Chapter 4

Elara POV:

For a moment, sitting on the cold bathroom floor, a wild, hysterical urge surged through me. I imagined storming back into Dante's office, throwing the positive pregnancy test on his desk, and watching the cool, controlled mask of the Don crack. I wanted him to feel a fraction of the shock that was tearing me apart.

But the impulse died as quickly as it came.

I knew exactly what would happen. He wouldn't see a baby. He would see a Sovrano heir. He would see a chain to bind me to him forever. My escape would be over. The gilded cage would become a fortress, and I would be its permanent prisoner. My child would be raised in a world of violence and fear, taught that loyalty is a weapon and love is a transaction.

No. I would not let that happen.

My panic subsided, replaced by the same icy resolve that had carried me through the last twenty-four hours. My mission was clearer than ever.

My first call was to Mark, my lawyer.

"Don't file the papers yet," I said, my voice low and urgent. "Hold them. Don't notify his counsel until you hear from me. I need more time."

"Elara, what's going on? Are you having second thoughts?"

"No," I said firmly. "I'm more certain than ever. Just... trust me, Mark. I need a head start."

My next call was to Julian.

"I'm leaving in the morning, Julian. For the residency."

"So soon?" he asked, surprise in his voice.

"I need a clean break," I said, the understatement of the century.

"I understand," he said, his voice warm with a kindness I desperately needed. "Be safe, Elara. And create something beautiful."

I packed my small suitcase with a new sense of purpose. Tucked inside, alongside my sketchbooks, were the signed divorce papers and the positive pregnancy test. They were my declaration of independence and my reason for fighting.

The next morning, before the sun had even begun to touch the Chicago skyline, I walked through the penthouse one last time. It looked like a mausoleum, cold and lifeless. On the polished mahogany of Dante's bedside table, I left my wedding ring. It was a heavy, ostentatious diamond that had always felt more like a handcuff than a symbol of love.

Next to it, I placed a small, simple photo album. The one I had made for our first anniversary, which he had never bothered to open. It was filled with pictures from the past four years. Me at gallery openings, alone. Me on holidays, alone. Me at family dinners, sitting at the opposite end of a long table from him, alone. It was a quiet, undeniable chronicle of his absence.

I didn't leave a note. The empty space beside him was message enough.

I walked out the door and didn't look back.

The airport was a blur of anonymous faces. I checked my bag, went through security, and found my gate, all on autopilot. As I sat waiting to board, I saw it on the news screen above the gate. A live shot from a private airfield. Dante and Isabella, climbing the steps to a sleek private jet, looking every bit the untouchable power couple. They were probably flying to the coast to oversee their new shipping routes. Conquering new territory.

My commercial flight was called. I boarded, found my window seat, and buckled myself in. As my plane taxied down the runway, it passed the private airfield. I could see their jet, a silver shark poised to take flight. Our paths were literally diverging, right here on the tarmac.

He was ascending into a world of greater power and influence. I was flying away to a quiet, unknown future.

The plane lifted off the ground, climbing higher and higher into the clouds. I watched the sprawling city of Chicago shrink below me until it was just a pattern of lights against the dark earth. Dante's kingdom, his tower, his entire world, disappeared from view.

A sense of peace, profound and absolute, settled over me for the first time in years. It wasn't just relief. It was liberation.

I placed a hand over my still-flat stomach. A silent promise.

We were free.