He had borrowed heavily, moved money among accounts, and made optimistic promises to clients that brought payments in before work was completed.

An independent accountant identified discrepancies that required further review; not every questionable transaction was automatically a crime.

But the picture of our finances was nothing like the one Curtis had shown me.

He wasn’t protecting us from an impossible hospital bill.

He was protecting himself from the embarrassment of admitting his business was failing.

I kept asking one question.

“Did he know about Sadie’s condition?”

The attorney returned me to the clinic record.