I had a cockroach problem in my dungeon room, but mentioning it didn’t feel helpful.

“We had this exact headache two months ago,” Juliet added.

“I apologize, Deirdre,” Theodore said. “I didn’t realize we’d be delving into such unsavory territory. Why don’t you wait with Ursula and Teddy?”

“I’ll do that,” I said.

I ducked out of the room and walked down the hall. I couldn’t slip out of my boots to tiptoe back, so I crept as quietly as I could on the carpet.

“How much did it cost us last time?” Theodore asked.

“A quarter of a million. Caroline said to go ahead and pay it, because we didn’t need any bad publicity in this market.”

Hairs stood up on the back of my neck. I didn’t think they were talking about bugs.

“What’s your instinct this time?” he asked her.

Before I could catch Juliet’s answer, Teddy popped into the hallway. “You have to help with the trains,” he told me.

He had terrible timing, but I couldn’t disappoint him.

Ten minutes later, Teddy’s grandfather strolled in as the engine was whipping around the track.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“Fine, fine. Juliet will handle it. She’s very capable.” He sighed. “I feel guilty, leaning on her as I do. She works very hard. I always expected Theo would join her in the business. But he dumped us all to go adventuring and do what he wanted.”

Maybe he wasn’t that into money laundering, I thought, but I kept it to myself. I didn’t know how I felt about Caro’s involvement. It was baffling to me. “That’s too bad.”

“I don’t mean to sound bitter.” He sighed. “When you have children, you have no way of knowing how they’ll turn out. You believe they’ll be like you. Your blood is running through their veins. But they can reject everything you taught them and become something you barely recognize.”

I wasn’t the best audience for this. I had no relationship with my father, and I didn’t regret it. “People talk about nature versus nurture,” I said. “But I don’t think genes predict who you’ll be. They give you some characteristics, but they don’t define you.”

“That’s an excellent point. It’s been on my mind since Theo ran off. It doesn’t seem like he even wants to be a father.”

I glanced at Teddy. He didn’t look like he was listening, but he was a smart kid. He got every word. “It’s a really tough time for everyone right now.”

“Of course. But I worry that Theo is going to do something dangerous. What if he took Teddy away to Europe? Can you even imagine that?”

“That would be awful.” Teddy was my living link to my sister. I’d never let him go.