“Well, to keep it simple, let’s just say that some of those statements or maybe the trades themselves or something were falsified and—” He rubbed his temples, and I was flooded with sympathy for him.

“It’s okay, Dad,” I said. “I get it.” And I did. Sort of. But what kind of asshole would do that? And how couldn’t someone figure out who it was by now? “Do you think it was someone in your office?” I asked. I had never trusted that Melissa. Of course, I’d always thought she was after my dad and his money. I didn’t think she was, like, a full-on criminal.

“If it was, they were convincing liars.”

“But that isn’t for you to worry about, sweetie!” Mom said brightly, giving Dad side-eye. “Dad, Oliver, and I are going to get this all taken care of.”

Dad nodded. “Yup. We’ll be back to normal in no time flat.”

“Like, normal normal?” I asked.

Dad looked confused. “Well, yeah. I’d say so.”

I’d always thought Mom and Dad were this perfect, happy couple. Or, well, it was maybe more accurate to say that I hadn’t ever given much thought to their marriage at all. They just were. The idea of them being apart was unthinkable.

“So, like, the three of us together as a family, under one roof, one Christmas, etcetera.”

Mom’s face flooded with recognition. “Oh, honey. Dad and I aren’t getting divorced.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

“I’m so sorry about all of this, Iris,” Dad said. “I only want your life to be stable and happy and comfortable. I promise you that we will get to the bottom of this.”

I just nodded because I didn’t know what to say. But I felt like we were going to make it.

“Tell me about school,” Dad said. “Tell me something normal.”

I looked around, finally noticing that there were, like, ten other people in this sad little living room. This was not normal. But I knew this was harder for Dad than it was for me. I couldn’t imagine being locked up in here. Especially being innocent and locked up in here.

“Well, I’m going to a sleepover at Chloe’s on Friday, so that should be fun. And Belle Epoque on the Beach is Saturday, and Key Club is volunteering, so that will be great.”

He nodded. “Hey, Char, we were the head sponsor for that event. I think we got eight tickets. You should go and take your friends.”

Mom laughed. “Please, Bill. The last thing I want to do is dress up in some ornate costume and prance around town for everyone to talk about us. No thank you.”

Dad put his hands up like he was surrendering, something he did often when it came to Mom.