Chapter 7 - The Divorce That Became a Trap
Friday morning arrived.
The courthouse was full of reporters.
The story had leaked.
Dante Moretti and Elena Moretti were divorcing.
The city's most feared businessman was supposedly losing control.
His wife was supposedly leaving with a fortune.
Some said she had cheated.
Some said he had.
Rumors spread faster than facts.
Dante sat inside Elena's body in the back seat of a car.
Beside him sat Elena in his body.
She looked calm.
Too calm.
“You okay?” he asked.
“No.”
“Me neither.”
The courthouse doors opened.
Flashbulbs exploded.
Dante almost instinctively shielded Elena.
She caught his hand.
“Don't.”
“I’m protecting you.”
She smiled.
“That's what I used to say.”
He stopped.
Then lowered his hand.
They entered.
Richard Hale stood waiting.
He smiled.
“Finally.”
Dante looked at him.
The hatred that rose inside him was immediate.
Richard had no idea Dante knew.
Or perhaps he did.
They sat.
The judge reviewed the documents.
Dante and Elena were asked to confirm the terms.
Richard presented the settlement.
Dante looked at Elena.
The entire divorce had been constructed to transfer key assets into supposedly neutral trusts.
Those trusts were controlled by Richard.
He understood now.
If he signed, Adrian won.
Elena looked at him.
It was time.
Dante signed.
Then Elena signed.
Richard smiled.
“It's done.”
A murmur moved through the courtroom.
Dante stood.
“Not yet.”
Richard froze.
Dante lifted a second envelope.
Inside were the original financial records.
Copies of Tommy's evidence.
Bank transfers.
Voice recordings.
Photographs.
And proof of Richard's involvement.
The judge's expression changed.
Richard stood.
“This is fabricated.”
Dante smiled.
“You should have checked the digital timestamp.”
Richard looked at Elena.
“How?”
Elena walked forward.
“You forgot one thing.”
“What?”
“You thought I was only your target.”
She opened a laptop.
A live transmission appeared.
Every file was being uploaded.
To reporters.
To federal investigators.
To prosecutors.
To multiple newspapers.
There was no single target to silence.
The evidence was already everywhere.
Richard lunged toward the laptop.
Security stopped him.
Adrian appeared at the courthouse doors.
He saw the chaos.
Then turned.
Police were already waiting.
He had nowhere to go.
But before they took him, he looked at Dante.
“You'll regret this.”
Dante stepped forward.
“I already regretted trusting you.”
Adrian laughed.
“You think your wife saved you?”
Dante's expression changed.
“She did.”
Adrian looked toward Elena.
“She'll leave you anyway.”
Dante turned.
Elena met his eyes.
There was no fear.
“No,” she said.
Adrian was taken away.
The courtroom emptied slowly.
The divorce had been legally finalized.
That fact hit them both.
Seven years ended with a signature.
Dante looked at Elena.
“So that's it.”
She nodded.
“Apparently.”
He swallowed.
“I don't want it to be.”
Neither did she.
But before they could speak, the silver pendant around Elena's neck flashed.
The same light filled Dante's chest.
The world tilted.
They reached for each other.
Then everything went white.
Dante woke on the courtroom floor.
He opened his eyes.
His own hands.
His own voice.
His own body.
Across the room, Elena sat up.
She touched her face.
Then looked at him.
Dante laughed.
It was the first real laugh she had heard from him in years.
Elena smiled.
“You're back.”
“So are you.”
He stood.
He crossed the room.
Then stopped.
“What?”
She looked at him.
“I’m afraid.”
“Of what?”
“That when this ends, you'll become the old Dante again.”
He understood.
“No.”
“You can't promise that.”
“I can promise what I do next.”
“What?”
He took her hand.
“I will spend the rest of my life proving that I learned this.”
She looked at him.
“Do you still love me?”
“Yes.”
“Even after everything?”
“Because of everything.”
A tear slipped down her cheek.
He wiped it away.
“This marriage is legally over,” she whispered.
“I know.”
“So what are we?”
Dante smiled.
“Two people who fell in love twice.”
She laughed through her tears.
“That's dangerously romantic.”
“I have been through a supernatural body swap. I’m allowed one.”
Outside, reporters waited.
The city waited.
Their empire waited.
But something inside Dante had changed.
May you like
For the first time, he was not thinking about control.
He was thinking about choice.
