The lake house feels different that night.
Not physically—same windows, same furniture, same armed guards patrolling the perimeter. But the weight has shifted. I'm not a prisoner anymore. I'm a guest. A very wealthy guest who can leave whenever she wants.
The thought should be liberating.
Instead, it's terrifying.
Catherine's team works through the evening setting up accounts, arranging transfers, connecting me with the court-appointed financial advisor—a woman named Sarah Reeves who has three decades of experience and a no-nonsense attitude I immediately appreciate.
"First things first," Sarah says over video call, her reading glasses perched on her nose. "You need your own legal team. Not Mr. Valerio's, not the Chen family's. Yours. I have recommendations."
"Okay."
"Second, you ne
