“Who is he?”

Brandon lowered his voice.

“You’re making this situation much more difficult than it needs to be.”

Rachel felt a cold uneasiness settle over her.

That sentence wasn’t defensive.

It sounded more like a warning.

“Interesting.”

“What?”

“An hour ago, you were asking me for money. Now you sound like you’re warning me.”

“I’m not warning you.”

“You just said I’m making everything worse.”

“For everybody.”

“Who exactly is everybody?”

Brandon stayed silent.

Rachel heard Brenda’s voice clearly in the background:

“Tell her she needs to cooperate.”

Rachel pressed her lips together.

“Put your mother on the phone.”

“No.”

“Put her on.”

“Rachel—”

“Brandon.”

Several seconds later, Brenda’s voice came through.

“You’ve made your point.”

Rachel stared at her laptop screen.

“No, Brenda. I’m only beginning to understand yours.”

“Enough with the drama.”

“You’re listed as co-owner of a property purchased partly with money removed from my son’s account.”

“It was an investment.”

“Using my child’s money.”

“You and Brandon are married. Stop acting like every dollar is exclusively yours.”

Rachel felt that strange calm return.