“We can’t let them win this way,” I said.

The door opened again, and Mr. Harrison, our lead attorney, walked in with a heavy leather briefcase.

He looked grim, his tie slightly askew and his face flushed from walking quickly.

“We have a major problem,” Mr. Harrison said, setting his briefcase on the polished mahogany table.

“I just saw the article,” my father said, pointing to the tablet.

“It is worse than that,” Mr. Harrison replied, pulling out a stack of stamped legal documents.

“They are filing for an emergency hearing to freeze all of Whitaker Construction’s operating accounts.”

“On what grounds?” Ethan asked, slamming his fist on the table.

“Claiming dissipation of marital assets,” Harrison said, taking off his gold-rimmed glasses to rub his eyes.

“They are painting Daniel as a dishonest husband who kept his wealth hidden to deprive his wife and daughter.”

“He did it to protect us from their greed,” I said, my voice rising.

“The court doesn’t see it that way yet,” Harrison said, looking at me with a soft, sympathetic expression.