"I still think you're crazy for giving in to him," Daniel said as he sat opposite me in the large, floor-to-ceiling glazed office. Acutely aware of the openness of the room, he twitches whenever someone walks past the door, nervously anticipating the arrival of the man we were supposed to be meeting. Raising his arm, the sleeve of his jacket inches away from his wrist, exposing his watch. He sighs. "They're late."

I smile, more to myself than to appease Daniel. "They're the FBI, Daniel. They'll be here when they'll be here."

Ever since our last meeting with Adam and his legal team, I'd given him almost everything he wanted. The New York townhouse. The artwork we jointly owned, totalling just over five million, was his, as well as twenty million in cash. He'd practically wiped out my trust fund but was it worth it to have Adam out of my life? Absolutely. 

The only thing I was holding out on was the non-disclosure agreement that he was holding to my head like a gun. For almost five months, I've been delaying making a decision on that front, taking the advice handed down to me by not only my legal team but by my family and their legal teams, of which, there are many. Phillip Gray, Dad's lawyer of many years, had directed me not to sign, on pain of death, until after the decree-absolute came through. Then the legal firm representing the Delaney parent company rode into town on their white horses and put me in contact with their American branch, setting up a meeting with the head of their East Coast division.

Three days ago, Daniel and I flew out alongside Phillip and until today, we've been holed up in a hotel, coming up with a strategy, culminating in the meeting today. While I wasn't entirely up to speed with what they were discussing and au fait with the legal speak they used, I knew that there was something being talked about that I wasn't supposed to know about. Although, I think it has something to do with the envelope that Daniel's been trying to hide from me. While I wasn't sure what the envelope contained, I could see it peeking out from the stack of paperwork that was sitting before him and the fact that Phillip kept glancing at it unnerved me. The contents must be something that they don't want getting out unless it was on their terms. 

"You know, I agree with Daniel," Phillip suddenly piped into the conversation, minutes after it had ended. Of course, having known him for many years, this was Phillip's style. He'd listen intently to whatever it is you're saying, mull it over for a while and then he'd flit in with his take on matters and as always, speak a lot of sense. "The property was in the ten million dollar region, given its location, the artwork was actually worth a lot more than its face value, possibly around the fifteen million mark, and then to give him a lump sum of twenty million would bring his share of the assets to near enough fifty million, half of what he demanded. To think, you didn't ask for anything in return. I would have demanded something of his that he wanted to part with."

I laugh humourlessly. "Such as? He didn't have anything that I wanted, apart from his signature on the divorce papers. I think I won that battle."

"You didn't," Phillip asserts. Suddenly, he rises from his chair and squares his shoulders, his eyes fixed on the men in black suits headed our way. "But you might just win the war."

Stepping out of the room, Phillip greets the men, shaking their hand expertly and then taking them aside to whisper God knows what into their ears. From the way gazes fall onto me, I'm assuming that I was the subject of their chat. Daniel joined them outside just as soon as he was given the signal to do so by Phillip. Together, the four men traded words, nodded at each other, shrugged their shoulders a couple of times, gave one firm shake of their head and then patted everyone on their backs before coming into the office. 

I'm introduced to the FBI agents, Carter and Miller. Agent Carter is short and stocky, balding, but with expressive blue eyes. He's polite with his words but his accent was broad and hard to decipher at times. If I were to bet, I'd say it was a mix of Boston and New York City, possibly by way of New Jersey. The second agent, Miller, was a little less personable. Under his brown stare, I felt frightened, and his height afforded him the luxury to tower over me. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that he could easily intimidate witnesses and accused alike. 

"Please, Miss Delaney, sit," Agent Carter smiled at me. He was definitely Good Cop in the duo. While Carter spoke, Miller set up a camera and angled it towards me, pressing a button that started the recording, a little red light flashing from the corner of my eye. "Miss Delaney, we're here today to interview you as we believe that your ex-husband is involved in fraudulent activities."

I frown. "Technically, we're not divorced yet. The decree-nisi has come through but not the decree-absolute." I shake my head at how stupid it sounds. Hearing the words back in my head, I feel like a little girl, completely out of my depth. Clearing my throat, I snap out of the victim mentality and become the strong woman that I've become in the last few months. If Hugo were here, he'd tell me to man up. I'm wearing red, for crying out loud, my power colour. Own this shit. "But I see where you're going with this. I have reason to believe that my former husband was involved in less than legal business in the hopes of keeping his family's fortune intact. While we were still living together as husband and wife, I stumbled upon some documents which show that Adam was aware of, if not the instigator, of many shady deals that his father's company brokered. I believe that Adam, as a lawyer, was giving out advice that facilitated this and is wholly complicit."

