She swallowed hard, her hand reaching for a paper cup that was already cold.

“I know,” she said. “I don’t expect you to.”

“You said you have the ledger,” I said.

She looked around the coffee shop, her eyes darting to the counter where the barista was wiping down the espresso machine.

“I do,” she said. “But I need to know I’m safe first.”

“Safe from what?” I asked.

“From the lawyers,” she said. “Daniel told me that if you found out, you would sue everyone. He said you would take everything I have.”

“Daniel lied to you,” I said. “He lied to me, too. It is what he does.”

“He told me the apartment was in his name,” she said, her voice rising slightly before she caught herself and lowered it. “He said he bought it as an investment. But the lease has my name on it as a co-signer. I didn’t know he was using your family’s money to pay the rent.”

“Did you think he was paying for it with his charm?” I asked.

Sophia looked down at her lap.