“The one you said Walter would cover.”

My father’s face turned a bruised shade of red.

“This isn’t the place.”

“You said we’d lose the house,” she whispered.

I looked at Mara.

She was already making notes.

Donald had borrowed against their own residence years earlier to invest in a business that failed.

He had since refinanced, fallen behind on payments, and pledged future proceeds from the development project to satisfy private obligations.