Ethan’s face hardened, the polite mask slipping for a fraction of a second.

“You were my wife,” he said. “You had a beautiful home, unlimited credit, and my protection.”

“And a fractured rib,” I said. “A concussion that almost killed me.”

Ethan didn’t deny it.

He didn’t even blink.

“You fell down the stairs, Claire,” he said, his voice dropping an octave. “That is what the police report says.”

“Because you paid the responding officers,” I said.

“I helped them secure their retirement villas in Cabo,” Ethan said. “They were very grateful.”

“You pushed me,” I said, my voice trembling slightly, though not entirely from fear. “You held me down on the hardwood floor until I stopped breathing.”

Ethan sighed, looking bored.

“You were hysterical,” he said. “You were threatening to take my life’s work to the federal prosecutor.”

“It wasn’t your work,” I said. “It was a massive fraud built on the backs of honest people.”

“I built Apex from nothing,” Ethan said, his voice rising, a flash of genuine anger in his eyes. “I bought the politicians, I bought the land, and I bought the safety we enjoyed.”