“He’ll drag this through every court in the county, Mara,” Claire said.

“He’s got thirty-four years of hardware store equity behind him.”

I turned my wedding ring around my thumb one more time and looked down at the handwritten timeline on the table.

“We’re not asking your permission anymore, Gene,” I said quietly to the empty room.

“We’re bringing the law.”

Claire gave one slow, deliberate nod and pushed a fresh stack of index dividers across the table.

At twenty past eight, Howard and I walked in through the automatic sliding doors of Miller Hardware.