Ivan stopped as if he’d walked into glass.

He knew the face.

Everyone at his level knew the face — Andrew Ashworth, for twenty years the senior legal counsel and vice chairman of Ashworth Global, a man whose signature had moved more freight than most governments.

“I need to speak with my wife,” Ivan said.

“Privately.”

“No,” I said.

“This is a private marital matter, Meredith.”

Uncle Andrew set his coffee cup down against the saucer with a small, deliberate click.