A GIRL NAMED NOVA.
“Not you, not anyone.”
The other men chuckled uneasily, glancing at one another.
My father leaned back, exhaling smoke. “You’ve embarrassed me enough. Leave.”
That was all.
Not Are you okay?
Not What did he do to you?
Just Leave.
I backed away, breath shallow, eyes burning. My vision swirled from the drug or the alcohol—I didn’t know which.
Mr. Baldwin’s voice followed me as I staggered toward the kitchen doors. “You walk out that door, Nova, and you walk away from this money. From your grandmother’s life.”