I looked from Elias’s pale, wet face to the plastic-wrapped folder in his hand.

“My father has been gone for ten years, Elias,” I said, my voice steady despite the chill.

“His memory doesn’t change what you decided to do with those accounts.”

“It destroys his name, Ava,” Elias said, his grip tightening on the wet plastic.

“It ruins the foundation of everything he built for you.”

“No,” I said, looking him in the eyes. “You ruined it when you used his old trusts to hide your transactions.”

I let go of the doorknob and stepped back into the dry warmth of the foyer.

“I am not signing your reconciliation papers, and I am not coming back to save your reputation.”

Elias’s eyes narrowed, the desperate smile completely fading from his face.

“You will have nothing left when the press gets hold of this,” he whispered.

“I have my own firm,” I said. “And I have my own name.”

I pulled the heavy oak door shut, cutting off the sound of the rain and the sight of his defeated posture.