Hoarse.
Unsteady.
“Yes?”
“Did you know?”
I sat upright.
“Know what?”
“About Jared.”
I closed my eyes.
“I know about the development agreement.”
“No.”
She began crying.
I had never heard Vanessa cry.
Not during arguments.
Not at Thomas’s funeral.
Not even when her father threatened to cut her off financially after she once scratched his expensive car.
“Vanessa, what happened?”
She took a shaky breath.
“The penthouse.”
My stomach tightened.
“What about it?”
“Jared borrowed against it.”
I frowned.
“He inherited it outright.”
“He did.
But after the transfer was completed, he obtained a large loan secured by the property.”
“Why?”
“He told me it was temporary.
He said the development money would cover everything once the access agreement was finalized.”
I rubbed my forehead.
“How much?”
She gave me the figure.
Nine hundred thousand dollars.
I closed my eyes.
“Vanessa.”
“I didn’t know he was doing it until the bank statements arrived.”
