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I nod. “Uh-huh.”

His eyes narrow, and his nostrils flair, the same way mine do when I’m angry. “And you were going to what?Surpriseme?”

“It had nothing to do with you. Sure, I hoped you’d live and let live. But I wanted her here because she was the catalyst for it all.”

“Shewas the catalyst for your graduation?” His eyes bulge. “After everything I’ve done—sheis the catalyst?”

“She encouraged me to go back in the first place. And before you ask, she hasn’t asked me for a single penny. All she wants is to be in my life. And you had her removed from my graduation ceremony like she was a criminal.”

“Sheisa criminal. And I didn’t have her removed. I offered her money to leave, and she took it because that’s all she’s interested in. Like I’ve always said.”

I shake my head in a vehement rebuke. “I don’t believe you. She’s never asked me for anything. Not once in the four years I’ve been?—”

“BecauseI’vebeensending her money every month. And all it took was the threat of that ending for her to turn tail and abandon you. Again,” he shouts.

“You’ve been sending her money?” My stomach clenches, and my lungs constrict. “How? I thought you didn’t know where she was.”

He closes his eyes briefly and lets out a sharp breath. “Look, son. I’m sorry. I did what was best at the time. I would do it again. I just wish she’d stuck to her end of our deal.”

The implication of his words hits me square in the chest. Disoriented, I take a reflexive step away from him. “You knew where she was all these years?”

He doesn’t flinch or look away. “Yes. I did. Of course, I did. It was the only way to keep you safe.”

My heart feels like it’s twisting around itself. “How could you look us in the eye and say she didn’t want us to find her? To make us think she didn’t want anything to do with us?”

“She didn’t, son. I don’t know what prompted her to get in touch with you. But all it took was the threat of ending my support to make her leave you again. I’m sorry you’ve had to find out this way. But I warned you. She’s only interested in what you can do for her.”

If his goal had been to wound me, he hit a bullseye with that poison-tipped revelation. His self-satisfied, pitying expression doesn’t hold a hint of remorse, and that hurts nearly as much as his words do.

Years of pent-up resentment and frustration bubble to the surface, and all I want is to wipe that smug expression off his face.

I cross my arms over my chest and curl my lip in a disdainful sneer. “So she’s just like the rest of my family, then.”

He pales and then reddens. He leans toward me, his eyes slits of fury, his chin quivering. “Whatdid you say?”

I’ve crossed a line, but I’m too angry to care. “I started paying your bills before I was old enough to vote, and you haveneverasked me how I feel about having to make every single decision with you all in mind because you’re completely dependent on me.” I stab the air with my finger, gesturing between us.

“Dependent?” His temper, which burns as hot as mine, snaps. His voice is nearly a snarl, and he points an accusing finger at me. “I have been your backbone when you couldn’t stand. Your knees when you couldn’t figure out how to bend. Your fucking brain when you didn’t know what to do.” He slaps his broad chest. “AndI’mdependent?”

I scoff. “How do you make a living, Dad?”

He rears back like I slapped him. “You think I wouldn’t trade that money for your respect? If I’d known you felt this way, I would have quit a long time ago.”

“Well, now you know. Quit,” I challenge with my eyes narrowed.

Instead of the hurt I was trying to inflict, his expression fills with a dark malice I knew he was capable of but have never seen directed at me. “You run around taking pictures, fighting with idiots, and dating one woman after the other. You would have been broke and a punchline years ago if it wasn’t for me. I wishI could walk away, but no one else would be willing to clean up your messes. You owe me an apology.”

“You lied to me for years. And now you want an apology? I’ll starve before I ever apologize to you.”

The phone in my hand rings, andMarleyflashes on the screen. I hesitate for a beat before I answer, ready to give her a piece of my mind. I turn my back to my father and answer. “Mom?”

“Hello? I’m trying to reach next of kin for Matilda Solomon,” a male voice responds.

“Who is this?” I demand.

“I’m sorry. I’m an attending physician at Ben Taub hospital. Ms. Solomon was brought here by ambulance after a multi car accident this afternoon. Her phone has you listed as her emergency contact. Are you a family member?”

“I’m her son,” I say, but dread has lodged itself in my throat, and it’s barely audible.