We returned to the same courtroom before the same judge. Because Colin had concealed assets, the settlement was reopened. The entire hidden $1.85 million was awarded back to me, and I regained control of the portion of Brennan Freight he’d expected to take. The criminal investigation followed, and Colin eventually pleaded guilty to fraud. His sentence was measured in years, not months.”

On the final day, I encountered him in the same marble corridor where he’d once told me not to cry too hard. He looked thinner, wearing a cheaper suit, with none of the confidence he’d carried on divorce day. “You planned this,” he accused. I looked at him and felt something unexpected—not anger, revenge, or satisfaction. Just quiet. “I changed ten numbers,” I told him. “You did the rest.” A few weeks later, Isabelle sent me an apology. I answered simply that I was doing well and hoped she was too. Then I turned my attention toward rebuilding what Colin had nearly destroyed.