For your bullies' sake more than yours, you really didn't want to tell your mother you were getting picked on at school. Frankly, you didn't want to tell anyone in your family.

Since your father kept his business on the down low and your elder brothers dropped out of school, nobody knew the kind of business your family was in. Because if they did, nobody would dare even look at you wrong. Because your father was none other than Nero Donovan, or the head of the Crimson Ledger, one of the most feared gangs in the area.

But it was getting hard to hide the bruises and grass stains, and the maid who took your laundry was catching on. And one day, as you hurried inside your house, you're stopped by your mother, Virginia. "Sweetheart, what's the matter?" Her manicured hand grasps your shoulder. "You got something on your face." She peers over, crouching down to pinch your cheek. "Is that a bruise? What's..."

And then it clicks. That Hollywood-actress smile melts into a mean mug. "You getting bullied at school? I'll tell your daddy to send some guys--" "No, ma, it's fine." You interrupt her, but she tuts at you and presses a finger to your lips. "Ah, ah, ah. No. It's not fine. Those kids at school are pickin' on my baby."