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WHEN SLOANE ARRIVED back at the penthouse that afternoon, she braced herself for impact. She expected to be met at the door by her mother, a fiery hot rage ignited in her eyes as she screamed at Sloane to pack her bags. She expected to see Frank's satisfied grin in the corner, as if she didn't already know that he ratted to Sabrina about their argument earlier. Sloane already had Airbnb pulled up on her phone as she entered the swanky apartment.
But her mother wasn't waiting for her.
Sloane walked further into the foyer, and then looked around at the center of the penthouse. Frank was in the kitchen, talking on the phone with a colleague. Everett wasn't home yet, but an old Spongebob episode was playing in his room, making it seem as if he was there. (Not like his guardians noticed.) And her mother sat on the couch, reading a book in front of the fireplace and swirling a glass of merlot in her left hand. Neither of them paid Sloane any mind.
So Frank hadn't told Sabrina.
That made zero sense. Her step-father clearly didn't like her – and she didn't like him either, for that matter – so why not take the ample opportunity to kick her out? He was a smart man; he knew something like that would've sent her mother over the edge. She was still pissed about what Sloane had said to her after Thanksgiving, and telling her about their quarrel would've had Sabrina kicking her daughter out before she could even step into the penthouse. But Sloane was back in the guest room now, sitting on her bed and closing the Airbnb app. He really hadn't told her.
Sloane didn't understand the game Frank was playing here, but she decided it wasn't time to push her luck. She couldn't go her entire stay dealing with this insistent tension with her mother. Stubborn as she may be, it was incredibly uncomfortable. And Sloane didn't have the money to live anywhere else, no matter how much she wanted to believe she did. It was time to give in to the apology Sabrina so desperately wanted.
"Hey, Mom."
Sabrina viewed up at her daughter from the ginormous vanity mirror. Sloane leaned against the frame of the master bedroom, surprised that her mother even gave her the time of day. But her hope vanished as soon as it came. Sabrina went back to brushing mascara on her lashes and closed the tube. With a sigh, Sloane ventured further into the room and sat on the king-sized bed.
