I wouldn’t do that.”

“Well, you certainly touched my son. And apparently my daughter?”

“Yes and no. With regard to Michael, he and I never had what you’d call traditional sex. He tried, obviously, but I had no interest. Jessie’s a different story. Our relationship is real, and physical, and I’m going to ask you to respect it.”

“That will never happen,” I say, fighting the urge to go for her throat.

“We don’t have to be friends, Alison. But you do have to let Jess and I explore our relationship. Not that there’s anything you can do about it. I mean, we’re going to be together whether you like it or not.”

“Nicki, you’re a sick, fucking, degenerate…”

“I’m waiting for a noun, Alison. Surely there’s a noun coming.”

“…Pedophile!”

“Ouch.”

“You knew she was underage. You could go to prison for what you’ve done.”

“What have I done?”

“You just admitted molesting my underage daughter.”

“Did I? Where’s your proof?”

I grit my teeth. “You’re cocky now, but she’ll come to her senses. She’ll rat you out soon enough. You’re going to do hard time for this.”

“We’ll see.”

If I had any sense, I’d remain calm. But when it comes to my daughter, I’ll fight to the death. I may be too late to save her virginity, but I can certainly prevent this from happening again. All I have to do is…

“You’re thinking about telling her who I am.”

“Count on it,” I sneer.

“It won’t matter,” she says. “Jess will take my side and you’ll only make things worse for yourself. If you try to break us up she’ll never forgive you.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

“Of course you will. It’s how you’ve lived your entire life.”

“Fuck you, Nicki.”

“Let’s not be rude, Alison. You came here for answers, so I’ll give you a few. Again, I’ll reiterate I never touched David. I wouldn’t do that, and you of all people should know that. And while I hate to keep repeating myself, I’ll say it once again: I never blackmailed him. I wasn’t trying to win David over, but he developed a massive crush on me, and you only have yourself to blame for that. If you’d been a better wife, he never would have looked my way. It makes me cringe to think he went through Michael’s phone searching for photos. I’m sure he wasn’t expecting to find nudity, but that’s probably what gave him the courage to pursue me.”

“David has proven himself to be a despicable pig,” I say, “but you can’t pin his behavior on me. You know nothing about our relationship. He didn’t deserve it, but I was a wonderful wife.