All Chapters of Mommy, Please Divorce Daddy: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

The seventh time Luca Bellandi served me divorce papers, I was sitting with my son, Noah, in a worn little Italian restaurant in Chicago's Little Italy.Snow drifted past the windows. Noah sat across from me in his St. Ambrose uniform, bow tie straight. He slid a folder across the table to me.[Petition for Dissolution of Marriage]The agreement inside was written in blue ballpoint pen on a sheet torn from Noah's homework notebook, the lines crooked, the words pressed so hard they nearly cut through the paper.Property settlement: five hundred thousand dollars to Mom.Additional clause: After taking the money, Mom can't bother Daddy, me, or Serena anymore.Serena Valenti. Luca's "temporary adviser." And the childhood sweetheart he'd grown up with.For five years, I'd endured the Bellandi elders' cold faces, Luca's lawsuits, and every rumor he let spread because I wanted custody of my son. For Noah, I'd have walked away from the estate, the jewelry, and the shares with nothing.But the

Chapter 2

"Mom."Noah's voice pulled me back to the restaurant. He pushed the handwritten agreement closer."Just sign it. Daddy works so hard. He runs the ports, meets lawyers, handles family trouble. He pays for my school, my medicine, violin, fencing. Stop making things harder for him."I listened to him count his father's burdens and asked, "Your father pays for those things?"Noah froze.I looked him in the eye. "Noah, your uniform, medicine, private school, and summer camps are all paid for by me."His first reaction was anger."You're lying," he shouted. "You don't even have nice clothes. Your phone is old. You make me take the subway. Serena takes me to Gold Coast steakhouses, and you bring me to cheap places like this."I wasn't poor because I enjoyed it. Every dollar went to him. His imported medicine couldn't stop. His school demanded donations. His weak heart couldn't afford one careless day. I had to think for three days before buying myself winter boots."Fine." I took out my phone

Chapter 3

Noah's watch-phone rang, and he almost threw himself at it.The name was Serena.When I called, he ignored me or answered with "yeah," "okay," and "stop bothering me." For Serena, he turned sweet."Serena, Daddy came to get me. No, I didn't cry. Mom still hasn't signed, but I'll help you."Her laugh came through the tiny speaker like silk over a blade."My little prince is so good. Ask your daddy if he missed me."Noah looked up.Luca's face softened. "I did."After they left, I sat alone until the soup went cold, then called my lawyer."Mr. Grant," I said. "Change the claim. Put custody aside for now. I want every marital asset he moved hidden and recovered."The next morning, St. Ambrose School called."Are you Noah Bellandi's guardian? He is having an allergic reaction with palpitations. Please come immediately."I grabbed the medicine case and ran out.When I reached the infirmary, Noah's face was turning blue. I used his epinephrine pen and gave him the backup medication. His new

Chapter 4

Luca stared like he hadn't understood. "Say that again.""I don't want this anymore," I said. "You can keep the child. I'll sign the divorce."Noah burst into tears, but it wasn't grief. It was anger. "How can you do that? You said you loved me most. Are you giving me up because Daddy only offered five hundred thousand?"Serena hugged him, her voice soft and poisonous. "Don't cry, baby. Some women say they love children, but they only love money."She lifted her eyes to me, victory barely hidden. "Isabella, now that you finally understand, leave with dignity. Don't ruin the last bit of respect Noah has for you.""Respect?" I looked at her. "You brought nut-filled pastry to school and almost killed him. You want to talk about respect?"Luca stepped in front of her on instinct. "Enough. You have no proof."When Noah had a fever, Luca was at Serena's apartment and told me to call a doctor. When a capo's wife insulted Serena, Luca sent men to defend her. When I couldn't get out of bed afte

