Part 5
Part 5 · 2 min read ·
Then he said something that made my heart stop.
“No.”
He ended the call.
But the damage had already been done.
I had heard enough.
THE WOMAN WHO NEVER NEEDED HIS MONEY
Three hours later, my attorney arrived.
Her name was Rebecca Collins.
She had represented my father for years and had helped me with Lily’s guardianship application.
Luca stood when she entered.
“Mr. Ferraro,” Rebecca greeted him politely.
“Please tell me what I need to do to help my wife.”
Rebecca looked at me first.
Then she placed a thick folder on the bedside table.
“Nora asked me to bring these documents.”
Luca glanced at the folder.
“What are they?”
“My updated medical directive, the guardianship paperwork for Lily, and the documents concerning the Ferraro marriage settlement.”
Luca frowned.
“Marriage settlement?”
Rebecca opened the folder.
“Your wife signed a prenuptial agreement before your wedding. However, there is an important provision you should review.”
She turned to the final page.
Luca read it.
His expression changed.
“What does this mean?”
Rebecca answered calmly.
“It means Mrs. Ferraro has no financial claim against your company, your family trusts, or your personal holdings. She has maintained separate assets throughout the marriage.”
He looked at me.
“I never asked you to sign this.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
“Because I wanted to marry you, not your money.”
He stared at the paperwork.
Rebecca continued.
“There’s also a clause concerning marital misconduct and public misrepresentation. If the terms are violated, Mrs. Ferraro may pursue an immediate dissolution of the marriage and any remedies available under the agreement.”
Luca’s face became pale.
“Nora, are you planning to divorce me?”
I didn’t answer.
Instead, I reached into the bedside drawer and pulled out a second envelope.
It had been prepared three weeks earlier.
“Rebecca, please give him this.”
She handed it to Luca.
He opened it.
The first page contained a petition for divorce.
His hands began shaking.
“Nora…”
“I didn’t want to do this on my birthday.”
He looked up.
“But you were going to?”
“I was going to give you one last chance to remember that I was your wife.”
His eyes filled.
“And now?”
I looked at the photograph of Lily.
“Now I have something more important to fight for.”
THE BILLIONAIRE’S BIGGEST MISTAKE
Luca left the hospital that afternoon.
Not because he wanted to abandon me.
But because he had finally realized that his mother had been manipulating him.
He went straight to Ferraro Tower.
Vivian was waiting in the executive conference room.
So was Isabella.
And so were the board members who had spent months discussing a merger that would strengthen the Ferraro empire.
“You’re late,” Vivian snapped.
Luca placed his phone on the table.
“Before we begin, I want everyone to understand something.”
He pressed a button.
A recording began playing.
It was his mother’s conversation from that morning.
Her voice filled the conference room.
“Your marriage to Nora was only a temporary arrangement.”
Then another recording.
This one was from a conversation between Vivian and Isabella.
“Once Luca announces the engagement, Nora will have no choice but to leave. We can make sure she walks away with nothing.”
The room fell silent.
Isabella’s face drained of color.
Vivian stood.
“Where did you get that?”