Daniel laughed before she could continue. “Enough to cover the paint, maybe.”

Everyone at the table smiled. Evelyn smiled too, because humiliation becomes easier to survive when you help the people inflicting it pretend it’s harmless.

Lauren Beck first came into their home at one of those dinners. She was a gallery consultant with dark blond hair, sharp cheekbones, and an instinct for making powerful men feel smarter than they were.

Daniel had hired her to select art for a hotel client. Lauren asked to see Evelyn’s studio, and before Evelyn could answer, Daniel waved a hand toward the ceiling.

“You’d be disappointed.”

Lauren laughed. “I doubt that.”