Chapter 5

Below the stage sat partners, reporters, politicians, lawyers, and rival families who'd waited years to see him fall.A reporter stood. "Don Moretti, is this a federal investigation or a marital asset freeze?"Another pushed forward. "Is Moretti Security involved in illegal financial transfers? Will the port contract proceed?"Luca gripped his phone until his knuckles whitened. "This is a misunderstanding," he said. "Moretti Security operates within the law. My private finances will be handled by my lawyers."The screen behind him suddenly went black.bThen a hidden-camera video appeared.The angle was low, filmed from behind a shelf. Luca sat at his desk, collar open. Serena leaned beside him in a rumpled red dress, smiling like she'd already won.I watched the livestream from my rented apartment.It was one of the videos I'd recovered from Serena's computer. She was smart enough to keep insurance, but not smart enough to remember that I used to crack offshore black books.On the scree

Chapter 6

Noah started sobbing. He stood at my door like a child who'd lost his way home. He used to hate my apartment, my clothes, my cooking. Now he clutched the doorframe, afraid to come in or leave."Mom, I was wrong. I didn't know you paid for everything. I didn't know Daddy lied. I thought you didn't work. I thought you only embarrassed me."An eight-year-old could be shaped by adults. I knew that. But the contempt in his eyes, the impatience in his voice, the ease with which he'd called me the nanny, none of that had been forced from him.I got up at midnight to check his temperature. I gave him the best of everything. When he dumped the breakfast I spent two hours making, I swallowed my tears and cooked again.He believed I'd never leave."Noah," I asked, "do you know what you did wrong?"He hiccupped. "I shouldn't have written the divorce agreement for Daddy.""Not just that. You were wrong to call another woman mother. Wrong to take my sacrifices as if they cost me nothing. Wrong to sp

Chapter 7

The hearing came under a low gray Chicago sky.Luca had hired the city's most famous divorce lawyer, the same man who'd beaten me six times. Back then, I had no money, no evidence, and no decent clothes. I'd stood in court like a joke the Morettis had stepped on.This time, I wore a charcoal suit and sat beside Grant.Luca sat at the defendant's table, calm on the surface. But he was no longer the Don who could silence a room with one raised hand. His capos were watching, partners had pulled funding, and federal agents were circling.His lawyer spoke first."The marriage hasn't fully broken down. Ms. Rossi fought for custody for years, proving she values the family. Mr. Moretti is willing to mediate and preserve a complete home for the child."When Luca wanted divorce, my persistence was greed. Now that I wanted to leave, the same persistence became proof of love."Objection.""Five years of intimate messages between the defendant and Serena Valenti. They called each other husband and

Chapter 8

When the ruling came down, I didn't cry."Miss Rossi, congratulations."The court found Luca at major fault and ordered the return of the eighty-seven million dollars he'd transferred to Serena. Moretti Security's legal assets, the lake estate, investment funds, and certain company profits were included in the division. After excluding the portions under federal investigation, I received eighty percent of the confirmed marital assets.More importantly, Luca's debts from personal illegal operations and infringement had nothing to do with me.He'd wanted to drag me into hell. The door opened only for him.The elders could tolerate a mistress, a neglected wife, even cruelty if it made money. They couldn't tolerate a Don who dragged legal business into a federal investigation and exposed the family's core system.Luca was forced to give up control of Moretti Security.He used to sit at the head of the long table while every capo waited for him to lift his fork. Now he needed permission to

Chapter 9

One winter evening, while I was trimming roses in the greenhouse, my phone rang.When I answered, I heard Luca's voice. "Bella."His voice was rough. Traffic hummed behind him."I'm outside your house," he said. "I only want to see you once."I walked to the living room and looked through the glass.Outside the iron gate stood an old car, not a Bentley. No guards. Luca wore a black coat under a streetlight, fine snow settling on his shoulders.Once, Don Moretti looked as if the world should step aside wherever he stood. Now he was just a man who had lost power."We have nothing to discuss," I said."Noah misses you.""He can keep writing letters.""I miss you too."The words came too late to stir much in me.Luca gave a bitter laugh. "I know you don't believe me. Back then, I thought you were at home, that you were my wife, that you'd wait. Serena demanded, fought, and made the family restless if I ignored her. So I calmed her first, again and again.""And then you got used to it," I s

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