Chapter 5 5

The penthouse was silent when Dominic returned. It was 1:00 AM.

He didn't go to the bedroom. He went to the study. He pulled a suitcase from the closet-the small leather carry-on he used for short business trips.

He didn't pack clothes. He packed documents.

He rushed to his computer, fingers flying across the keyboard. He needed to transfer his personal savings, the meager amount he had kept in a separate account. He logged in.

ACCESS DENIED.

Dominic stared at the screen. He tried again. "Account Frozen due to Suspicious Activity."

He slammed his fist on the desk. She was faster. She had always been faster. Even before he had thrown the punch, she must have had a contingency in place. He checked the joint accounts. Same message. He was locked out of his own life.

He moved to the wall safe behind the painting. His fingers punched in the code. Beep. Beep. Beep. Click.

He took out his passport. His birth certificate. And a thick manila envelope.

He opened the envelope and slid the contents onto the mahogany desk. The prenuptial agreement. And a draft of divorce papers he had had drawn up three years ago, during the first time he suspected, but never had the courage to sign.

Ding.

The elevator doors opened down the hall.

He heard the click of heels on the marble floor. Fast. Angry.

Evelin stormed into the study. She still smelled of the club-smoke, sweat, and Hank's cloying cologne. Her hair was a mess. Her dress was stained.

She saw the suitcase. She saw the open safe.

"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded, her voice shrill.

Dominic didn't look up. He picked up a pen. He signed the last page of the divorce draft.

He slid the papers across the desk toward her. "Sign it. Uncontested. I just want out. You keep the assets. I take my freedom."

Evelin looked at the papers. She laughed, a harsh, incredulous sound. She picked them up, reading the title. Dissolution of Marriage.

She looked at Dominic with pity. Genuine, terrifying pity. "You think you can leave me? Dominic, look at you. You are nothing without the Carney name. You're a stray I picked up."

Dominic continued packing the papers into his bag. "I'd rather be a stray than a cuckold."

The word stung her ego. Her face hardened into a mask of cruelty.

Evelin ripped the papers in half. Riiiip.

She threw the pieces at his face. They fluttered down like confetti.

"I decide when this marriage ends, Dominic. Not you."

She stepped closer, invading his personal space. She poked a finger into his chest, hard. "Who is going to handle the SEC audit next month? Who is going to fix the holes in the quarterly report that Hank made? You think you can just walk away and leave me to clean up your mess?"

"Hank's mess," Dominic corrected coldly. "Let your lover fix the books."

"Hank is an idiot with numbers!" Evelin screamed, revealing her true dependency. "You are the calculator. You are the fixer. That is your purpose!"

She poked him again. "You will apologize to Hank. You will issue a public statement tomorrow saying you were drunk and emotionally unstable."

Dominic grabbed her finger. He stopped the poking. "No."

Evelin tried to pull away, shocked by his resistance. He held firm.

"I said no."

She used her free hand. SLAP.

She struck him again, on the same cheek. Harder this time. The sound echoed in the study like a gunshot.

"Know your place, pet," she spat.

Dominic released her finger slowly.

He touched his cheek. It was throbbing now. Two assaults in one night.

He looked at her. Really looked at her. And for the first time in ten years, the filter of love dissolved completely. He didn't see his wife. He saw a monster in a stained dress.

His eyes turned cold. The warmth she was used to manipulating was gone.

He took a deep breath. The dynamic was about to shift.