Anna blinked her eyes rapidly to keep the tears of shock at bay. Her mother rarely took such a vitriolic tone with her. Telling her how disappointed her dad would be was a no-holds-barred kill shot. Anna hung her head and watched as two tears fell in tandem and soaked into the black denim of her designer jeans. She wanted to say something, but she didn’t know what.

Anna needn’t have worried over what to say because her big brother had plenty to say in response.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Steven said, his voice trembling with fury. “Anna’s worth ten million Alexanders! Beg for that douchebag’s forgiveness? Over my dead body she will. Whatever Anna did is her own goddamn business and nobody else’s.”

Their mother was never a fan of the clapback, but this was something else entirely. “I am the parent here and I can talk to my daughter however I please. Do you know what it’s like to walk into the salon and find out that people are whispering about your daughter? How she cheated on the favorite son of Greenwich when he was laid up with a broken leg? She’s not some regular high school girl who gets to act a slut like it doesn’t matter. She’s the daughter of this family, and she has to know her actions affect everyone, the same way yours did when you got kicked out of every school in town!”

“You think I’m a slut?” Anna asked, unable to hide the hurt in her voice. “Mom, I was going to break up with Alexander, but then I couldn’t because who can break up with a guy who needs a bedpan? I … I … I’m not just with Vronsky for fun. We love each other!”

“Oh Anna, grow the hell up. I’ve heard all about that boy. He’s been in love with half the girls in Manhattan, the same way his mother ‘loves’ every rich man she can lay her manicured hands on. Of course he tells you you’re special, that’s what every guy says when he wants to get into your panties.”

Anna pulled her knees into her chest and pressed her face into her knees. What is happening? How can she talk to me this way? Isn’t a mom supposed to protect you?

“Tell me, Mom,” Steven began, his voice no longer trembling, but extremely measured and calm. “Is that what the Dude with the Dragon Tattoo tells you when he wants to get into your panties?”

Anna lifted her head up and gazed at her brother. She had no idea what he was talking about.

“That’s right, Mom,” Steven continued. “I know how you spent your Valentine’s Day. Dad buys you a forty-thousand-dollar diamond necklace, but I guess you wanted a pearl … Is that how you show your respect to Dad?”