Violet spent over an hour on the phone.


    As soon as she realized the mix-up, she quickly reached out to several news outlets to stir up publicity for herself.


    With any luck, tomorrow''s front page would feature her dramatic maneuver at the track-she''d be making headlines before the race show even aired.


    It was a shame about that video game deal. Otherwise, all threepanies could have made a killing with her help this time.


    After some coaxing from Violet, Gwh finally went to bed. But Victoria''s earlier phone call still weighed on her mind her mom had promised her the game, but now she wasn''t so sure it would happen.


    She tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep even as the clock crept past ten.


    Now, she regretted ignoring her mom''s call earlier. Was Victoria asleep by now? Or worse, was she angry at being ignored?


    Gwh clicked on her bedsidemp. Next to her pillow sat the glow-in-the-dark jigsaw puzzle she and Violet had spent the whole evening putting together. It was beautiful.


    Violet always bought her favorite things, and anything Gwh wanted to do, Violet would join in withoutint.


    Part of her just wanted to stay close to Violet, but she couldn''t stop thinking about her mom''s promise. Torn between the two, she felt restless.


    In the end, Gwh couldn''t resist the temptation of the game. Late at night, she dialed Victoria''s number.


    Victoria, meanwhile, had crawled into bed with a book, but exhaustion from a day spent at the racetrack with Osborn quickly caught up to her. After flipping just a few pages, she drifted off to sleep, her book forgotten.


    Her phone was set to silent, so when Gwh called, she didn''t hear a thing.


    Gwh tried calling several times, but with no answer, she assumed her mom was ignoring her out of anger.


    Her heart pounding with worry, she sulked for a while, then grew increasingly upset. If her mom was just lying to her, why should she even bother picking up the phone?


    The thought made her cry. Violet heard her sobbing from the next room and came in to find Gwh clutching a stuffed animal, tears streaming down her cheeks.


    "What''s wrong, Gwyn? Did something upset you?"


    Seeing Violet made Gwh feel even worse. She pouted, her tears falling faster. "Mommy didn''t answer my calls. She''s ignoring me."


    Violet stroked Gwh''s hair, a little exasperated. "Come on now, maybe she didn''t mean to. But it was you who ignored her call first, right? Maybe she''s a little upset too."


    Just then, the sound of a car engine drifted in from outside-McNeil was home.


    Violet stayed with Gwh, trying tofort her. McNeil, hearing his daughter''s cries as he came upstairs, immediately came to check on her.


    "What''s going on?"


    Gwh had seemed happytely, and he''d been workingte at the office, thinking everything was fine. Yet here she was, still awake and in tears.


    Gwh just sobbed, refusing to say a word.


    Violet gave McNeil a gentle look. "Go take a shower. It''ste. I''ll stay with her- little girls get emotional sometimes. She''ll be fine soon."


    McNeil had never been good atforting women, not even his own daughter. He knew how to buy her gifts or take her out for fun, but saying the right thing to make her feel better? That was a challenge he''d never mastered.


    "Alright," he said.


    He turned to leave, but instead of returning to his room, he went downstairs. With a sigh, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes, took one, and lit up as he stood by the tall windows, looking out into the night.


    Upstairs, Violet stayed with Gwh for another thirty minutes, finally soothing her to sleep. As she headed downstairs, she heard the quiet sound of McNeil moving around. She found him by the window, cigarette in hand, his face shadowed with mncholy.


    She walked over quietly, intending to slip her arms around his waist, but just as she reached out, McNeil turned to face her.