“Show the court that Daniel falsified the clinic’s liabilities to secure the loan.”

“That’s bank fraud,” Charles whispered.

“It’s the truth,” I said.

He walked back to the window, looking out over the waking city.

The silence in the room stretched until my ears rang.

“Daniel has resources you don’t understand, Emily,” he said.

“But he doesn’t have you,” I said. “And he doesn’t have this ledger.”

Charles turned back to me, his face set in hard lines.

Before he could speak, his desk phone flashed with an incoming call.

The caller ID read: *Daniel Carter*.

We both stared at the blinking red light.

Charles reached his hand out toward the receiver.

Charles let his hand hover over the plastic receiver.

The red light blinked in a steady, aggressive rhythm.

“Are you going to answer it?” I asked.

He looked from the phone to the photocopied ledger on his desk.

His fingers trembled slightly as he withdrew his hand.

“No,” Charles said.

The ringing stopped, leaving a heavy silence in the office.

Then the red light began to blink again.