Gloria slapped her across the face.
"I can't believe it. We spent everything raising you to be the finest young woman in any room, and this is what you did with it."
Jenna pressed her hand to her cheek, staring at Gloria in disbelief. "Mom, it's all fake. How can you not believe me?"
Then Richard hit her.
He had understood by now that everything I'd arranged tonight was building toward this single moment: exposing Jenna for exactly what she was. Something resolved in his expression, and he drove his fist into her stomach.
"Get on your knees and apologize to Vera! And those classmates of yours, what did you think they were to you?"
His voice cracked as he spoke, eyes reddening, performing the role of a heartbroken father watching his child go wrong. It might have been convincing if he
