The Favorites: A Novel(78)

He was much thinner than I remembered. Older too—though Lee was only a little over thirty, his pallid skin and sunken cheeks made him look like our father.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Heath said.

He’d followed me across the ballroom. I should have been grateful for the backup, but I could feel the way his muscles coiled, ready for violence.

“I was invited,” Lee said.

Heath scoffed. “Bullshit.”

I looked at Ellis. “You invited him here. Didn’t you?”

Before Ellis could confirm or deny his meddling, Lee turned on him. “You said she wanted to see me. You said she was ready to talk.”

“I may have exaggerated. Slightly.” Ellis shrugged, the marabou trim on his jacket shivering. “But now that you’re both here, what a perfect opportunity to clear the air.”

“Why, so you can post an exclusive scoop on your shitty blog?” I shook my head. “I always knew you were a shady bitch, Ellis, but this is beyond.”

“I swear I didn’t know this was a setup,” Lee said. “But maybe he’s right, Katie. We are family after all.”

This he said with a pointed look in Heath’s direction. Well, as pointed as he could manage; Lee’s eyes were unfocused, the pupils blown huge.

Here’s one detail that’s never included in the stories about my brother and me: during Lee’s tour of the talk show circuit, I’d reached out to him through a lawyer, with an offer to cover the full cost of rehab if he agreed to go. He never responded.

“You need to leave,” I told him. “If you want to talk, I’ll give you my number, and—”

“Katarina,” Heath said. I ignored him.

“—we can talk,” I continued. “But not here. Not in front of all these people.”

Lee’s fingers closed on my arm. “Still think you’re better than me, don’t you, Katie?”

He was shaky and weak from whatever he was on, and I was a world champion. One twist of my arm, and I was free.

Pacifying Heath wouldn’t be so easy.

“How dare you touch her.” Heath seized the lapel of Lee’s cheap suit. “How fucking dare you. After everything you’ve—”

“Let’s take a breath,” Ellis said. “No need for a scene.”

“I thought that’s what you wanted, Ellis,” I said. “A scene.”

People were already staring. Some edged away, others leaned closer. Bella left her banquet table and made a beeline for us.

I could picture the headlines, the mug shots. Quotes from the scandalized partygoers. Photos of the ballroom floor smeared with blood. There would be no talking Heath down, and I wasn’t strong enough to hold him back.

So I did the only thing I could think to do: I turned to Ellis Dean, and I slapped him hard across the mouth.





Ellis Dean: Okay. I had that coming.

Grainy cellphone video taken by a guest at the charity gala shows Katarina Shaw slapping Ellis Dean. The phone shakes and tilts sideways as the person filming rushes in for a closer look.

Jane Currer: It was appalling. There is no excuse for that sort of behavior.

Ellis reels, nose gushing blood all over the white feathers on his jacket.

Inez Acton: When a woman smacks a man in the face? She usually has a damn good reason.

Lee Shaw takes a lurching step toward his sister. Katarina evades him, and he stumbles, crashing into the Olympic Rings flower display beside them.

Producer (Offscreen): What did you think would happen when you invited Katarina Shaw’s estranged brother to New York?

Ellis Dean: I mean, not a heartwarming family reunion, obviously. Anyone could tell the dude was bad news. But I didn’t think it’d be that much of a disaster.

The party devolves into pandemonium. The band stops playing, and guests stream toward the doors, holding up the hotel security guards trying to enter.

Bella Lin pushes through the crowd to get to Katarina, with Garrett Lin a few steps behind. Lee lies in a pile of crushed roses, looking dazed.

Heath puts a comforting arm around Katarina. She ignores him, staring down at her brother with a mixture of fury and contempt.

Ellis Dean: No, I didn’t hear what she said. I was a little busy with my broken fucking nose bleeding all over my custom Cavalli.

More shaky cellphone footage, zoomed in on Katarina’s face. She’s speaking to Lee, but her voice isn’t audible over the commotion.

Garrett Lin: I’ll never forget what she said to him.

Producer (Offscreen): What did she say?

Katarina turns to go. Heath and the Lins follow—until Bella notices the person who’s been filming. She strides closer to the camera. “Delete that, or you’ll be hearing from our lawyers.”

A muffled curse, the angle going wild as the person scrambles to turn off the recording. The final shot before the screen goes black shows the security guards hauling Lee to his feet. He stares after his sister with tears shining in his bloodshot eyes.

Garrett Lin: I don’t feel right repeating it. Given what happened next, though…I think you can probably guess the sentiment.





Chapter 54





Heath and I left the party before they could throw us out.

We were the only ones in the elevator car, but Heath crowded me the whole way down, asking if I was all right, examining my reddened palm, wanting to know what I’d been thinking when I slapped Ellis.