I could picture Patricia, her tailored wool coat and her manicured hands gesturing wildly in a public clinic.

“What are you going to do?” I asked quietly.

“I don’t know,” he said, his voice cracking.

“I have nothing left, Lauren.”

“The company is in trouble, and my mother is pulling her personal funds.”

I listened, my mind moving fast.

“Your mother is pulling the loan?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said.

“She said I’m an embarrassment.”

“She told me she’s done cleaning up my messes.”

This was the opening Robert Hayes had been waiting for.

Without Patricia’s capital, Daniel’s shell companies would collapse under their own weight.

“I have to go, Daniel,” I said.

“Wait,” he pleaded.

“Don’t hang up.”

“I need you to talk to your attorney.”

“We can work something out.”

“No, we can’t,” I said.

I ended the call and stared at the dark screen.

My hand was trembling slightly as I set the mug down on the wooden railing.

I walked inside and immediately dialed Robert’s direct office line.

He answered on the second ring.

“Robert,” I said, my voice steady.