Page 183 of The Marriage Clause

He stops pacing.

I lean back against the wall. Press my palms flat to the cool surface behind me.

"This isn't a fishing expedition, Christian. Someone told them."

His jaw tightens.

"I know."

I can see him running the list in his head. Who knew enough. Who had access. Who could put the pieces together. The list is short. Too short. And none of the names on it help right now.

"If we fight this," I say, "Aria gets dragged into it."

Christian looks at me.

"She goes on a witness stand. She explains the contract. The money. The terms. She explains why she signed it. They drag her father into it. Brookhaven. They make her tell the worst parts of her life to a room full of people who'll use every word to bury her."

Christian closes his eyes for one second.

One.

When he opens them, the lawyer is still there. But so is my brother.

"Everett—"

"Whatever they offer, I'm taking it."

He goes still.

"You don't know that yet."

"I know enough."

The boardroom door opens behind us. Genevieve stands there with one hand on the handle, chin tilted toward the room.

Come back in.

We do.

Preston is standing when we return. The others are seated, but something in the room has shifted. Less trial. More negotiation.

Somehow that's worse.

"We've discussed the matter," she says. "The board is prepared to offer a resolution."

Resolution. The kind of word people use when they want surrender to sound like a handshake.

"If Mr. Kauffman voluntarily relinquishes his claim to his share of the trust," Preston says, "without litigation and without public dispute, the remaining beneficiaries will retain their inheritances, positions, and rights under the trust."

Christian's hand flexes once beside me.

I don't move.

"This offer is extended once," Preston continues. "If declined, the board will proceed with review and formal fraud inquiry."

She pauses.

"There is an additional condition."