Page 198 of Diego

The next property is an industrial building Meridian evaluated several years ago. The one after that is a small apartment portfolio with surprisingly strong occupancy. I flag both for different reasons and continue working through the archive, increasingly absorbed as the afternoon moves along.

By the time my water glass is empty, I have several properties sitting in the folder for Diego.

A few are obvious possibilities.

A few need more research.

One happens to be the building he used to call home.

I glance at that file once more before opening the next one.

Interesting indeed.

Chapter Thirty Five

Diego

Mario’s message comes through while I am standing in the kitchen after having checked on Blair.

Need you at the office. Family meeting. As soon as you can get here.

I read it twice, although there is nothing complicated about the wording. Mario does not call family meetings because he is bored, and he rarely adds urgency unless there is a reason for it. Under normal circumstances, I would already be reaching for my jacket.

These are not normal circumstances.

I glance toward the living room, where Blair is stretched across the sofa with her feet tucked beneath a cushion and her laptop open in front of her. She has been buried in the Meridian files since I gave her access earlier, pausing when I remind her to and making just enough use of the snacks beside her that I have resisted interfering. She looks more like herself than she has in weeks, absorbed enough in the work that she has stopped checking the time every ten minutes.

Leaving her should not feel this difficult.

She is improving. Dr. Mehta confirmed it. Emilia is here. Blair is not helpless, no matter how frequently I have behaved as if she might shatter if I take my eyes off her for too long.

None of that makes me more comfortable leaving her here.

I type a brief response to Mario telling him I am on my way, then set my phone down and walk into the living room.

Blair looks up almost immediately. “Uh oh. You have a face.”

I lift my brows. “I have a face?”

“Yeah, the face that says something happened.”

“Mario called a meeting.”

Her attention drops briefly to my phone before returning to me. “Oh, okay. So go.”

I stop beside the sofa. “Emilia is here.”

“Yes.”

“And you are going to stay off your feet.”

Her eyebrows lift.

I catch myself before turning this into a lecture she does not need. “Within reason.”

“Must concession always be so painful for you?”

“It would seem so.”