I did not, that morning, promise my son revenge.

I did not make speeches about destroying Selina or her family.

I said: “Tonight, you and the boys are going to sleep in real beds.

And tomorrow, we are going to start pulling this whole story apart, piece by piece, until we can see exactly what is real and what someone manufactured.” What I did not say aloud, because I was still turning it over, was that I had recognized the name Arthur Cole the moment David said it — and that it was not the first time I had heard that name spoken in connection with money that moved in ways it should not.

Chapter 10 — Howard and Phoebe

That same afternoon I booked a long-term executive suite for David and the boys — clean sheets, a real kitchen, two bedrooms, a door that locked from the inside — and then I made two phone calls.