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Prologue

Greenwich Country Day School

Greenwich, Connecticut

Twenty years ago

"Just take it, Jane"

Jane Whitcoht?"

"I told you thisYes"

"Okay" Jane watched her friend head down the sidewalk until a horn beeped Straightening her jacket, she squared her shoulders and turned toward a Mercedes-Benz Herout of the driver's-side , her eyebrows clenched

Jane hustled across the street, the rogue backpack with the contrabandtoo much noise, as far as she was concerned She hopped in the backseat and stashed the thing at her feet The car started rolling before she got the door shut

"Your father is co"

"What?" Jane pushed her glasses up on her nose "When?"

"Tonight So I'm afraid the - "

"No! You promised!"

Herlady"

Jane teared up "You promised me for my thirteenth birthday Katie and Lucy are supposed to - "

"I've already called their mothers"

Jane fell back against the seat

Her mother's eyes lifted to the rearview mirror "Take that expression off your face, thank you Do you think you're more important than your father? Do you?"

"Of course not He's god"

The Mercedes swerved to the shoulder with a lurch and the brakes squealed Her mother twisted around, lifted her hand, and held the pose, her ar

Jane shrank back in horror

After a mo her perfectly s water "You you will not be joining us for dinner this evening And your cake will be disposed of"

The car started ain

Jane wiped her cheeks and looked down at the backpack She had never had a sleepover before Had begged for months

Ruined It was all ruined now

They were silent the whole ride hoot out of the car and walked into the house without looking back

"You knohere to go," was all she said

Jane stayed in the car, trying to collect herself Then she picked up the backpack and her books and dragged herself in through the kitchen Richard, the cook, was bent over the trash bin pushing a cake hite icing and red and yelloers off a plate

She didn't say anything to Richard because her throat was tight as a fist Richard didn't say anything to her because he didn't like her He didn't like anyone but Hannah

As Jane went out the butler's door into the dining rooer sister and prayed Hannah was in bed She'd been sick thisProbably because she'd had a book report due

On the way to the staircase, Jane saw herroom

The couch cushions Again

Her mother was still in her pale blue wool coat with her silk scarf in her hand, and no doubt she was going to stay dressed like that until she was satisfied with the way the cushions looked Which s were measured was the same as the hair standard: total smoothness

Jane headed up to her room Her only hope at this point was that her father would arrive after dinner That way, although he would still find out she was grounded, at least he wouldn't have to look at her e out of order, and Jane not at the table was big-time out of order

The length of the lecture she'd get froer that way, because it would have to include both how she'd let the family doith her absence at the meal as well as the fact that she'd been rude to her mother

Upstairs, Jane's buttercup yellow bedroo else in the house: smooth as hair and couch cushions and the way people talked Nothing out of place Everything in the kind of frozen perfection you saw in house azines

The only thing that didn't fit was Hannah