There it was.
Shrink it down.
Make it sound petty.
Richard moved closer.
“We need to fix this,” he said. “Now.”
“How?”
He wanted my deployment money.
My military savings.
Evelyn softened her voice.
“Harper, listen,” she said. “We can resolve this cleanly. You cover the financial gap. We finalize the transfer to Chloe and everyone moves on.”
There it was.
The full plan.
Use my money to rescue the fraudulent deal.
Then give Chloe the house anyway.
“We want to stabilize the situation,” she said.
Of course.
Chloe sniffed.
“I can’t believe you’re doing this,” she said. “You’ve always been like this. Selfish.”
Richard let the accusation stand.
I reached into my pocket, tapped my phone, and stopped the recording.
The room went silent.
Evelyn sat straighter.
Chloe stared.
Vance’s jaw tightened.
“We need to talk.”
I set my keys on the table and turned toward them.
