A:Thanks. I couldn't sleep, so I got up early. Are you going somewhere?

N:Yeah, I'm gonna head back into the city, actually.

A:But there's still a few more days of vacation.

N:Yeah, I know. I figured it'd be good to get back in and settled before school starts. I mean, Louisa's at the house, right? It's -- it's not a big deal.

A:No. I haven't wander to tell you this but you're going to find out soon enough.

N:Find out what?

A:The federal prosecutor has taken your father's leaving town as an admission of guilt. They want to forfeit our assets... for restitution.

N:What, they wanna take our money?

A:Well, not yet, but they have frozen our accounts.And now they're making an inventory of everything that we own. I asked your granddad for help.

N:What, you told grandpa?

A:Not that it did any good. As you can imagine, he's not very happy with my role in your father's departure. For the time being at least, I've been cut off.

N:I can't believe you knew all this, and you didn't'say anything.

A:All summer, I kept hoping I could make it go away, and maybe I still can, which is why I need you to keep your chin up and trust that your mother's got this handled.

N:No, when he left, dad told me to take care of you.

A:And you are. Nate, let's not fight about this, please.