“You have your money, Elias,” I said. “You’ll still be a very rich man.”

“You think that’s what matters to me?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said. “It is the only thing that ever did.”

He set the paperweight down with a sharp click.

“I loved you, Ava,” he said.

The words sounded hollow in the quiet room.

“You loved the status of having a wife who didn’t ask questions,” I said.

I picked up my leather purse from the chair.

“I have to go,” I said. “My associates are waiting for me at the Boston office.”

“Your firm,” he said, his voice laced with a bitter edge. “The one you started with my money.”

“I started it with my inheritance,” I said. “Every penny was clean.”

He looked at me, his eyes dark.

“You think you’re safe,” he said. “But when the SEC starts digging into King Holdings, they will look at your accounts too.”

“Let them look,” I said. “I kept my records separate from yours for the last three years.”

He stared at me, a sudden realization washing over his face.