Henderson looked at me, his eyes tired behind his thin, wire-rimmed glasses.

“If the judge throws the records out, we go into the final divorce hearing blind,” Henderson said. “Claire will walk away with half of Whitaker Construction.”

“And Martin’s embezzlement will be buried forever,” my father added.

“We won’t let that happen,” Ethan said.

He opened his laptop and turned the screen toward Henderson.

“I brought the original corporate charter from twelve years ago,” Ethan said.

“Section four clearly states that the CEO retains absolute, unrevocable access to all financial sub-ledgers.”

“Even if you are not active in management, you are still the legal custodian of the records.”

“This is exactly what we need,” Henderson said, a small smile appearing on his face.

“We will tie this charter directly to the bank authorizations.”

We stayed in that office until the clock on the wall read two in the morning.

I watched my father review page after page, his face illuminated by the bright light of the desk lamp.

He looked older than his forty-five years, the dark circles under his eyes deeper than usual.