"Miss Delaney, have you signed a non-disclosure agreement?" Agent Miller asked, his voice taking me by surprise. I was half expecting him to sound like Tom Hardy from that Batman movie but instead, he was softly spoken yet precise in his choice of words. I shake my head. Unsure if I'm telling the truth, both Daniel and Phillip back me up, appeasing the federal agent somewhat. "Since divorce proceedings are underway, in the eyes of the law, you are no longer Adam's wife, therefore, spousal privilege is broken. Their legal team are probably counting on using that to scare you into not testifying in any criminal proceedings but your team are far better at playing this game than they are. We are in a very delicate position where you don't have spousal privilege censoring you but you also don't have the NDA to stop you from disclosing information. If we're all happy to proceed, Miss Delaney, we'd like to question you. Any information that you can provide us will be used to build a case against your former husband and may be used as testimony against him should the case make it to court. Are you happy for us to continue?" 

As if answering for me, Daniel produced the Top Secret envelope and slid it along the table towards Phillip. I was flanked by both men but at that moment, it was almost like I wasn't here. Agent Miller's eyes followed the movement, clearly intrigued. Phillip tore open the envelope and then began to scatter the documents out in front of me. Some I recognised as copies of what I had found in Adam's home office years ago, while there were photographs taken by long lenses of Adam shaking hands with men that I vaguely recognised, having been introduced to them a number of times at events that Adma's father hosted. Printed bank statements- annotated- were also included, as well as a copy of the NDA I was supposed to sign. Noticing some headed paper, I read the names, eyes widening as I began to process what all this was. My family had hired a private investigator to follow Adam in the months before our marriage crumbled, and whatever the PI had found necessitated a Forensic Accountant to look at some of the accounts and statements

All in all, this looked to be the smoking gun that the FBI needed in order to make a number of arrests. All I had to do was fill in some blanks, starting with providing the names of some of the men in the pictures with Adam. One or two I recalled as their names were uncommon, such as Dragan Stamenkovikj and Biljan Kavka. Other names took a little while longer to come to me but eventually, I got there: Gabriel Zima, Radoslav Ilyich, Emilian Mihai, Manas Ghoshal, Vishnu Kapil, Anil Shiravadakar, Sebastiano Tranchina and finally Pietro Scarpulla. 

The look shared by both FBI agents didn't go unnoticed. "What?" I couldn't help but question. I look at one of the photos and frown. "Maybe that one is Renzo Scarpulla. He and his brother both look alike and I could never remember which was which."

"Emma-" Agent Carter began before abruptly stopping. "May I call you Emma? Do you who these men are?"

I shake my head. 

"This one, Kavka?" Agent Miller points at the photo where Adam is laughing and joking with a tall man, dressed sharply in a dark suit, obviously designer- Ermenegildo Zegna, perhaps? "He's the head of the Marinovic syndicate here in New York and this man, Manas Ghoshal? He's bad news. He's got his greedy fingers in so many pies, I'm amazed that he hasn't already been burnt. If the contents of this envelop are proved to be genuine, we cut put these men away for a really long time. Including Adam. You are aware that your testimony is going to help put him in prison, right?"

I nodded in understanding and then spent the next five hours giving my deposition. I revealed everything I knew about each man in the photos, answering all of Agent Carter and Miller's questions, even if it meant incriminating myself when I said that I'd known about Adam's dealings for a few years. When I stalled and looked at Daniel, panic clear on my features, Phillip leaned across and whispered to me that I was really a small fish and the FBI only wanted to catch the sharks. The more I talked, the worse it was becoming for Adam, his father, and their family business. By the end of the day, Daniel was sure that they would have more than enough evidence to prosecute. However, there was one condition that Daniel was fixed on. 

"If you should seize my client's former husband's assets, we would insist on the return of assets handed over as part of the divorce," my brother-in-law asserted. Digging through his file, he pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to the agents. "In addition to the townhouse and twenty million- I still don't think you should have coughed up that much," he says to me as an aside before turning back to Carter and Miller. "He was also given serval pieces of art. That's the itemised list of art. We will be expecting that they are all returned. Ok, well thank you for your time, gents. It's been a blast. Emma, let's go. Now."

I was ushered quickly from the room and into the lift, Daniel taking me back to the hotel solo. Feeling like a fugitive, I remained silent until we were back in the suite and it was just Daniel and myself. 

"What the hell is-"

"Surprise!" I heard someone behind me yell. I spin in time to see Hugo jumping out from behind the curtains, a big grin on his face as he rushes towards me and picks me up, twirling me around. "I didn't want you to go through today by yourself. No offence intended, Daniel."

My brother-in-law scoffed. "Oh, I think it was absolutely intended. Anyway, my deed here is done. I'll leave you two to it. Don't do anything Sophie and I wouldn't do."

"Wait, there are things that you two don't do?" I ask disbelievingly. "Hugo, catch me. I might collapse from shock."

"Whatever," Daniel mutters, rolling his eyes at me. "Amusez-vous! That's French for 'have fun.' I've been practising."