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It took all my self-control not to yell.
Instead, I remained deathly still, clutching on to Reggie, my voice eerily level. “I expect you to be a reasonable person and not murder your husband over bullshit.”
“Bullshit?Bullshit?” She scoffed, peeling off an errant false eyelash from her cheek. “You fucked off to Seoul. And us? We were the ones who DoorDash’d his breakfasts, dropped his laundry off at the dry cleaners, and supervised maids as they cleaned up the house. You were off living a fairytale, while we put blood, sweat, and tears into pretending to be a happy family.”
Vera yanked off the other eyelash pair, tugging some skin with it, adding, “How did that bastard thank us?” She pointed to the ceiling. “With a will that barely gave us a roof above our heads.”
I shook my head. “Has it ever occurred to you that he left all he legally could to me because he didn’t feel valued by you? He had to ship his daughter across the ocean to spare her abuse from his wife. He choseyouwhile he was alive. So, he chosemein death. Fair enough for you?”
I didn’t bother telling her I’d trade places any day. That I’d give every penny up if it meant he’d chosen me while he was still here.
Why didn’t he choose me?
“Fair? We’d be left with nothing.” Vera’s chest heaved up and down with her shouts. “What were we supposed to do?”
“Work.”
“I have.” Vera unclasped a gold earring. “Since I was five, stealing wallets at malls. Never again.”
“Because you’ve graduated to murdering men for their money.”
“You can’t see past your privilege. You didn’t drop out at twelve to make money for your mom and brothers. You never had to sell your body for a bag of groceries. Work? I’ve done it all. Mybodyhas done it all.” She gestured to Reggie and Tabby. “How do you think I ended up with them?”
I believed her.
I believed her, and I pitied her, and still—andstill—I hated her.
She had no right to kill my dad.
“Mom.” Reggie stomped her shoe. “You said my daddy died in the war.”
Tabby scratched her temple. “You said my daddy drowned saving an injured dolphin.”
Vera ignored them, unclasping her other earring. “Before I was twenty-two, I had a toddler and another baby on the way. Diapers, formula, hospital bills. I was so sick of it all. Then, your dad moved in next door to my pimp. I knew I’d hit the jackpot.”
She shoved the baseball-sized hoop earrings into Tabby’s palm. “I had an OB appointment for Reggie, so I asked him to watch Tabby. I had a fever that wouldn’t go away. Your dad let me stay at his place. He spent the entire night up, watching over me until the fever broke. Two months later, I moved in permanently.”
Beside her, Andras’ eyes never left Vera, glued to her lips as if hearing her past for the first time.
“My pimp moved out from next door after your dad paid him off.” Vera stepped forward. “For once in my life, I had it all. Two kids. A home. A hot husband. Then,youshowed up. So needy. So greedy for his time. Always crying for a bottle or to be held.”
“I was a baby. I did what babies do.”
“What about Reggie? She was just a baby, too. He even dared to ask me for my breast milk for you, too. You’re not even my kid.” She kept advancing toward me, her steps slow and measured. “The minute he saw you bundled in that box, I knew you ruined everything. Because the way he looked at you… Tabby, Reggie, and I had his sympathy. You had his love.”
My grip on Reggie tightened as I realized how close Vera had gotten. I could see the green flecks swimming in her dead eyes.
“Bullshit.” I shook my head, refusing to believe it. “Dad chose you. He sent me away. He?—”
“Boohoo. You went to an exclusive international school with all those rich kids, while he couldn’t even afford your fencing equipment. You know he dug into our savings? He sold our stocks, dipped into our 401(k).”
Oh, Dad.
No matter how wrong he was for this, it still didn’t give Vera the right to harm us.
I wanted the earth to swallow me whole. To bury me beneath the house until it decayed. “That doesn’t excuse how you treated me.”
I released Reggie, pushing her away. She collapsed into Vera’s arms, sobbing into her chest.
