Vows Beneath The Moon Clown Chapter 03
That night, when I returned to my cheap apartment, a strange woman stood outside my door.
She wore a business suit and carried a document bag. The way she looked at me was like looking at trash.
“Ava?”
I took out my keys.
“Move.”
She blocked the door.
“I’m Natalie Rossi, assistant to the De Luca lawyer. She sent me to talk to you.”
I looked at her coldly.
Rossi pulled out an agreement.
“Sign this, and today’s matter ends here. Mr. Blackwood will give you one million dollars and an apartment.”
I took it and scanned it.
The terms were clear.
I was to admit that, due to long-term mental instability, I had become obsessively entangled with Adrian.
I was to promise not to harass him as his wife, nor reveal his relationship with Veronica to friends, family, employers, or the media.
The penalty for breach was fifty million dollars.
A divorce agreement was attached at the end.
I would leave with nothing.
I laughed.
“You even wrote my illness for me?”
Rossi folded her arms.
“Miss Moretti, the De Luca lawyer is giving you a way out. That’s your good luck. If this goes to court, you’ll lose even worse.”
I turned into the apartment and took another document from the drawer.
“Perfect. I have an agreement too.”
She frowned and took it.
When she saw the title, her expression shifted.
Divorce Agreement.
I asked for no property. I wrote only three conditions.
First, Adrian must publicly admit to infidelity during the marriage and apologize.
Second, he must return my mother’s silver saint medal.
Third, he must cooperate while I pursue Veronica for violation of spousal rights and defamation.
Rossi looked as if she had heard a joke.
“On what grounds?”
I opened my phone and played the recording.
First came the noise of Luna Park.
Then Veronica’s lowered voice.
“He was afraid of your touch, but he begged me to hold him. Ava, were these five years worth it?”
Rossi’s smile froze.
I opened the surveillance footage next.
The recording came from the camera built into the moon-clown mascot suit. Luna Park keeps work footage on every interactive costume to prevent disputes.
In the footage, Adrian kissed Veronica, the child called her Mommy, Veronica provoked me on purpose, and I was pinned to the ground and forced to apologize.
The silver medal around the child’s neck and the ring on Veronica’s hand were both visible.
The image wasn’t crystal clear.
But it was clear enough to identify everyone.
Rossi’s face paled.
“You secretly recorded this?”
“Luna Park equipment. Work records.”
I looked at her.
“The De Luca lawyer understands the law. She should know this isn’t illegal filming.”
She gritted her teeth.
“Are you trying to extort us?”
“I don’t want money.”
I pushed the divorce agreement toward her.
“By five tomorrow afternoon, he signs and returns what belongs to me. Otherwise, the footage and recordings go to Veronica’s family law firm, the Mafia Commission reviewers, and every relative in the Blackwood family.”
Rossi stared at me.
“Ava, you’re too naive. The De Luca lawyer is best at turning black into white.”
“Then let’s try.”
She left with the agreement.
After the door closed, I leaned against the wall and realized my back was soaked in cold sweat.
The apartment was tiny.
The living room could barely fit an old sofa.
For five years after our city hall marriage, Adrian never let me move into his house.
He said unfamiliar surroundings triggered anxiety.
I believed him.
Half my monthly wages went to my father’s treatment, and the other half went to Adrian’s so-called therapy.
But he clearly had another home, another bed, another family.
At nine that night, an unknown number called.
Adrian’s voice was tight with anger.
“Ava, you showed the footage to Rossi?”
“So she told you.”
“What do you want?”
“Divorce. Apology. Return my things.”
He was silent for a moment, then softened his voice.
“Ava, let’s meet. I’ll explain.”
I knew it was a trap.
But I still went.
I wanted to see with my own eyes how far he could take his lies.
The cafe was downstairs from Veronica’s family law firm.
Adrian sat by the window in a white shirt, eyes red.
If I had not seen him kiss Veronica in broad daylight, I might have felt sorry for him.
When he saw me, he choked out, “Ava, I’m sorry.”
I did not sit.
“Get to the point.”
He twisted his fingers together.
“At first, I really was afraid of intimacy. Later, Veronica helped with my therapy and I slowly got better. I didn’t mean to hide it from you.”
“And once you were better, the first thing you did was have a child with her?”
His face went white.
“The child was an accident.”
“Were the ring and silver medal accidents too?”
He could not answer.
A woman’s voice came from behind me.
“Miss Moretti, speaking so harshly to my person isn’t very graceful.”
Veronica walked out.
Two bodyguards followed behind her.
Adrian immediately stood beside her.
The movement was natural, without the slightest fear.
I looked at him.
“So this was never an explanation. This was a Mafia setup.”
Veronica sat down and pushed a stack of papers toward me.
My father’s medical records.
My brother’s school.
My home address.
My manager’s phone number.
Every page was there.
My fingertips went cold.
Veronica smiled gently.
“You can expose me. But what do you think happens first? You destroy me, or I make sure your family can’t survive?”
Adrian said quietly, “Ava, sign it. You can’t beat Veronica.”
I looked at him.
“You gave these files to her?”
He avoided my eyes.
That was answer enough.
The man who had shared my pillow for five years had handed every soft spot I had to someone else.
Veronica patted my shoulder.
“Delete the footage and sign the agreement. One million dollars will arrive tomorrow. I’ll arrange your father’s specialist too.”
I pushed her hand away.
“And if I don’t sign?”
Her face cooled.
“Your brother’s scholarship will be reported for misconduct tomorrow. Your father’s chemotherapy bed may suddenly need to be rescheduled. As for your job, one lawyer’s letter will be enough.”
A flicker of pity crossed Adrian’s eyes, but he did not stop her.
I asked softly, “Adrian, is this what you call trauma?”
His eyes reddened.
“Ava, don’t force me.”
I laughed.
So he was capable of cruelty.
He simply saved all of it for me.
At that moment, Veronica’s phone rang.
She answered, and her expression changed sharply.
A rushed female voice came through.
“Ms. De Luca, the Mafia Commission received anonymous materials. They’re asking whether you and Mr. Blackwood are involved in marital misconduct and false testimony…”
Veronica looked at me.
I raised my phone.
“I forgot to tell you. I set everything to send on a timer.”
Adrian went pale.
Veronica grabbed my collar, her voice vicious.
“Ava, do you have a death wish?”
I looked at her and said each word clearly.
“Now it’s your turn to be afraid.”