Helen sat back in her chair, her kind face hardening into firm lines.

“He figured if he could nag you into walking away, he could list that lake property by June and pay off First Horizon before anybody caught on,” she said.

“And Patricia’s paying the retainer for Vance and Vance because she thinks she’s fighting for the family’s honor,” I said.

“She has no clue her own son is completely broke,” Helen said.

I picked up the fake medical report and the petition Spencer Ashford had signed in dark blue ink, lifting both off the table.