“He was desperate,” Colleen cried.

“The gambling debt was forty-one thousand dollars, and those men from Columbus were threatening to slap a mechanic’s lien on his whole remodeling business.”

“Is that why he pushed me so hard to take the Munich structural engineering contract?” I asked.

“Yes,” Colleen sobbed, the truth finally tumbling out between her heavy breaths.

“He needed you out of the country for five weeks so the bank would mail the equity paperwork here without you ever seeing the first disclosure notices.”

I touched the edge of the laminate counter with my index finger and kept my hand perfectly steady.