Edie watched her parents look at each other. They were going to say yes. They were going to invite him in. What else could they do? As he walked toward the center of the first floor and into the sunlight, the man fiddled with the bill of his Mets cap. He tugged it up and gave his head a little scratch, and that’s when Edie recognized him.

“You’re the other guy in the video,” she said.

He paused and Edie thought she saw a hint of a smile. Or was it a sneer?

“She showed you?”

“No,” said Edie, raising her voice. “None of us have seen my sister in two weeks. She’s not answering our calls. She’s not online. Because of what you and Chad did to her.”

“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” said the man in the hat. “Would you like to see a photograph of what your sister did to my brother? Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.”

He pulled his phone out of his pocket, scrolled and clicked, then handed the device to Edie. It was a picture of someone in a hospital bed, head wrapped in white bandages.

“She attacked him. She lured him. The police say that when they find who did it it’ll be felony assault. Maybe even attempted murder. He was in a coma. They don’t think he’ll ever fucking hear right.”

“There isn’t a reason in the world we should believe anything you’re saying,” said Gabe.

“My sister didn’t attack anybody,” said Edie. “She barely weighs a hundred pounds.”

“Oh, I’m sure she paid somebody to do it. Because that’s what you people do. Pay people to do shit you want done but are too pussy to do yourselves. Don’t worry, whoever actually held the bat, or whatever it was, he’ll get his. But right now, if you don’t want me to go straight from here to the New York Post with the story about the psycho rich bitch who destroyed a young artist’s life, you’re going to give me fifty grand.”

“You’re not going to the newspaper,” said Michelle. “If that’s your brother in the video he’s in as much trouble as she is.”

“Not the way I see it. Jeremy is an all-American college boy. And people are getting sick of this feminist ‘me too,’ ‘rape culture’ bullshit. Your daughter is a privileged little princess who had a temper tantrum because she got too drunk and couldn’t keep her legs together. And now my brother’s life is ruined.”

“Your brother is a rapist,” said Edie.

He didn’t even seem to hear her. “Just give me the fucking money and you’ll never see me again.”

“What about Claudia?” asked Gabe. “You said you’d tell us where she is.”