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Each person started piling their plates with Mom’s ziti, my favorite Hunter came over and took Ryder from me to place him in his bouncy seat

Mom placed a plate of ziti, salad and a can of soda in front of , I said, "Thanks Mo cryptic, Mo my favorite food, and Hunter’s been a little distant since the ht things were going great, but clearly I was

Dad walked up behind Mom, as about to sit down next to me, "Elle dear, can I talk to you in the other room for a second?"

That’s it! I can’t take this any across fro rooht Ms McCor in I looked frole person, looked at me Not even Hunter when he sat next toanswers "What the hell’s going on? And don’t say ‘nothing’, I’irl anymore"

No one moved No one said a word No one looked at me until Mom and Dad walked back in

He took a deep breath, "Baby girl, we need to have a fa On?

20

"Well, I can tell this fa to be bad, not a damn one of you will look at me" I snapped

Hunter reached under that table and placed his hand on h Normally, that would calm my nerves but not this ti on; all I kneas that everyone had been acting strange all day Even Chloe, who never let anything get to her, wasn’t herself

Moave her a slanced around to each of us before he started, "Well you know that I work in New York?" I nodded, "Well I don’t actually work for the New York Stock Exchange I’ent"

Huh? I’m confused Was this a joke? Why would he lie about that?

"You irl, but I didn’t want you to know I deal with soerous people and I never wanted my career to touch you in any way That’s why the boys were so protective of you for all these years, I instilled it in them"

Wasn’t this some shit? My family had hidden this from me all these years "So you’d rather lie tomore pissed off by the minute