"That's business."
"Then Eric can discuss it with Amanda."
"See? This is what I'm talking about."
Roger started walking. Kimberly stepped beside him.
"You're trying to destroy me."
Roger stopped.
The sentence hung between them. For weeks, he had heard versions of it.
He was punishing her. He was controlling. He was cold. He was trying to ruin her.
Roger looked directly at Kimberly. His voice remained level.
"I'm documenting what happened."
She stared at him.
Roger continued toward the garage. Kimberly did not follow. He did not look back.
That evening, the sentence stayed with him. Not because it sounded clever. It didn't.
It was simply accurate.
Roger had not called Kimberly's employer. He had not contacted Jason's company. He had not posted photographs.
He had not told neighbors. He had not emptied accounts. He had not even told Megan the full story.
He had preserved documents.
That was all.
If the documents were damaging, Roger had not made them damaging.
The following week, Amanda received correspondence from Jason Whitmore's attorney. Jason denied involvement in any unauthorized execution of documents.
He acknowledged business involvement with K&W Residential Partners but disputed responsibility for certain financing decisions.
Roger read the letter once.
"Interesting timing," he said.
Amanda looked up. "Don't interpret it."
"I'm not."
"You are."
Roger almost smiled. "Fine. I'm noticing the timing."
"Better."
The letter changed nothing. Natalie continued tracing funds. The lender continued reviewing.
Then problems at Maplecrest Avenue became more visible. A contractor filed a claim over unpaid work. A supplier demanded payment.
K&W Residential Partners had apparently relied on renovation timelines that never materialized. The duplex still existed, but the simple investment Kimberly had described over dinner now looked like an expensive project struggling under debt and unfinished obligations.
Roger felt no satisfaction.
That surprised him.
He had imagined there might come a point when watching Jason lose money would feel good. It didn't.
Jason losing money did not give Roger back Tuesday night. Kimberly facing contractor bills did not restore trust.
Roger wanted one thing.
Separation.
His name from obligations he had not approved. His assets from transactions he had not authorized. His future from decisions made without him.
Amanda understood that.
"We're not trying to punish bad investing," she told him.
"I know."
"We're trying to determine responsibility."
"I know."
"And the lender decides its own review."
Roger nodded.
That Friday, the lender requested an interview with him through the appropriate process. Amanda prepared Roger beforehand.
"Answer exactly what they ask."
"Okay."
"If you don't know, say you don't know."
"Okay."
"Don't speculate about Kimberly."