“Yes, Ferdinand.

I am your wife,” I said, and my voice carried across the silent room without effort.

“The same wife you told to stay home and wash dishes one hour ago, while you walked in here with your mistress.” A sharp collective gasp moved through the ballroom; journalists lifted their cameras.

“I am also the majority indirect shareholder of Ellington Enterprises, through three private holdings managed by the Kingswell Investment Group.”

Behind me the great screens came alive — organizational charts, equity percentages, the records of a dozen quiet bailouts.

His flagship Manhattan project depended entirely on a credit line I could revoke with one signature.