All of it was deliberate.
She'd insisted she didn't want to live with us in the city, that she had to go back to her countryside mansion.
Then, not long after she'd settled in, she called to say she wasn't feeling well and wanted to see us and Lily. She'd placed a little cat toy in the suite's sitting room. Lily's favorite.
When I saw that toy, I was genuinely moved.
Moved that Kate had finally accepted Lily, imperfections and all. What I never expected was that the moment Lily touched it, she collapsed. Cardiac arrest. Instant.
I don't want to remember what came after.
I could only watch as my daughter slowly died, powerless to do a single thing.
And their reason for doing it? They thought Lily's hearing impairment made her defective. They wanted me to give her up for adoption and try for another baby.
But this time, the one who got shocked wasn't Lily.
It was Dick.
And I hadn't kept that from Kate.
"Mom, what are you talking about?" I pressed. "Dick is barely hanging on, and you want me to mop the floor? The paramedics aren't going to care whether your tiles are spotless when they get here. They're not going to stop and judge your housekeeping."