“She was your wife, Harrison, but she was never one of us,” Patricia hissed, her polite facade dropping completely.

The board members were whispering frantically now, leaning in close to one another.

Richard Sterling looked up from the papers, his face gray and drawn.

“Patricia,” Sterling said, his voice cracking. “These bank routing numbers match our primary operating accounts.”

“If the federal regulators see this, they will freeze all of our assets by noon,” another board member said.

“They will shut us down by Friday,” a woman at the end of the table added, her voice rising in panic.

“I have already sent these documents to the federal prosecutor’s office,” Elena said calmly.

“You did what?” Patricia snapped, her composure finally cracking.

She stood up, her chair scraping loudly against the hardwood floor.

“This is extortion,” Patricia said, pointing a finger at me.

“You are trying to ruin this family because Harrison left you,” she screamed.

“Harrison didn’t leave me, Patricia,” I said. “I threw him out.”

I looked at Harrison, who was staring at the table, his head in his hands, completely broken.