Sebastian. That’s his name, the almost-partner, the lawsuit instigator. Sebastian.

He holds the phone inches away from his face. “See, that’s where you’re wrong. When you reneged on our deal, you took away my ability to protect my family, which means this? This right here, right now? It’s also about yours.”

“So, what—an eye for an eye? Is that what this is?”

“Maybe. Maybe it’s karma.”

“Oh come on. That’s bullshit and you know it. You’re not the only one who lost money on Oakhurst. I lost out in that deal, too, remember?”

“Let me tell you the difference, Cam.” Sebastian makes a face when he says the name, spits it through an ugly curled lip. “You lost what’s for you pocket change while I lost everything. I lost my savings, my livelihood, my house, my wife, the shirt off my back and my daughter’s. I had to declare bankruptcy, and you know what happens to your chronically sick kid when you do that? You get to swap out your health insurance with Medicaid. How do you tell your little girl that they won’t approve the lung transplant that’s supposed to save her life because you can’t afford the medication she needs to make those new lungs stick? This money you’re bringing me, it’s what you took from me plus interest, plus all the medical costs, which thanks to you, my shitty insurance doesn’t cover.”

“That...that’s absurd. What do you think the hospital is going to say when you hand them a bag of cash? You don’t think they’ll start asking questions?”

“They can ask as many questions as they want, but at least my baby will get her new lungs.”

“Sebastian, they’re going to catch you. You know that, right?”

“Shut up.”

“I’m trying to help you.”

“Oh, like you helped me before?” he scoffs, and his tone darkens with disgust, with fury. “Sorry, Cam, but that shit don’t fly. Your promises hold no credibility with me anymore. Zero. Not after what you did last time I came to you with a problem. Tell everybody here what you said.”

There’s a long stretch of patchy air, and then: “I’m not... I don’t remember what I said.”

But it’s a lie. Cam does remember, I can tell from the pause, the way his voice went wobbly. He knows exactly what Sebastian is talking about. He just doesn’t want to say it with me and Beatrix listening.

“Look, I’ll call the contractor and explain,” Cam says, dropping back into businessman mode. Problem solver, go-getter, get-’er-done achiever. “I’ll tell him this whole thing was my fault. I’ll get him a check first thing tomorrow morning. I’ll deliver it to him personally.”