The divorce was final in October, almost exactly a year after the gala.
Under the forfeiture clause of the Voss Marital Trust, which Judge Strasser upheld in a fourteen-page opinion, Martin’s beneficial interest in the trust’s marital assets passed to me. That included the Lake Forest house, the investment accounts, and control of the fifty-four percent stake in Voss Meridian, held in trust.
I didn’t keep the house. I sold it in the spring for $3.2 million to a young couple with three children and a golden retriever. I didn’t want to live in that marble foyer anymore.
I didn’t keep the lake house in Wisconsin either, the one Martin wanted to give to Clara. Instead, I donated it to a nonprofit in Milwaukee that runs summer camps for kids in foster care. Now forty children a summer swim off that dock, catch fish they’re too scared to touch, and roast marshmallows over a fire pit Heinrich built with his own hands.
Martin repaid every dollar of the $1,104,600 he owed the company, plus interest, in eighty-four days. To do it, he sold his car collection, his boat, and most of his watches.
After the independent review cleared him of any knowledge of Adrian’s scheme, the board offered him a role back at the company. He didn’t want to be CEO anymore. He became head of fleet operations, the part of the business his father started with one truck in 1974.
“I always liked the trucks better than the boardroom,” he told me, a little embarrassed. “Dad used to take me to the yard on Saturdays when I was a kid. I’d sit in the cab and pretend to drive.”
The board hired an interim CEO, and a year later made her permanent. Her name was Patricia Okafor, a former operations executive from UPS who knew more about logistics than anyone I’ve ever met. Under her, Voss Meridian closed the $340 million credit line on better terms than Adrian had negotiated, without anybody’s life insurance as a condition.
As for me, the board asked me to stay on as chair.
I said yes, on one condition: that I could reopen my law practice at the same time.
Evelyn Marsh Law opened on a Monday morning in a small office on LaSalle Street, two rooms and a receptionist. I focus on two things: drafting trusts and prenuptial agreements for people who want to protect themselves, and representing spouses, usually women, who’ve been financially controlled by the people they married.
Margaret Kowalczyk sends me referrals every week.
“I told you to keep that license active,” she said at my opening, raising a glass of champagne.
“You did,” I said. “Best advice anybody ever gave me.”
Specialty: Emotional Turning Points
Rachel Monroe writes character-driven stories about betrayal, second chances, and unexpected resilience. Her work highlights the emotional side of family conflict — the silences, the misunderstandings, and the moments when someone quietly decides they’ve had enough.