“Whose plan, Claire?” I asked, stepping toward her. “Yours and Ethan’s?”

She looked at me, her eyes darting to the window where the car’s headlights had just disappeared into the dark.

“He was supposed to handle it,” she said, her voice cracking. “He was supposed to sign the papers and secure the line of credit.”

“You knew he was a fraud,” Daniel said, stepping closer to her, his shadow towering over her in the dim light.

“He was desperate,” Claire spat, her defensive mask finally slipping away to reveal the raw panic underneath.

“The banks were foreclosing on his properties in the city,” she said.

She took a deep, shuddering breath, her fingers twisting the fabric of her coat.

“He owed hundreds of thousands to people who don’t use lawyers to collect,” she said.

“So you offered him Waverly Lane,” I said, the truth settling heavily in my chest.

“It was the only way to save the family name,” Claire said, her voice rising to a shrill pitch. “If he went under, he would have dragged Megan down with him.”