Chapter 3

I'd been the one taking care of Lucas since the day he was born.

He was a high-need baby with severe allergies.

For the first six months, he was practically glued to me.

To take care of him, I gave up a promising career and ended up with lasting pain in my arms and lower back.

Whenever it rained, the ache cut straight to the bone.

Lucas had always been frail and sickly.

He coughed and wheezed in spring and autumn, got stomachaches in summer, and if he wore too little in winter, pneumonia would come knocking at the door.

Day and night, I watched over him, running myself ragged until my reflection turned pale and lifeless.

But Edward told the boy that I had made him sick just to get his attention.

From then on, the child who once saw his whole world in me was gone.

In his place stood a stranger, one who looked at me with nothing but hostility and disdain.

I once foolishly believed that someday, when he grew up, he would understand all I had done for him.

But now I know that just because you were family didn't mean you'd ever really understand each other.

Lucas, after all, was just like his father, believing only what he wanted to believe.

Cake and frosting were smeared all over my face.

Olivia gasped and hurried over with a handkerchief, frantically dabbing at my cheeks. "Helen, I'm so sorry. I never expected Luke to act out like this. Sorry, I should've kept a closer eye on him. Here, let me get that for you."

I had no idea what was on the handkerchief.

Because when Olivia pressed it to my face, a wave of burning and itching shot through me, sharp enough to make me flinch.

Olivia looked gentle, but she was secretly pressing harder than she let on.

Every stroke made the pain worse.

She rubbed the cream harder, pushing it toward my nose and throat until I could barely breathe.

My instinct took over, and I shoved her away.

A loud thud followed.

I didn't see what had hit what, only that a second later, a searing pain tore through my abdomen so fierce it nearly knocked me out.

"Helen, you vicious woman!" Edward roared. "Liv was trying to help you, and you pushed her. Have I been too nice to you lately?"

I lay collapsed on the floor, eyes shut tight, the burning on my face cutting like a thousand blades.

Each ragged breath drove the cream clogging my nose deeper into my lungs, choking me until I gagged and retched where I was.

Just as I tried to move, I felt something warm and wet trickling down between my legs.

I reached out for something to hold on to when Lucas slammed again and again with his small, powerful feet into my already fragile lower back.

He yelled, "You old witch! I'll kill you. How dare you bully Liv? I'll kill you."

I was in so much pain, I kept blacking out and snapping back, mouth open, but not a single sound came out.

"Mr. Grant, no—please stop Luke. I'm fine, really, she didn't hurt me... Ah—it just hurts so much..."

Olivia's fake, whiny voice drifted down from above me.

"Fine? Are you kidding me?" Edward snapped. "You think I don't know how strong Helen is? I saw you hit your back. What if you're bleeding inside?

"No, we're going to the hospital, now!"

Edward seemed to have lifted Olivia into his arms.

They stepped right over me, one of them stomping hard on my fingers.

I yelped in panic.

Lucas spat right in my face. "Yuck! You're shameless. You're the one who pushed Liv, and you still dare to scream. If anything happens to her, I'll never call you Mom again."

Edward's voice followed, cold and sharp. "That's right. If anything happens to Liv, you can pack your things and get out of this house."

The door slammed with a heavy bang.

Silence swallowed the whole living room.

I lay there like an old rag doll left behind in an empty house.

For a long time, I couldn't move.

When I finally gathered enough strength to roll over, I started crawling toward where I remembered my phone was.

But every inch I moved sent waves of pain tearing through me.

Behind me, the trail of blood stretched longer and longer, while the phone ahead seemed to drift further away.

My life was slipping away like sand through an hourglass.

Just before I lost consciousness, I thought I saw my father walking toward me from a distance.

I grabbed the hem of his pants, sobbing so hard I could barely breathe.

I said, "Dad, it hurts. It hurts so much. Please take me away. I don't want to stay here anymore. I don't want to stay here ever again."

He smiled gently and placed a phone in my hand. On the screen, the emergency line was already ringing.