“You’ve been under a huge amount of pressure these past few months, Vivian,” he said, sitting down beside me on the sofa.

“The bank accounts are still frozen,” I said.

“I told the regional manager to restore your debit allowance this morning,” he said, twisting the heavy silver band of his watch around his wrist.

“I know I reacted badly about the Mercer Ridge filings.”

He leaned closer, his voice dropping into the quiet, attentive tone he had used when we were first engaged in Oak Creek.

“I booked a private suite at the Pine Creek wellness retreat for this weekend,” he said.