[Shirley slams the manuscript on the table in front of Steven]
The fuck, Steve?
[worried] You didn't like it.
No, I didn't like it.
What's going on?
My brother raped the family, is what's going on.
Hang on...
Look, I get that things haven't gone well for your writing, and when you said you wanted to do a book about the house, I understand that, but this...
I sent you guys the manuscript in case you had any objections. I didn't have to do that.
Of course, we object. I object, Steve.
Let's calm down a bit.
You be calm, Leigh. It's not your name in here. It's not your family.
OK, it is my family...
You weren't here. [turns back to Steven] Nell, Luke, Theo, they were kids, the things they told you in confidence.
It's clear they were kids...
You make Mom sound fucking crazy. And the Dudleys and Dad? This is the worst of the bullshit. Worse than the tabloids.
Dad had every opportunity to set that straight. What am I supposed to write? He said it was haunted. Those are his words.
He was a wreck and he just lost his wife.
And he hasn't said SHIT since. Does he talk to you, Shirl? Does he talk to you about what happened that night? Because all I've got are those tabloid quotes. He refuses to tell us anything else.
He believed it, Steve. When he said those things, he believed them. In the moment, at least, and you never did.
Neither did you.
And now you're digging up that stuff for a buck? So you can stop living off credit for a change?
[frustrated] A buck?
[to Shirley] Look, I can tell that you're upset, but Steve...
A buck? Do you know how much money they're offering on the advance? We can buy a house, we can move to L.A. We can... I need to start a life for my own family.
We're our family, Steve. What you're doing to Mom...
Mom was mentally ill. It's a fact. I'll be damned if the apple didn't fall too far from... [he stops himself and Shirley is shaken by his words] I'm sorry.
Wow.
I'm sorry. That was...
Wow.
Nobody's buying the novel, Shirl.
You gave me the book. Now you know what I think. You publish this, you know what it costs.
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