Chapter 6
The Papers He Never Read
Dante tried to enter the waiting lounge.
The family access panel denied him.
He pressed the spouse authorization option.
Red words appeared on the screen.
SPOUSAL ACCESS ENDED
FINAL DIVORCE ORDER ON FILE
Dante stared at the message.
“What is this?”
Elena’s attorney handed him the final judgment.
His own signature appeared on the settlement agreement.
“This is impossible.”
“You signed the agreement and waiver yourself.”
“She tricked me.”
“Mrs. Moretti asked you to read it.”
Dante flipped through the pages.
He remembered Elena standing beside his desk.
It concerns both of us.
He had answered that he trusted her judgment.
His hands began to shake.
“When was she diagnosed?”
“On your anniversary.”
Dante stopped breathing.
That was the day he left her outside neurology to comfort Bianca over two stitches.
His first response was denial.
“She is confused right now.”
“She will recognize me when the episode passes.”
“That card cannot speak for her.”
He pulled up their wedding photograph and held the phone against the glass.
“Elena, look.”
She glanced at the picture, then checked her card.
“My notes say you may use old photographs to make me trust you.”
Dante’s voice ended.
Anger came next.
He demanded to know why the doctor had not called him. He accused the attorney of hiding the divorce. He accused Rowan Kincaid of taking Elena away while she was vulnerable.
The attorney opened a video file.
Elena appeared on the screen. Her voice was clear.
“Dante may blame everyone around me. I tried to tell him more than once. Each time, Bianca mattered more.”
His anger had nowhere to go.
He watched every record Elena had made.
On the day of her diagnosis, he went to the hotel.
When she needed Level One protection, he gave it to Bianca.
After he learned Elena had loved him for seven years, he still granted Bianca permanent protection.
When Elena held her medical records in her hand, he left the secure room.
When she gave him one final hour, he went to witness Bianca’s family papers.
Dante had missed every stage of her decline.
Fate had not taken him away from her.
He had chosen to leave.
Bianca arrived at the airfield.
“Dante, the family documents are complete.”
He turned on her.
“Get out.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“You cannot put all of this on me.”
“If you had not come back.”
“Did I force you to leave your anniversary dinner?”
“Did I force you to give me her security status?”
“Did I force you to walk out after she told you there would be no future?”
Bianca held his gaze.
“I used your guilt. I admit that.”
“You still made every choice.”
Dante had nothing left to say.
Behind the glass, Rowan helped Elena review her travel plan.
She did not look at Dante.
For the first time in his life, he understood that he did not have the right to call her back.