“Of course I did,” she said, leaning across the small table until I could hear the faint rustle of her silk sleeves.

“Cole is spineless.

He was never going to tell you about us, and he was certainly never going to give you a clean, quick break.”

“He told me it was a mistake by someone on the office staff,” I said.

Sierra let out a sharp, breathy laugh that didn’t reach her dark eyes.

“Not everything is about you, Lauren.

That photo was meant to wake you up so you’d clear out of the penthouse with your kids without making a legal scene.”

She unlocked her phone, tapped the screen twice with a long acrylic nail, and slid it across the marble toward my teacup.