Kneel, Darling, Your Trophy Wife Is Gone Chapter 12
Ethan POV
Ethan shut his eyes hard.
When he opened them again, every trace of emotion had been forced back under control.
He pulled the finalized divorce decree and the divorce agreement from the drawer, read through them
carefully one more time, then headed straight for City Hall.
After hearing his request, the director immediately forced out an awkward smile.
“Don Moretti… you want to investigate which law office processed your divorce paperwork?” He laughed
nervously. “That’s… a little outside protocol.”
At Ethan’s glance, the assistant calmly slid a legal authorization letter across the desk.
“We’re not trying to make things difficult,” he said politely. “But Don Moretti was unaware of this divorce filing
entirely. If procedures were completed against the client’s intent, that’s a serious legal issue. We absolutely
have grounds to challenge it.”
The director’s expression stiffened immediately.
After a long pause, he finally gave in and retrieved the archived documents.
“Don Moretti, we followed regulations on our end. As long as both parties signed willingly and the paperwork
met legal requirements, we had no reason to reject it.”
He pushed the file over carefully.
“These are the original records. You can review them yourself.”
Ethan gave a brief nod of acknowledgment before flipping directly to the final page.
The moment he saw the signature-
Damien Santoro.
His dark eyes narrowed coldly.
Without another word, Ethan stood and walked out with his assistant.
So it was Damien.
Damien helped Nora divorce him.
No wonder she managed to slip past all his surveillance. And no wonder she disappeared so quickly.
Now that Ethan had a lead, everything else unraveled fast.
More than twenty days ago, Nora used the excuse of surgical authorization forms to trick him into signing
the divorce papers. Then she used her wedding ring as payment to get Damien to handle the rest.
She knew no attorney in New York would ever dare touch a divorce case against Ethan Moretti.
So she gambled on Damien instead.
As for the divorce papers Hazel later showed him-they were fake from the very beginning.
But ironically, Hazel’s stupidity ended up covering Damien’s tracks perfectly.
Even fate itself was helping Nora escape him.
Ethan stared silently at Nora’s signature on the divorce papers, pain slowly flooding his eyes.
Then without warning, he tore the documents apart and threw them into the trash.
“Find Damien,” he ordered flatly. “Nora’s definitely with him.”
She wanted to run?
Too bad.
No matter where she went, Nora belonged to him.
And she always would.
When Ethan returned to the estate, the silence hit him immediately.
The mansion used to feel warm.
Alive.
Now it felt hollow.
The staff still moved through the halls as usual, yet the entire place carried an unbearable emptiness.
Arthur noticed Ethan standing motionless near the window and cautiously stepped forward.
“Don Moretti… is something wrong?”
Ethan’s eyes drifted toward the ruined garden outside.
His voice came out rougher than expected.
“The day Nora burned the garden… what exactly did she say?”
Arthur paused briefly before carefully repeating Nora’s words.
“I asked Donna why she wanted the roses removed. She said there was no reason.” He hesitated. “She just…
didn’t like them anymore.”
Ethan’s hand clenched violently at his side.
Pain tore through his chest so sharply it almost felt like being carved apart alive.
Didn’t like them anymore.
Was Nora talking about the roses or him?
But Ethan only allowed Hazel into the estate because he was angry Nora kept demanding a divorce.
He thought pushing her harder would make her give in eventually. Make her stay obediently by his side.
What he never realized was that Nora had already decided to leave him for good.
“Don Moretti?”
Arthur’s cautious voice pulled him back to reality.
Ethan stared at the burned remains of the garden for several long seconds before finally speaking.
“Have the garden rebuilt.”
His voice was low.
“And replant the roses.”
Because Nora loved roses more than anything.
And once he found her-once he apologized properly, treated her right, and gave her everything she deserved
-then when she saw the roses again…she would forgive him.
