Chapter 29

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Michael softly raps his knuckle on his daughter’s bedroom door.

He waits for Taylor to respond before opening it a crack. She sits on top of the covers in an oversized sweatshirt. Her laptop is nearby, frozen on some video she’s watching. He should monitor her screen time more, he knows. He should monitor everything a lot more.

He holds a black dress from a dry-cleaner hanger, the plastic sticking to the garment from the electricity. He remembers the last time she wore this dress—her mother’s funeral—and hopes it still fits.

“I need you to try this on. We’ll have to stop by Macy’s in the morning to get you something if you’ve grown out of it.”

“It’ll fit.”

Michael nods. “I know going to a funeral will be hard…”

“Then why are you making me go?”

Michael is surprised at the anger in her tone. “We’ve been through this. It’s the right thing to do.”

“And you’re afraid.”

“Yes, I’m afraid. I’m not sure you appreciate the situation. Anthony O’Leary’s father is a dangerous man. If he finds out about the—”

“He won’t find out.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Dylan made sure everybody scrubbed their phones. No one’s gonna talk.”

Spoken like an invincible teenager.

“And I think the real question is why do you work for such a dangerous man?”

“This isn’t about me, Taylor.”

His daughter makes a huffing sound and dramatically turns away from him.

“Try it on,” is all he says before leaving the room.

Later, in his study, he thinks about Taylor’s question: Why do you work for such a dangerous man? He could never tell her the truth. That he’s simply repaying a debt.

It’s funny, when someone dies, there’s this tendency to deify them. To make them perfect in every way. To completely ignore their shortcomings, their problems, their demons. But the truth of the matter was that Taylor’s mother had many shortcomings, many problems, many demons. It started with the Amazon packages, so many that every other day looked like Christmas. Then it was home shopping club. The mall. When he cut her off, she turned to a new addiction, sports betting apps. And when the credit cards got maxed out, she found her way to the casino. When he blocked her access to their accounts, she started playing through bookies on credit. Which led her to the world of Shane O’Leary.

Even after her cancer diagnosis, she continued. Michael found a GoFundMe campaign she’d sent to old high-school and college friends. It was supposed to go toward her medical expenses. But every dime went to that bookie.

And her debts didn’t die with her. It was only two weeks after her funeral when a man in a leather jacket stopped by Michael’s office. He explained how things worked. But they’d given Michael an out: Help Mr. O’Leary and the debt can go away.

Sothat’s how I got to work for such a dangerous man, sweetheart. It was my inheritance from your mother.

He’s startled by Taylor appearing in the doorway. She’s wearing the black dress. She’s been crying.

“I’m sorry, okay. I never thought he’d…”

Michael takes her in his arms. “It’s not your fault.” He holds her as she weeps. He brushes a tear from his own eye because he knows Shane O’Leary would never see it that way.