My chest felt tight.

“She wasn’t even careful,” I said.

“She didn’t think anyone would ever look,” Elena replied. “She has controlled the local bank branch for fifteen years.”

I reached for the metal letter opener on my desk.

The blade slid through the top of the courier envelope with a sharp slice.

I pulled out a stack of legal documents stamped with the seal of the Hennepin County District Court.

“It’s a temporary restraining order,” I said, scanning the first page.

“Against what?” Elena asked.

“It’s against me,” I said. “Patricia is claiming that my new software platform was developed using Voss Holdings resources during my marriage to Harrison.”

“She’s trying to freeze your intellectual property,” Elena said.

“She wants to block our launch,” I said, my voice dropping. “If she freezes my assets for even a month, my startup will starve.”

“She’s desperate,” Elena said. “She knows we are closing in on her.”

I looked out the window at the Minneapolis skyline.

Snow was starting to fall, drifting past the glowing office windows of the city center.

“What else did your contact find in the loan files, Elena?”