When the car pulled over onto the highway shoulder, I thought Caleb Thorne needed to use the restroom. "Lily is asleep, try not to wake her," I whispered, pulling my daughter's small blanket up to her chin. Caleb didn't turn around. His fingers tapped rhythmically on the steering wheel. "Grace, take Lily and get out of the car." I froze. "What?" From the backseat, Vanessa spoke in her soft, syrupy voice. "Caleb, honey, it's fine. We can squeeze." Her daughter, Bella, immediately started wailing. "No! I don't want to sit next to the dirty kid! She coughed earlier!" Caleb turned around. His eyes were colder than I had ever seen them. "Did you hear me? Get out." "Tessa is already on her way. She'll be here in thirty minutes." "Just wait here for a bit." It was December 28th. The highway was a sheet of ice. The temperature was 23 degrees. I clutched my three-year-old daughter tight and watched him restart the car. The taillights faded into the snowstorm. Until they disappeared completely. 1 The snow fell harder. I held Lily close, standing by the guardrail, trying to shield her from the biting wind with my body. "Mommy, where's Daddy?" Lily whispered, her cheeks flushed red from the cold. "Daddy... Daddy went to Grandma's house first," I forced a smile. "Auntie Tessa is coming to pick us up soon." "But it's cold..." I wrapped her inside my down jacket and covered her head with my scarf. My phone had 30% battery left. I called Tessa. Once. Twice. Three times. Finally, she picked up. "Grace? What's up?" The background noise was loud, like she was at a club. "Tessa, your brother said you were coming to pick us up. Where are you?" "Huh? Pick you up?" Tessa paused. "Oh, right. Caleb mentioned it." "But I'm partying with friends right now. I can't leave." "Just wait a bit. I'll come later." "Tessa, it's freezing out here. Lily can't handle this..." "Ugh, Grace, stop being so dramatic. What's the big deal about waiting a little?" "Caleb said Vanessa and Bella can't catch a cold, so he had to rush them back." "You two are tough. Waiting a bit longer won't kill you." Click. I gripped the phone, my fingers stiff with cold. I called Caleb. Voicemail. I called again. Still voicemail. Lily was shivering in my arms. "Mommy, I want to go home..." "Soon, baby. We'll be home soon." I kissed her forehead. My eyes burned. Four years of marriage, and I never knew Caleb could be this cruel. For his ex-girlfriend Vanessa's daughter, he abandoned his wife and child on the side of a highway in a blizzard. Just because Bella said she didn't want to sit next to the "dirty kid." Headlights approached from the distance. I waved frantically. A black SUV slowed down and stopped in front of us. The window rolled down. A young man looked out. "Need help?" It felt like grabbing a lifeline. "Can you give us a ride? Just to the next service station!" The man looked at the child in my arms and frowned. "Get in." "Thank you! Thank you so much!" I reached for the door handle... "Grace?" I froze. Another head popped out from the back. It was Caleb's cousin, Ethan. He looked at me, then at the empty highway. "What are you doing here? Where's Caleb?" I briefly explained what happened. Ethan's face turned dark. "Is he insane? Leaving you and Lily here?" "So Vanessa's daughter is human, but his own daughter isn't?" He swore under his breath and turned to the driver. "Mark, let them in. We'll squeeze." The front was full, and the back seat next to Ethan was crowded with gear. "There's no room..." Mark hesitated. Ethan opened the door and jumped out. "You guys go. I'll wait here." "No, you can't!" "Hurry up!" Ethan shoved me toward the car. "Lily's face is purple. She can't stay out here!" I climbed into the back seat with Lily. The heat hit me, making my frozen skin sting. Ethan slammed the door and knocked on the window. "Grace, call me when you get to the service station. I'll make Caleb come get you!" "Ethan, it's freezing. What about you..." "I'm a man, I'll be fine! Worry about the kid! Go!" The car started moving. I watched through the rear window as Ethan stood in the snow, his figure growing smaller and smaller. Tears welled up. My own husband left us to freeze. In the end, the one who saved us was an outsider. 2 Lily fell asleep in my arms, but her face was unnaturally flushed. I touched her forehead. It was burning hot. "Mark, can you drive faster? My daughter has a fever!" Mark nodded and accelerated. I took out my phone to call Tessa again. No signal. The highway wound through the mountains. Reception was spotty. "How much longer to the service station?" "Twenty miles. But with this snow, at least thirty minutes." Thirty minutes... I held Lily tighter, constantly checking her temperature. Hotter and hotter. "Baby, wake up. Don't sleep..." Lily opened her eyes groggily. "Mommy, I don't feel good..." "I know, baby. We're almost there. Just hang on." She started coughing, a hacking sound that turned her face purple. I patted her back, tears finally falling. "Please, faster!" "I'm going as fast as I can! The roads are