I pulled it out, my hands trembling so violently I almost dropped it.

The screen illuminated my face with a pale blue light.

I quickly swiped down to lower the brightness to zero.

My thumb hovered over the voice memo app.

I tapped it.

The small red circle appeared on the screen, waiting.

I stepped closer to the dining room door, my boots making no sound on the heavy wool runner.

“We need to get her to sign the final listing agreement on Friday,” Solene was saying.

“I will bring her the papers after she takes her tea,” Rylan said. “She will sign anything when she is that tired.”

“And then we pack,” Solene said. “I want this place cleared out by the end of the month.”

“What about the antiques?” Pax asked. “The dining table, the sideboard?”

“We sell them to the estate liquidator,” Solene said. “They are worth at least twenty thousand.”

I tapped the red button on my phone screen.

The digital timer began to count up.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.