“Your father and I need to finish discussing the legal terms.”

Ava turned without looking at either of us again and walked up the staircase, her steps slow and heavy on the wood.

Daniel waited until the sound of her bedroom door latch echoed down the stairwell before he leaned across the kitchen table.

“Claire, we’ve been married for three years,” he said, his smooth tone completely gone, replaced by a tight, desperate rush of words.

“We don’t need to let Rebecca Sloan turn a few mismanaged business loans into a public fraud case.”