Barret realized his mistake immediately and scrambled to rearrange his expression.
"Sis, you've finally decided to come back?"
His eyes darted, and he put on a look of deep anguish.
"Ten years without a single word from overseas. Do you have any idea how worried Mom and Dad have been? You stole the family's money and disappeared without so much as a goodbye. They nearly threw themselves off a building!"
Right there, in front of everyone, he dumped the blame squarely on me again.
The guests around us turned, their gazes dripping with contempt and judgment.
"So that's the ungrateful daughter who ran off with their money?"
"Look at how shabby she's dressed. Probably couldn't make it overseas. Heard young Mr. Fox's company is about to go public, so she came sniffing around for a handout!"
My mother had finally collected herself by now.
She clenched her jaw, and the performance kicked in. She shot to her feet and jabbed a finger in my face.
"You wretched girl! You have the nerve to show your face here?"
"Do you know how much your brother suffered to build his business? Oh, now that he's made something of himself, you want to come crawling back for a piece of it?"