He had encouraged everyone to choose the most expensive dishes.
He had laughed while the total climbed because he believed the cost belonged to me.
Now that the obligation had returned to him, four thousand dollars had become a crisis.
Ryan shook his head.
“You said she was paying.”
“I said give me your card.”
“No.”
Dad’s expression hardened.
“After everything I’ve done for you?”
Ryan pushed his chair back.
“You dragged me into this.”
“You helped plan it.”
Several relatives gasped.
Ryan’s face went white.
Dad realized his mistake too late.
I looked at my brother.
“What did you help plan?”
“Nothing.”
“Your father just said otherwise.”
“He’s angry.”
Megan spoke before he could stop her.
“Ryan told us to order whatever we wanted.
He said Claire needed to learn what family costs.”
My brother turned toward her with naked fury.
“Shut up.”
The guard nearest him stepped closer.
Elena addressed the entire table.
“No one is being detained by the restaurant.
However, because fraudulent identity documents were submitted, our legal department has instructed us to create an incident report.
We have also contacted the police to document the matter.”
My mother stood.
“Police? That is completely unnecessary.”
Dad pointed at me.
“Tell her you don’t want police involved.”
The old command was still there, dressed as expectation.
Fix this.
Protect us.
Absorb the damage.