“What do you mean, Mom?” I asked. “What is at stake?”

My father grabbed my mother’s arm, pulling her back slightly.

“Don’t,” he muttered to her.

Then he glared at me.

“If Trevor’s deal falls through because of your stubbornness, you will destroy this family’s financial future,” Harold said.

“Trevor’s business has nothing to do with my family’s future,” I said. “Or yours.”

My mother let out a small, choked sob.

“You don’t understand, Meredith,” she said, her voice shaking. “We had to help them. We didn’t have a choice.”

My father squeezed her arm harder. “Denise, shut up.”

“Help them how?” I asked, my eyes moving between the two of them.

My mother looked away, staring at the linoleum floor.

My father’s chest heaved under his yellow polo shirt.

“We did what any decent parents would do,” he said, his voice low and defensive. “We backed them up.”

“With what?” I asked. “You don’t have that kind of money.”

“Just drop the lawsuit, Meredith,” my father said, ignoring my question. “For once in your life, think about someone other than yourself.”