Send an affidavit to Detective Miller saying the Mercer Ridge shell transfers were authorized marital tax shelters.”

I held the phone in my hand, staring at the black text on the lit glass.

“Is that Julian?” Marcus asked from the doorway, holding the door open with his arm.

I didn’t answer him out loud.

I pressed my left thumb into my palm once and felt no sharp edge of pain or panic, only cold clarity.

I tapped the screen, opened the caller options, and blocked the number permanently.

I laid the phone face down on the blotter, picked up my brass key, and locked the bottom drawer of my file cabinet.