He dragged both palms down his face. “It was supposed to be temporary.”

“Eight hundred fifty thousand dollars is not temporary.”

“The people I owed were pressing me. I needed collateral. The villa was going to appreciate, but the market shifted. There are environmental reviews, repairs, a zoning dispute.

It’s worth less than I thought.”

“How much less?” He kept his eyes on the floor. “About four hundred thousand.”

“So you’re short nearly half a million before interest.”