[ A short, sharp laugh. ]

Have you ever met my father? - No, of course you haven't. He doesn't tend to leave the District. That'd force him to speak to people. [ Well. ] If you'd met him, you'd know that it would be better to live as a beggar on the streets than to remain under the umbrella of his dubious charity. Besides, it's not as though there was even anything to inherit save the old house, and if the deed was passed to me, I'd just burn it to the ground.