Chapter 5
Clarence furrowed his brow, silent and visibly irritated at the doctor who had interrupted the surgery.
My mother was livid.
She jabbed a finger at the doctor and snapped,
“Who else could it be? Isn’t that just Eulalie’s bastard child?”
“We’re her elders–we have every right to make medical decisions for her! Who the hell do you think you are, interfering with a life–saving operation?”
“If anything happens to my daughter, I swear I’ll sue your hospital into bankruptcy!”
The doctor wiped the sweat from his forehead and handed over the report.
“Mabel’s full medical exam just came back,” he said, voice strained.
“According to the DNA test… she–she’s Clarence’s biological daughter.”
“What?” Clarence snatched the report from his hands and frantically flipped through it.
When his eyes landed on the 99.9% paternity result, he froze.
He stared at it in disbelief. Then slowly turned his head toward Mabel.
“No… That’s impossible. Mabel? Mabel is my daughter?”
“Six years old… she’s six…”
“That means… Eulalie was already pregnant when we sent her back to the countryside.”
“No. No, that can’t be. If something this huge was happening–why didn’t she tell me?!”
Would it have made a difference?
I let out a hollow laugh.
Back then, I tried to call Clarence every chance I had.
But the moment he heard my voice, he’d hang up.
If he didn’t hang up, he’d start yelling.
“Eulalie, stop bothering me. We live in two different worlds now.”
“I admit I used to like you, but I never thought you’d turn into someone so cruel. You’re not the sweet girl I used to know.”
“From now on, let’s wipe the slate clean. You’re nothing to me.”
He was lost in Serena’s gentle affection.
Blinded by his new high–society life.
He forgot his promises. Forgot me.
All those beautiful memories I treasured to him, they were shackles.
Shameful reminders of the poor, hopeless life he was trying to erase.
By the time I died, I had no expectations left for Clarence.
All I wanted was to disappear somewhere no one knew me.
To raise Mabel in peace. To give her all the love I never got. To give her a warm, normal home. To see her grow up healthy and happy,
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just like other kids.
But even such a humble wish was too much to ask.
Mabel inherited my fate. She almost died… by the hands of her own father.
I looked at Clarence, but I still couldn’t feel relieved.
He’d abandoned the girl he grew up with. How could I trust him to care about a daughter he’d never known?
Would he really see Mabel as his child? Or would he use her… just like they used me?
Would she be forced onto the operating table, just like I had been?
Would she die a tragic death just like me?
I didn’t dare think further. I shut my eyes tight, tears falling endlessly.
But then, Clarence suddenly bolted into the operating room and swept Mabel into his arms.
He cupped her face in his hands and stared.
Tears slipped down his cheeks without warning.
“She looks like me… so much like me,” he murmured.
“Her eyes, her mouth… she’s exactly how I looked as a kid.”
But Mabel, who had never seen him before, didn’t feel any warmth. Only fear.
She didn’t understand his words. She only recognized the danger.
With a terrified cry, she bit down on his hand.
“You’re a bad guy! A bad guy!”
“All of you are bad people! Let go of me! I want to go home! I want my mommy!”
“Mommy… Mommy…”
Each cry shattered what was left of my heart. –
Clarence’s tears streamed down his face. Ignoring the blood from his hand, he clutched her in a panicked, desperate embrace.
“Where’s your mom? Where did she go? Why did she leave you behind?”
Mabel shoved him away, still sobbing.
“Mommy’s dead! Mommy’s dead!”
“Grandma and Grandpa said she ran off with another man. They said she was a bad woman. But I saw her-
“I saw her fall down at the door… and they buried her… Grandma from the east side of the Lown said, people only get buried when they’re dead…”
As Mabel’s voice cracked through the air, Clarence’s face turned sheet white.
He staggered back a step, barely keeping himself upright.
Still, he clung to one last sliver of denial.
“No… that can’t be. She was so brave, so strong…”
“She wouldn’t die just like that…”
“She couldn’t have… Mabel, you must’ve misunderstood. Tell Daddy–tell me, where is your mommy buried?”
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Mabel turned her face away, tears falling like rain.
And in a small, clear voice, she said just two words:
“The hill.”
