Chapter 14 - VANESSA MOVES OUT
Vanessa moved to our Manhattan apartment during separation.
Her choice.
Also mine.
We needed distance.
The twins had no unsupervised contact.
Not because she had no legal standing at all—she was my spouse and had formed a stepparent relationship—but because child professionals recommended structured reintroduction only after stability and accountability.
She did not fight.
That mattered.
Then marriage.
I did not file for divorce immediately.
Some relatives called that weakness.
They wanted clear punishment.
Old Mafia families prefer exile because ambiguity feels like lost authority.
Marriage is not a disciplinary system.
It is a relationship.
I needed to decide whether trust could exist again.
May you like
Not whether Vanessa deserved a sentence from me.
We stayed separated for thirteen months.
