That, in the end, was how I knew I would be all right.

Chapter 15 — Binders, Not Gavels

The hearing, three weeks later, was nothing like the version people imagine.

No shouting.

No gavel coming down like thunder.

Just a quiet room, and binders, and dates, and bank statements, and text logs, and sworn affidavits stacked in patient towers.

And that was so much worse for Ivan than any outburst could have been.

You can argue with a hysterical woman; every man in that family had built a career on it.