“Please,” Graham said, his eyes scanning my face for any sign of weakness. “I know things have been difficult.”

“I can fix this, Jocelyn,” he said. “I just need a loan from your personal account.”

“No,” I said.

The word was quiet, but it filled the room.

“What do you mean, no?” he asked, his expression hardening.

“I mean no, Graham,” I said. “I will not give you a single dollar.”

“You don’t understand,” he whispered, his voice turning angry. “If we don’t pay, they will take the house.”

“Then they will take the house,” I said.

I turned away from him and walked upstairs to the girls’ bedrooms.

Hazel was asleep, her stuffed rabbit tucked under her arm.

Ruby was curled in a tight ball, her thumb near her mouth.

I kissed them both on their foreheads, feeling the warmth of their skin.

I went to my private study at the end of the hall and locked the door behind me.

I opened my laptop and pulled up the encrypted files of my real estate firm, Vanguard Properties.