“They want me to sign everything over — power of attorney, the accounts, the companies. So they can sell it all and empty it out. When the party’s over —” He stopped, swallowed.

“They’re going to make it look like I did it to myself. An overdose.”

I gave him water, a little at a time so he wouldn’t choke on it, and I held his shoulder and I made my voice steady even though nothing else in me was.

He’d only managed to reach me at all, he said, because Delia had left her phone on a counter while she carried a tray upstairs. He’d had thirty seconds. He’d used them on me.

Then I heard the sharp click of heels on the basement stairs, and I moved.

Chapter 4 — This Is Your Final Chance

I stepped behind a tall storage shelf and turned on my phone’s audio recorder just as Delia came down.