Adrian answered on the fourth ring, his voice cracking. “Mr. Hartwell, this is Rachel Monroe,” the calm voice said. “Before you touch that envelope, you should know a judge signed an order at eight this morning. Your wife has exclusive possession of that house, sole custody of Callum, and every account you own is frozen.” Adrian’s knees buckled against the desk, and the phone nearly slipped from his hand.

He tore the envelope open anyway. The first page showed a $1.4 million loan against the estate, signed with Vivian’s name, a signature she had never written. Then he reached the last page, and his breath stopped. It was a photograph of him bent over this very desk, forging that signature, taken from somewhere inside his own office. Then footsteps climbed the stairs, and a deputy called his name.