Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Because I had hemophilia, Dad hired a girl with the same rare Rh-negative blood as me to be his secretary.

Her name was Vivian. She was a little ditzy, but people liked her.

Dad said she was my walking blood bank.

But little by little, whenever that "blood bank" came to give me a transfusion, Dad would frown with worry for her.

Once, when I was critically ill, Vivian said she was scared of needles, and Dad pulled out my transfusion line.

I almost died that day. I only made it because the hospital managed to get blood from a bank out of state.

When I woke up, I saw Dad holding Vivian's hand and telling Mom:

"I'm sorry, Rosa. I've fallen in love with Vivi."

"As long as you accept it, you're still my wife, and Hope is still my only daughter."

Mom accepted it calmly.

She looked at me with aching eyes.

I understood. Because I was still sick, she couldn't divorce him. She couldn't lose access to my medical care.

And so Mom became the most gracious don's wife in all of New York.

So gracious that when photos of Dad in bed with nightclub girls leaked, she handled it herself.

Every time, Dad would apologize to her and transfer a sum of money into my name.

Mom accepted it on my behalf, and they acted like nothing had happened.

Until a few days ago, when Vivian showed up with a baby bump.

She said she was pregnant with Dad's child. A boy.

"He was over the moon. I knew right then that sooner or later, this baby would threaten Hope's place. It has to go."

"And I'm dying anyway... I've spent my whole life as a vine clinging to someone else. If I can use what's left of it to pave the way for my daughter, I'll die happy."

As she spoke, Mom pulled out a brand-new journal.

A kept woman who'd only finished grade school didn't exactly have a habit of keeping a diary.

So she was going to fake one.

Her fingers were so swollen she could barely hold a pen.

But she still wrote out every word, every year she and Dad had shared.

When she was done, she sent the journal off to be aged and then locked it in the safe.

She made me memorize the combination.

"After I'm gone, on the day your father misses me most, you lead him to this diary."

It took her several days to write it. Mom clutched her stomach, sweat pouring off her in fat drops from the pain.

She gave me a black card and sent me out to buy her some painkillers.

It was strange. It was only September, but snow was falling from the sky.

I didn't have time to wonder about it. I fell again and again before I finally reached the pharmacy.

I paid for the medicine and swiped the card.

Beep. This card has been frozen.

I froze too.

It was Dad's supplementary card. It had never had a limit.

There was no way it could be frozen.

I called Dad right away.

But the person who answered was Vivian, her voice lazy and smug.

"That's your daddy punishing your mommy."

"He also told me to tell her to be a good don's wife and quit pulling her little stunts."

I screamed, "That's not true! You must have turned him against her!"

Vivian gave a soft laugh and lowered her voice.

"Sure I did. So what?"

"After all, I said one little thing, 'your baby brother wants to see snow,' and your daddy spent millions making it snow for me!"

I looked at the bruises all over my body and sobbed.

So this snowstorm that had knocked me down again and again was Dad's present to his mistress.

By the time I'd paid for the medicine with my piggy bank and gotten home, Mom had passed out from the pain.

I gave her the pills. When she saw the cuts and bruises all over me, her eyes went red.

I heard her call Dr. Eleanor.

"He loves her even more than I thought."

"I have to build up more moral credit for Hope. I have to die harder."

I don't know how long it was before I woke up in Mom's bed.

Mom was packing things up, gasping for breath.

She threw their wedding photo into the fireplace and sold off all her clothes and jewelry.

When I saw she was about to destroy the scarf she'd knitted for Dad by hand too,

I threw myself at her to stop her.

But she just kissed my little cheek.

"I know you don't want to let it go, Hope."

"But I have to make sure you're the only thing I leave behind."

I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

Just then, Dad's assistant, Marco, called Mom.

"Mrs. Caruso, Mr. Caruso just took Ms. Vivian to a prenatal checkup, and the press got pictures."

"He wants you to record an apology video clearing things up as soon as possible, so it doesn't hit the company's stock price."