I’d discovered that his “failing” firm wasn’t failing because of bad luck—it was failing because of massive internal leakage. I plugged the holes, designed the controls, and built the legal framework that let Apex grow into a multi-billion-dollar titan.

Ethan put his name on the glass-and-steel skyscrapers. Mine stayed buried inside the operating agreements and the complex trust structures I had designed to protect our assets.

The shift was subtle at first.

“Why are you working so late on the Blackwood Project?” he asked one night, his voice stripped of its usual charm. “I’m the CEO. I should be reviewing the final audits.”

“I’m the one who found the two-million-dollar discrepancy in the masonry subcontract, Ethan,” I replied, not looking up from my screen. “If I don’t finish this, the board will have questions you can’t answer.”

That was the first time he slammed a door.