Chapter 4 - The Wife Who Came Back on Her Own Terms
I didn't return to Nico.
Not immediately.
For the next two weeks, I stayed in the safe house.
Arthur brought groceries.
A female security officer named Mara stayed nearby.
And every morning, Nico sent one message.
No pressure.
No demands.
Just one sentence.
Good morning, Norah. I hope you and the baby are safe.
I never answered.
But I read every one.
I hated that I looked forward to them.
The investigation into the ledger became complicated.
The names inside it represented decades of corruption.
But the most important information was hidden beneath the financial records.
Richard Bennett had documented a plan to dismantle the Bellini organization.
Not destroy Nico.
Free him.
My father had believed Nico could become the man he was supposed to be.
I wasn't sure.
But I wanted to find out.
So I agreed to meet him.
We chose a neutral location.
A small hotel conference room.
No guards inside.
No weapons.
No secrets.
At least that was the agreement.
Nico arrived first.
When I entered, he stood.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
He looked thinner.
Tired.
There were shadows beneath his eyes.
“You look well,” he said.
“So do you.”
It was the most ridiculous conversation two people who had shared a bed for three years had ever had.
I sat across from him.
“The baby is healthy.”
His eyes softened.
“Thank you for telling me.”
I watched him carefully.
“I didn't tell you so you'd take me back.”
“I know.”
“I told you because you have a right to know.”
“I know.”
He lowered his gaze.
“I've rehearsed what I wanted to say to you.”
“And?”
“Every version sounded like an excuse.”
He looked up.
“So I'll give you the truth.”
I waited.
“I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Of losing power.”
I almost laughed.
“You're the most powerful man I know.”
“That didn't stop me from being afraid.”
He continued.
“I knew if people discovered I had a wife, they would see you as leverage.”
“They already did.”
“Yes.”
“But you hid me anyway.”
“Yes.”
He swallowed.
“I told myself I was protecting you.”
“You were protecting yourself.”
“Yes.”
The honesty hurt.
But it also mattered.
Nico put an envelope on the table.
“What's that?”
“Divorce papers.”
My heart stopped.
“I had them prepared.”
“You want a divorce?”
“I want you to have the option.”
He pushed the papers toward me.
“If you want freedom, I'll sign.”
I looked at him.
“You're not going to fight me?”
“No.”
“You're not going to use your money?”
“No.”
“You're not going to threaten my family?”
His expression tightened.
“Never.”
I stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because I finally understand that love isn't possession.”
That was when I started crying.
Nico didn't move toward me.
He waited.
That was the hardest part.
The old Nico would have crossed the room.
The new Nico stayed where he was.
He let me decide.
I wiped my tears.
“I need time.”
“You have it.”
Then we heard a crash outside.
Mara's voice came through the security radio.
“Movement at the north entrance.”
Nico stood.
“Stay here.”
He walked to the door.
I caught his sleeve.
“Nico.”
He looked back.
“Be careful.”
He gave me a small smile.
“Always.”
The attack lasted less than five minutes.
When it ended, one man had been captured.
He was identified as a former Bellini enforcer.
During questioning, he revealed something shocking.
The order hadn't come from Nico's rivals.
It had come from someone inside his own family.
Nico's uncle, Matteo Bellini.
The man who had spent years advising Nico.
The man who had encouraged him to keep me hidden.
The man who had repeatedly told Nico that love was weakness.
Matteo had been manipulating both sides of the war.
He wanted Nico unstable.
He wanted him isolated.
And he wanted the ledger destroyed before it could expose him.
I sat in silence as Nico told me.
“Why didn't you tell me earlier?”
“I didn't know.”
“Your uncle has been advising you for years.”
“I trusted him.”
I looked down.
“So did I.”
Nico flinched.
That night, he moved into the guest building on the safe property.
He refused to enter my room.
But he left dinner outside my door.
Soup.
Bread.
A small bowl of strawberries.
I smiled despite myself.
The next morning, I found another envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
Nico and me on our first date.
I stared at it.
On the back, he had written:
I remember exactly when I knew I loved you.
I turned the photograph over again.
There was another line beneath it.
I was too afraid to say it.
I put the photograph beside my bed.
For the first time, I allowed myself to miss him.
Not the version from the penthouse.
The version from before the fear changed him.
Weeks passed.
My pregnancy became visible.
I began attending prenatal appointments.
Nico never missed one once I invited him.
He sat quietly in the waiting room.
He learned the baby's heartbeat.
The first time he heard it, tears filled his eyes.
He looked at me.
“I missed so much already.”
“You can still be there for what's left.”
“I want every second.”
The doctor smiled.
“Would you like to know the sex?”
Nico looked at me.
I nodded.
The doctor smiled.
“It's a girl.”
Nico covered his face with one hand.
I laughed.
He looked embarrassed.
“I thought I wanted a son.”
“And?”
“I was wrong.”
He smiled.
“I've always wanted a daughter.”
I looked at him.
“You're going to spoil her.”
“Absolutely.”
For a moment, we were simply parents.
Not a mafia boss.
Not his estranged wife.
Just two frightened people listening to their unborn child.
Then my phone rang.
A blocked number.
I answered.
A man's voice said, “You should ask Nico what happened the night your father died.”
I froze.
Nico saw my face.
“What is it?”
The caller continued.
“Your father didn't die in an accident.”
The line went dead.
I stared at Nico.
He understood immediately.
“What did they say?”
I whispered the words.
“My father was murdered.”
Nico closed his eyes.
May you like
Then he said something that changed everything.
“I think I know who ordered it.”
