Evelyn met his eyes. “No. I painted it because of who I became while waiting for you to see me.”

The door shut between them.

Chapter 7 — Wrong About the Value, or Wrong About the Wife

By Monday morning, more than a hundred reporters had gathered outside the Manhattan courthouse. Evelyn arrived through a side entrance in a simple navy dress, carrying no purse, Rebecca beside her with two assistants and a box of evidence.

Daniel entered through the front doors. Lauren did not come with him.

Inside, every bench was full. Judge Eleanor Brooks had presided over commercial disputes, celebrity divorces, and corporate battles involving sums larger than most countries’ annual budgets.

She was known for disliking theatrics, and for disliking attorneys who mistook confidence for evidence.