I scoffed and knocked the card out of her hand.
"Drop the act, Tania. You think twenty thousand dollars is going to make this go away? Do I look like a beggar to you?"
I stepped closer, my voice sharp as a blade.
"That ten-million-dollar deal comes with a ten percent commission. That's one million dollars.
"When exactly were you planning to pay me back?"
The number hit the room like a shockwave.
Tania's face went white as paper. She stood frozen, trembling, unable to form a single word.
Then her body swayed. Her eyes rolled back, and she crumpled toward the floor.
"Tania!"
Neal rushed forward and caught her in his arms, cradling her like she might shatter.
When he looked at me, his eyes burned with fury.
"Ivy, you've gone too far! You know Tania has a congenital heart condition, and you deliberately pushed her like this? I can't believe I ever trusted you!"
Watching him cradle Tania so carefully, a memory surfaced unbidden: