wrenched free of the bodyguard's grip and bolted upstairs to the master bedroom.
The moment I pushed the door open, a searing pain shot through my foot.
Shards of glass had driven into the sole of my foot.
The ultrasound photo had been ripped to pieces. All that remained was broken glass scattered across the floor.
Clara strolled in behind me.
"I didn't really like that piece of paper, so I had the housekeeper take care of it."
"Though judging by the date, the baby was only about two months along?"
She let out a delicate, lilting laugh.
"What a shame. The very last trace your baby left in this world—gone."
My eyes burned. I raised my hand to slap her.
But a squad of uniformed officers appeared in the doorway.
"Ms. Hayes, someone has reported you for unlawful entry into a private residence. You'll need to come with us."
Before I could even process what was happening, Adrian was already striding forward, pulling Clara behind him.
His eyes were bloodshot. He shoved me back with one hand.
The look on his face could have swallowed me whole.
"Elena Hayes, did I not tell you—don't touch anyone you're not supposed to touch."
第3章
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.
