For the sake of his childhood sweetheart, my husband tossed a $300 million settlement at me and demanded an immediate divorce. Then he glared at our eight-year-old son and sneered, “Take him. The boy is yours. I refuse to claim a son who is so mentally deficient.” But on the day we finally stepped into the courtroom, my little boy needed exactly twelve seconds to bring their entire dynasty crashing to the ground.

I handed Leo a copy of Julian’s 500-page financial disclosure and pointed him toward the document camera at the center of the courtroom.

The giant screens on the walls flared to life, showing the complex spreadsheet Julian’s lawyers had submitted.

"Leo," I said gently. "How long will it take you to find the error?"

Leo looked at the screen. He didn't blink. He just stared at the wall of numbers.

"One," Leo whispered. "Two. Three."

The courtroom was dead silent. Julian’s smirk began to fade.

"Seven. Eight. Nine," Leo continued.

At exactly twelve seconds, Leo reached out and circled a string of routing numbers on page 412. Then he flipped to page 480 and circled another string.

"It's a mirror sequence," Leo's clear, childish voice rang out through the silent courtroom. "The AI division’s profits aren't losses. They are being routed to an entity called ER Holdings. ER stands for Elena Rostova. The routing numbers are sequentially generated by a basic algorithm. If you divide the false losses by the offshore deposits, it equals exactly $1.4 billion. He didn't lose the money. He hid it."

Julian’s lead attorney turned ashen. He looked down at his own files, furiously flipping pages.

"That's a lie!" Julian shouted, jumping to his feet. "He's an idiot! He doesn't know what he's talking about! ER Holdings is a legitimate vendor!"

"Is it?" I asked, stepping forward. I handed a sleek black folder to the bailiff, who handed it to the judge. "Your Honor, that is a certified bank record from the Cayman Islands. ER Holdings has one signatory. Elena Rostova. My husband has been embezzling corporate funds to his mistress for three years, intending to bankrupt the marital estate."

Elena gasped, covering her mouth.

Judge Barrett read the document, her face turning stormy. "Mr. Thorne. Did you submit fraudulent financial documents to this federal court?"