“Yes.”
“He was cleared.”
“No,” Henry said.
“He died before they could finish burying us.”
Flynn turned to his mother.
“Tell them they’re lying.”
Cordelia said nothing.
“Mother.”
Nothing.
His voice broke.
“Tell them.”
Cordelia’s face hardened.
Whatever fear had appeared vanished behind the woman she had spent decades becoming.
“Your father did what he had to do.”
Flynn stepped back.
The party had gone silent.
Every guest heard her.
“Did what?”
“We were going to lose everything.”
“What did he do?”
Cordelia’s voice sharpened.
“He protected his family.”
Henry laughed bitterly.
“With our money.”
Cordelia glared at him.
“Your father was an idiot.”
Henry flinched.
I saw several guests raise phones.
Cordelia saw them too.
Too late.
“Put those away!”
Nobody moved.
Flynn’s face had become gray.
“How much?”
Cordelia stared at him.
“How much did Dad steal?”
“He didn’t steal.”
“How much?”
She slapped him.
