“I informed Valerie of my plan first.”

Martha’s jaw tightened with anger.

“And what did Valerie do?”

“She begged me not to do it,” Christopher replied sadly.

“Because she was deeply in debt.”

Valerie had secretly accumulated massive personal debts without Christopher’s knowledge.

She had taken out unauthorized loans against their primary home and guaranteed funding for a failed luxury boutique business.

She owed nearly seven hundred thousand dollars to various private lenders and credit cards.