He kept his eyes locked on Dunleavy’s face.

“We are finished paying for this man’s silence.”

“And we are finished letting the people at Brindlewood suffer for our negligence.”

I felt a chill run down my spine at those words.

Twelve years of living in the shadows of that damp apartment complex came rushing back to me.

I looked at Charles Graves, and for a second, his fading eyes met mine.

He knew exactly who I was.

He knew what had happened to my family when the Graves Group bought out our neighborhood.

He knew why I had changed my name and disappeared into the lower east side.

“Claire,” Charles murmured, his voice cracking.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“I came to return a wallet,” I said, keeping my voice as steady as I could.

“My daughter found it in the street.”

“But it seems I found something else entirely.”

Ruby looked up at me, her brown eyes wide with confusion.

She was shivering slightly, her small hand warm but trembling in mine.

“Mommy?” she whispered.

“Why is that man angry?”