Glimmer of Truth, Born to Warmth

...

As I dragged my suitcase toward the front gate, Emma suddenly grabbed my sleeve. "Mom, are we really leaving? But Dad finally promised to spend my birthday with me."

Her pitiful look brought tears to my eyes.

For seven years, George Quinn only promised to celebrate Emma's birthday because she agreed to play the "adopted" role.

George's anxious shout came from behind us. "Emma, come back here."

Emma, thrilled to hear him call her, ran back.

When I caught up, I saw him roughly yank the pendant off her neck. Ignoring her shocked expression, he put it on his and Lily's son.

I was furious. "That pendant was your father's final gift to Emma. She is your only daughter. You can't..."

Before I could finish, Lucas stormed forward and shoved Emma to the ground.

He screamed through tears, "Dad, I'm Grandpa's real grandson. She can't take my stuff."

Emma's knee was scraped, but she bit her lip and stayed silent.

When I touched her trembling hand, I felt bruises on her palm.

I remembered a week ago when Emma shyly handed George a Father's Day card she made in art class. She'd spent all afternoon on it.

But George didn't even glance at it, tossing it in the trash.

"Don't waste my time with this junk," he snorted. "You're at school to study, not mess around with useless stuff."

Yet he framed Lucas's sloppy, scribbled card and hung it proudly in the living room.

Emma was so heartbroken she couldn't eat dinner. George took it as jealousy, whipping her hand with a stick and scolding me for raising her wrong.

He banished us both to the basement.

That night, Emma, burning with a fever, curled up in my arms. She sobbed, "Mom, am I bad? Did I make Dad mad?"

I touched her scalding forehead, frantic. I banged on the locked basement door and begged George to get a doctor.

Through the door's crack, I saw his cold, unyielding face. "What's with the act? It's just a fever. She will get over it."

His words, more scary than the damp, suffocating basement, left me breathless.

"Mom, it hurts." Emma's trembling voice snapped me back to reality.

I glared at George as he pinched Lucas's cheek, praising him. "Good job! The Quinn family's stuff belongs to my real heir."

Seeing Emma shake in pain, he sneered, "Such a drama queen, just like your mom."

Suddenly, Lucas, who'd been full of energy, went pale, blood streaming from his nose. He collapsed like a log.

"Lucas!" George's roar hit the roof.

He scooped up the unconscious boy, his eyes blazing with hatred as he glared at me.

Lily Olsen came stumbling down the stairs, screaming.