I lifted my phone and recorded all of it — the offshore account, the planned transfer, the forged signature, the intention to ruin me.

When the woman took Theo to the restroom and Sebastian stepped away to take a call, I moved close enough to photograph the folder.

Chapter 3 — What He Forgot

It was a spousal authorization letting Sebastian pledge my controlling shares in Ashford Aviation as collateral for a private loan.

My signature was already on it. Forged. Sebastian believed I was only the sheltered daughter of Ashford’s founder — a woman who went to charity galas and signed paperwork she didn’t understand.

He had forgotten that before I married him, I’d spent seven years as a federal financial-crimes prosecutor.

He had forgotten, too, that my shares sat inside a trust with an emergency fraud clause — that a single credible attempt to steal them would freeze every company account under his control.