Chapter 2

At those words, Dad froze.

Rachel's face crumpled with something like guilt.

I knew exactly what Mom was talking about.

I had been very small then, but I remembered.

I had seen her, drenched in blood, with my own eyes.

Mom was the only heir to the Whitfield Group.

Not long after I was born, she went back to work. The company was in the middle of a major restructuring, and it couldn't run without her at the helm as CEO.

Grandmother waited until Mom wasn't home, and had Dad quietly take me out to the old family estate in the countryside.

I was terrified of this strange place.

I cried and cried for Mom, but Grandmother ignored me, and didn't give me any food.

The sky grew completely dark.

Then she brought out a large bowl. It was too heavy for me to lift.

Inside was some milk, grayish, with tiny specks of dust floating on the surface.

I was starving. I got down on my knees, stuck out my tongue, and lapped at the milk, clumsy, one lick at a time.

Like a puppy.

That was when Mom arrived.

The moment she saw it, something in her broke. She rushed over, scooped me up, and turned to run.

Grandmother stopped her.

She turned back, shoved the front door shut, and let the bolt drop with a heavy thud.

"You worthless thing. What's the rush?"

Mom didn't answer. She just held me tighter and watched the old woman warily.

"The Whitfields have a whole empire. What good is a girl?"

Grandmother's mouth curled downward with contempt.

"A family needs more than one child. Fine, Daniel doesn't have the stomach for it. It doesn't matter…"

She paused, and smiled.

"He has an older brother."

Mom's face drained of color.

I could feel her heart racing, and I started to cry.

Heavy footsteps came from behind us.

A man shambled out of the back room. There was something wrong with him.

Drool hung from the corner of his mouth, dripping down in slow beads. When he saw Mom, his eyes lit up.

"Baby… Baby…"

He lurched toward her.

Mom scrambled to get out of the way, and while she was distracted, Grandmother snatched me from her arms.

"Please, calm down. I have money. I can pay to have him treated. Just don't touch Lily…"

Mom's voice, always so composed, was breaking with panic as she pleaded.

"Treat him?"

Grandmother laughed coldly.

"He can't be fixed. And I've stopped trying."

"Give him a child. That way I've done right by my firstborn."

She stepped back and tilted her head toward the door behind her.

"Go with Marcus. Otherwise, you can forget about taking this girl anywhere."

Mom looked at the old woman, then at me. Her eyes were red.

"Mother, I'll go. Just don't hurt Lily. She's your granddaughter too."

The door closed.

I didn't dare cry. I didn't dare move.

I could only stare, frozen, at that dark doorway.

It felt as though the door had swallowed my mother whole.

I don't know how long it was before Dad came.

He broke down the door and carried Mom out, soaked in blood.

Rachel picked me up. Her hands shook, and her eyes burned with hate.