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I don't give her the satisfaction of shifting in my chair.

"The board has received information," she says, "regarding the circumstances under which your marriage to Aria Taylor was initiated."

Taylor.

Not Kauffman.

She's making her point before she gets to the evidence.

Christian folds his hands on the table. "What information."

Preston glances at him, then returns to me.

"We have evidence that Ms. Taylor was terminated from her position at Kauffman Enterprises days before the engagement was announced. That the termination was subsequently reversed. That a private agreement existed between you and Ms. Taylor outlining terms of marriage, including financial consideration."

The room goes still enough that I can hear the air system humming over my own pulse.

Not suspicion. Not theory.

They know.

Preston turns one page.

"We also have information that public displays of affection between you and Ms. Taylor were, at least in the beginning, strategic in nature and intended to establish the relationship's credibility for press purposes."

The kiss on the Hawkeyes steps. The firing. The contract. The payout.

Not guesses. Specifics. The kind that come from someone who had access.

Christian speaks before I can. "May I ask the source of this information?"

"You may ask," Preston says. "We are not obligated to disclose it."

"Under the trust provisions—"

"The trust provisions require the board to protect the integrity of the estate." She folds her hands over the folder. "That is what we are doing."

Focus.

I should be running source analysis. Proof chain. Admissibility. Challenge points. I should be thinking like the man who runs a billion-dollar company and has sat through worse than this.

Instead I'm thinking about Aria in the studio. Bare feet on the hardwood floors I chose for her. The heart emoji she sent last night that I stared at until the screen went dark.

Focus, damn it.

"Based on the evidence before us," Preston continues, "the board is prepared to invoke the fraud provisions of the Kauffman Family Trust."

Christian shifts beside me. Not much. Enough.

"All eight beneficiaries," Preston says, "will be subject to disinheritance review, effective immediately."

All eight.

Not just me.

Levi. Colston. Zayne. Wes. Archer. Christian. Everly. Seven people who didn't sign anything. Seven people who had nothing to do with how this started and might lose everything because of it, only for the trustee to funnel the funds into passion projects and charity events, padding the pockets of their friends since they can’t take the funds themselves.

"That's an overreach," Christian argues.