“He will when he signs it,” she said, her voice rising slightly. “It is to protect the family. The market has been… volatile.”

Volatile.

That was the word wealthy people used when they were losing money they could not afford to lose.

I leaned forward slightly, looking at the document.

“Is there a problem with the trust, Gloria?” I asked.

She stiffened.

Her eyes snapped back to mine, sharp and defensive.

“Of course not,” she said. “The Ralston trust is untouchable. But we must make adjustments to ensure the liquid assets are… properly distributed.”

She was lying.

I saw the slight, rapid twitch in her left eyelid.

I reached out and turned the document toward me.

My eyes scanned the legal jargon, stopping at a specific paragraph regarding capital distributions.

My breath caught in my throat.

The paragraph detailed a transfer of liability.

Gloria wanted Graham to personally guarantee a twelve-million-dollar line of credit, using his remaining shares of the family trust as collateral.

But the trust was already leveraged to its absolute limit.