"Callie, don't say that. You're not an outsider," Horatio said, clearly taken aback. "We've always been family. Why don't you come back home for Christmas dinner? Bring Mr. Myers with you."

Callie gave him an apologetic shrug. "Sorry, but my family's right here. My brothers are with me." "Wherever they are, that's home," she added, her voice warm and sure.

"But it's Christmas Eve," Horatio insisted, his tone almost pleading. "Shouldn't you be with your real brothers?"

Callie smiled and looped her arm through Quentin's. Quentin, tall, strikingly handsome, and with an unmistakable military bearing, possessed a quiet authority that made people instinctively straighten their backs. "Horatio," Quentin said steadily, "Callie doesn't want to spend Christmas with you all. If you really thought of her as family, you wouldn't have made things so hard for her all these years. You had time to take the imposter daughter shopping for groceries, but not your real sister."

Norton and Julius, who had been gathering other groceries, approached, their expressions cold.

"That's only because Callie wasn't living at home," Horatio argued, frowning. "If she was, of course we'd have included her. Callie, if you want anything, we'll buy it for you. It's not right to keep bothering these guys. They're not your real brothers, after all."

His words sounded more like a claim than an offer, implying only the Jewell family were Callie's true siblings and that they, and only they, should provide for her.

Ulysses nodded. "He's right, Callie. Let us get you whatever you want. We're your brothers. It's only right that we pay for your things."

Callie gave them a cool, almost amused look. "You probably can't afford what I want. You should just focus on being Lisette's brothers. You've only ever been able to buy things for her, anyway." She paused, then added with a shrug, "Oh, and if you want to buy gifts for your real sister, I'm afraid you'll never get the chance."

Their real sister had been gone a long time.

Horatio bristled. "Come on, Callie, it's just a few groceries. Of course we can afford it. Don't hold a grudge. Family is about blood ties. There's nothing more real than that."

Callie shook her head. "So, Lisette isn't your real sister?"

Horatio faltered, speechless. Lisette, standing nearby, quickly interjected, "Callie, these are your real brothers. Hanging around with these men gives people the wrong idea. And shouldn't you be with your own family for the holidays?"

Callie looked her directly in the eye. "So, it's fine for them to spend time with you, but I'm a terrible person for hanging out with my brothers? You're pretty good at stirring the pot, Lisette. If I'm so awful for being with the brothers I chose, aren't they just as awful for being with you, the sister they chose?"

Her words hit hard. Lisette's face flushed as she glanced at her three brothers. Ulysses, suddenly uncertain, looked at Lisette, as if seeing her in a new light. Perhaps Callie was right; perhaps Lisette had been manipulating them all along.