Her daughter’s excellence was all thanks to Silver’s influence.

“What I wanted to tell you was that Dylan is standing at our doorstep. He said he wanted to see you. Your dad and I refused and told him to leave, but he’s not budging.”

Imogen was not surprised by this, but she still pretended to be surprised, so as not to raise her mother’s suspicion.

“Why’s he here?” Imogen asked, feigning ignorance.

“Who knows? He didn’t say. He only said he wanted to see you. The way he treated you, playing with your feelings—your dad and I have been holding in a lot of anger for a long time.

“But you didn’t want us to confront him, so we couldn’t vent it. Now he’s come knocking, wanting to see you? It won’t be that easy.”

Imogen was not planning to meet Dylan either.

“Your dad told him to stand outside for two hours with his coat off and that if he doesn’t freeze to death, he’ll let him see you.”

Imogen was speechless for a moment. “Mom, it’s freezing outside. Even wearing a thick coat, it’s