“I lost my shop,” Clara said. “I lost my home in Chicago.”

“I had to move to that rental house in Indiana just to survive.”

“Why did she do this to you?” I asked, sitting down next to her.

“Because my brother left a will,” Clara said.

Ryker straightened up, his eyes narrowing.

“A will?” Ryker asked. “Marissa claimed he died intestate.”

“No,” Clara said, shaking her head vigorously. “That is a lie.”

“David wanted me to have custody of Lily and Owen if anything happened to him.”

“He did not trust Marissa,” Clara whispered. “He knew what she was.”

“But Marissa found the will first,” Clara said.

“She told me if I ever went to court, she would frame me for theft.”

“She said she had friends in high places who would make sure I went to prison.”

“And the children would still end up with her,” Clara added, her voice breaking.

“So you ran,” I said, feeling a deep ache in my chest for this woman.

“I had no money left to fight her,” Clara said.