Chapter 2

Sophie had come down with a fever this afternoon. Her temperature shot up to 102.6°F. Her face was flushed bright red as she huddled on the sofa, whimpering.

Emily went to the master bedroom to find the fever reducers. The first-aid kit had always been kept in the master closet.

She pushed the door open only to find Olivia lying in her bed, tucked under her covers, with her glass sitting on the nightstand.

Olivia looked like she had just woken up. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, her voice sounding soft and airy. "Is something wrong, Emily?"

Emily gripped the doorknob tightly. "I'm here for the medicine. Sophie's running a fever."

"Oh, the medicine," Olivia yawned. "Michael said the medicine here was expired a couple days ago, so he had me throw it all out. If you need some, I've got new ones, but I can't remember where I put them. I'll have to look around."

Emily looked at Olivia's innocent expression, and suddenly, it felt like something deep inside her just broke apart. It wasn't anger; it was something far more terrifying, a cold, absolute despair.

Without a word, she turned and walked back to the guest room.

Sophie's fever was spiking. Her little lips were parched and peeling as she whimpered for her mother in a daze.

Emily tried to bring the fever down manually, wiping her forehead, underarms, palms, and feet with a damp towel again and again.

Whenever the towel warmed up, she'd grab a fresh one, repeating the process until her fingers were numb from the cold, but the heat wouldn't break.

Sophie had to get to the hospital.

Emily scooped Sophie up, bundled her tightly in a blanket, and stepped out of the guest room.

In the living room, Michael and Olivia were sitting on the couch. The projector was humming with an old movie, and the coffee table was cluttered with takeout containers. The air smelled of greasy pepperoni pizza.

Michael glanced up at her. "Where are you going?"

"The hospital. Sophie's burning up." Emily held Sophie as she headed for the door.

"It's snowing out there. Just call an Uber," Michael said.

Emily froze. She turned back to look at him.

He just sat there. Having said his piece, he turned back to the TV and reached for the box, grabbing a slice of pizza. Olivia whispered, "That's a bit spicy. Take it easy," and he just grunted, taking a massive bite.

Emily suddenly started to laugh. She was laughing at herself, at how naive she'd been for five whole years, only to finally see the writing on the wall today.

"Michael," she called his name. Her voice was so calm it sounded foreign even to her.

He looked up again, a scowl etched across his face. "Now what?"

"If Sophie dies tonight," Emily said, looking him dead in the eye, "will you regret it?"

Michael's hand was caught mid-air. He slammed his crust back into the box. "Emily, have you lost your mind? Who the hell curses their own daughter in the middle of the night?"

"I'm asking you, will you regret it?" Emily said.

"I won't regret a thing." He stood up, looking down his nose at her. "Because she's your daughter. If you can't take care of her, that's on you. What's it got to do with me?"

The room went dead silent for a heartbeat.

Emily glanced down at Sophie, who was burning with fever and barely awake in her arms. Her eyelashes fluttered as she whimpered, "Mom... hold me..."

Without another word, Emily carried Sophie out the door.

As the door clicked shut behind her, she caught Olivia asking, "Why is she so bent out of shape?" followed by Michael's reply, "Just ignore her. She's just being dramatic. She'll get over it in a day or two."

Emily was all alone in the elevator. She leaned against the frigid metal wall, finally letting the tears fall.

"If you can't take care of her, that's on you. What's it got to do with me?"

Those were his words. That was Sophie's father talking.

When Sophie turned one, he had spun her around the living room, declaring, "My little princess, if anyone ever bullies you, they have to answer to me."

When Sophie called him "Dad" the first time, he had recorded it and posted it online with the caption: [My life is complete.]

When Sophie was hospitalized with pneumonia, he stayed by her side for three days and nights until his eyes were bloodshot. The nurses couldn't stop praising what a devoted father he was.

Was it all just smoke and mirrors? Or had everything simply gone south the moment Olivia came back?