Claire heard him through the door. “Is that what you call it now?”

Lauren looked toward the entrance. “What does she mean?”

“Go away, Claire,” Ethan raised his voice.

“I did that once,” Claire replied. “It cost my family everything.”

The silence inside the house turned heavy. Even Martin stopped and looked at the screen.

Claire’s family had owned a development company in Illinois. They restored old commercial buildings, converted abandoned factories into apartments, and invested in neighborhoods larger companies ignored.