He stood up and walked over to the sofa.

He gently pulled the blanket up over Emma’s shoulder.

“I am leaving the company,” he said.

“I spoke to the board members an hour ago.”

“They will want an interim successor,” I said.

“I told them to appoint you, Elena,” he said.

“To oversee the transition to a trust.”

“I am stepping down as active Chief Executive Officer immediately.”

I looked at him, surprised.

“That company is your life’s work, Benjamin,” I said.

“No,” he said, looking at the three girls in the room.

“This is my life’s work.”

“The rest of it was just noise.”

The next six months were a blur of depositions and court dates.

The trial took place in a federal courtroom in Denver.

The room smelled of old wood and floor wax.

Vanessa sat at the defense table, her hair pulled back tightly.

She no longer wore the white fur coat.

She wore a plain orange jumpsuit.

Julian Vance sat next to her, his head bowed.

The prosecution presented the files Claire had saved.

They showed years of systematic embezzlement from the children’s trusts.