The dining room was a study in tension. The chandelier was too bright. The silverware clinked too loudly against the china.
Aunt Nora was trying. She was fluttering around, serving roast beef, smiling too much.
So, Dallas, Nora said, her voice high and brittle. How is the first week?
Fine, Dallas said. She focused on cutting her meat. Precision cuts. One inch by one inch.
Inger took a sip of red wine. Fine? I heard you got a zero on your placement exam. A zero, Dallas. Do you know how hard it is to get a zero? You have to actively try to be that stupid.
Erika was sitting across from Dallas. She was smiling into her water glass.
Maybe she just froze, Erika said sweetly. It happens to people who aren't... prepared.
Mason, Nora's son, was sitting next to Dallas. He was twelve, a quiet kid with glasses. He kicked Dallas gently under the table. A signal of solidarity.
I didn't freeze, Dallas said without looking up.
Then what? Inger snapped. You're just lazy? You're trying to embarrass me? The Bentleys paid for your tuition, Dallas. Do you have any idea what that cost?
I didn't ask you to, Dallas said.
Inger slammed her wine glass down. Wine sloshed over the rim, staining the white tablecloth red like blood.
Ungrateful, Inger hissed. You are exactly like your father. Useless. A waste of space.
The air left the room.
Nora gasped. Inger!
Dallas stopped cutting. Her knife screeched against the plate.
She looked up. Her eyes were dark, bottomless pits.
My father, Dallas said, her voice dangerously low, was a kind man.
He was a drunk! Inger shouted. And he died broke! Just like you will!
Erika chimed in. Mom, don't upset yourself. Dallas can always go to community college. They have... vocational programs.
Miley, Nora's daughter, giggled. Like plumbing?
Dallas looked at them. The perfect family. The perfect facade.
She felt a burning in her chest. It wasn't tears. It was fire.
She stood up. Her chair scraped back.
I'm not hungry, Dallas said.
Sit down! Inger commanded.
No, Dallas said.
She walked out of the dining room. She grabbed her backpack from the hall.
Nora ran after her. Dallas! Wait!
She caught Dallas on the porch. Nora's eyes were wet. She shoved a roll of cash into Dallas's hand.
Take this, Nora whispered. Please. Buy yourself something nice. Don't listen to her.
Dallas looked at the money. It was a few hundred dollars. Pity money.
I don't need it, Aunt Nora, Dallas said. She tried to give it back.
Take it! Nora insisted, shoving it into Dallas's pocket.
Dallas let her. She hugged her aunt briefly. A stiff, awkward embrace.
She walked down the driveway into the dark.
Once she was around the corner, she reached into the hidden lining of her backpack and pulled out a cheap, battered burner phone. She powered it on.
A single encrypted text message waited for her.
Notification: Escrow Release Authorized. Balance Update: +$50,000.00.
It was the payment for the Black Eagle defense. A bounty from the underground.
Dallas touched the crumpled bills in her pocket from her aunt. Then she looked at the number on her screen.
She laughed. It was a dry, humorless sound. She popped the battery out of the burner phone and shoved it back into the hidden lining.
