“She’s right about the garage.”

Vanessa’s head snapped toward me.

I continued.

“It wasn’t approved for commercial use. That was our mistake. I stopped using it, refunded customers, rented a licensed kitchen, and started the proper approval process.”

I looked directly at Vanessa.

“So there’s nothing left to threaten me with.”

She recovered quickly.

“This isn’t about the garage. It’s about your husband leading me on.”

I sat down.

Irvin stood.

“She’s partly right about me too.”

Vanessa almost smiled.

“I should have set stronger boundaries sooner. I kept helping after I realized she was flirting, and that was a mistake.”

Vanessa looked triumphant.

Then Irvin continued.

“But being slow to draw a boundary isn’t the same thing as returning someone’s interest.”

He displayed the full conversations.

Everyone saw the messages Vanessa had shared.

Then they saw the sentences she had deliberately removed.