Right after my divorce, my father told me to change all my bank PINs—and that same night, my ex-husband and his mistress blew nearly a million dollars, until a single message stopped them cold.

I was building Hayes & Rowe Interiors out of a rented room above a bakery in Brooklyn. He said he admired my ambition. Later, I understood he admired access.

Access to my clients. Access to my credit. Access to rooms where wealthy people said things they would never say in public.

By the time I fully understood that, he already knew exactly how continue reading …