Patty sat three rows back in the gallery between two deacons’ wives from our church, her arms crossed tightly over her winter coat.

“This is a straightforward case of fraudulent conveyance, Your Honor,” Arthur’s attorney began, stepping up to the polished lectern.

“Gregory Whitman transferred sole ownership of his family home to his wife three weeks before his firm defaulted on a four-hundred-thousand-dollar credit line.”

Judge Thomas looked over his half-rim glasses, his heavy gray eyebrows pulling low over his eyes.

“Mr.

Whitman knew the default was coming,” the attorney said.

“He filed a deliberate divorce petition to hide their main asset from legitimate corporate creditors.”