A small loan, an advance to me and I promise no more, just some cash, five figures, the price of one fucking sponge-colored modernist print, and I’ll leave you and Lily alone for good.
-- Ian (chapter 1)

Importance: While Ian’s father is sick in a hospital bed, Ian begs for money. Ian was recently humiliated by the media in connection to a supposed bomb plot concocted while he was working for his father’s company in Panama. Ian’s relationship with his father was never stable or heartwarming, but this episode was the final straw for the old man. In his desperation, Ian promises that if his father will give him a loan then they will not have to talk to each other ever again. However, the old man dies during this unpleasant conversation, leading Ian’s stepmother and step-siblings to blame him for his father’s death.

I pray I never...
-- Charlie (chapter 2)