“Well, Mark was very clear about the timeline,” Vanessa said, resting her chin in her hand.

“And honestly, ten thousand dollars in cash is more than enough to cover two months’ rent in a very respectable building.”

Mark came into the kitchen behind me with a black vinyl folder under his arm.

He set it on the counter right next to Vanessa’s tea mug.

“The quitclaim paper is inside,” Mark said, opening the folder to show three printed pages.

“I had my colleague draw it up yesterday afternoon.”