slick!" Mark shouted back, tension in his voice. Lily's coughing got worse. Her breathing sounded like a broken bellows. "Mommy... I can't breathe..." I unzipped her coat. Her chest was heaving violently. Acute pneumonia. She had it last year. We almost lost her. "Lily, look at Mommy. Don't close your eyes!" "Mommy will tell you a story. The one about the little white rabbit..." Her eyes fluttered, half-closed. Her breathing grew faint. I banged on the window like a madwoman. "Help! My daughter is dying! Help us!" But outside, there was nothing but snow and darkness. The car finally pulled into the service station. I rushed into the convenience store with Lily. "Is there a doctor? My daughter is dying! We need help!" The clerk looked terrified. "No... no doctor here..." "Call 911! Now!" "The cell tower is down... landlines aren't working..." My legs gave out. I nearly collapsed. In my arms, Lily had gone silent. The owner of the small motel next door rummaged through a first-aid kit and found some children's fever reducers and antibiotics. "Try giving her these?" My hands shook so hard I couldn't open the packaging. Lily lay on my lap, her breath so shallow it seemed like it would stop any second. I managed to get the medicine in her mouth, but she had no strength to swallow. "Lily, swallow it, please baby..." The liquid trickled out of the corner of her mouth. The owner couldn't watch anymore. "I'll drive you to the county hospital. But the snow is heavy, the roads might be closed..." "Go! Please! Go now!" I emptied my wallet and shoved all the cash into his hands. "Please!" The owner gritted his teeth. "Alright! Let's risk it!" 3 The car crawled along the snow-covered road. Every bump made Lily's body go limper. I held her tiny hand, talking nonstop. "Lily, remember you wanted to go to Disney World? Mommy will take you." "We'll ride the biggest carousel." "You'll wear your Elsa dress, right?" "We'll go to Universal too. See the Transformers. Your heroes, remember?" Her eyelashes fluttered. But her eyes didn't open. My phone buzzed. Signal! I dialed Caleb's number with trembling fingers. It rang for a long time before he answered. "Hello?" The background was quiet. He was home. "Caleb..." My voice was a raspy croak. "Lily is sick. It's bad..." "Where are you?" His voice was terrifyingly calm. "On the way to the county hospital. Come quickly..." "Grace." He interrupted me. "Didn't Tessa pick you up?" "She didn't come! She never came!" "Impossible. She just posted on Instagram that she was on her way." I froze. I opened Instagram. Found Tessa. Latest post, ten minutes ago. A selfie. Background: highway. Caption: "On my way to pick up the sister-in-law~ Bro worries too much~" The geotag showed she was sixty miles away. In the city. She hadn't moved. She was lying to Caleb. And lying to me. "See?" Caleb said. "Tessa will be there any minute. Just wait." "We can't wait! Lily is dying! Our daughter is dying, Caleb!" "Grace." His voice dropped to zero. "It's New Year's. Don't talk about death. It's bad luck." "Vanessa and Bella just got here. Mom is happy. Don't ruin it." "When Tessa gets you, take Lily to a clinic." "Kids get fevers. It's normal. She won't die. Stop being dramatic." Click. I stared at the phone, my blood running cold. The owner looked at me in the rearview mirror. "Husband?" I nodded. "Bastard," he spat. "Hold on tight. I know a shortcut. We can't let the kid die!" The car swerved onto a mountain road. The snow fell harder. Lily's breathing was almost inaudible. I checked her pulse. It was weak, almost like a hallucination. "Lily... don't scare Mommy..." "Mommy was wrong. Mommy shouldn't have been so stupid in love!" "Mommy was wrong. I shouldn't have married him..." "Mommy shouldn't have let you suffer..." sobbing, I reached into my inner pocket and pulled out a button-sized metal device. My father gave it to me. He said: "Grace, the Thorne family values sons over daughters. If one day they mistreat you because Lily is a girl, press this." I pressed it. No sound. But I knew the signal was sent. Father said his people would be there within three hours. But three hours... Could my Lily wait three hours? 4 We finally reached the county hospital. I rushed into the ER with Lily, my voice gone from screaming. The nurse took one look at Lily and yelled for a doctor. "Acute pneumonia! Heart rate dropping! Prep for resuscitation!" I was stopped outside the trauma room. Through the glass, I watched them intubate Lily, hook her up to monitors. That tiny body, lying on the bed, looking like she could disappear at any moment. I crouched in the corner, shaking uncontrollably. My phone rang. Caleb. I answered, saying nothing. "Grace, where are you?" He sounded annoyed. "Mom is waiting to eat." I opened my mouth, no sound came out. "Speak!" "Hospital..." I squeezed out. "Lily is in resuscitation..." "What?" He paused. "Why are you at the hospital? Where's Tessa?" "She didn't come..." "Bullshit. She just texted me she got you." I opened the family group chat. Twenty minutes ago, Tessa sent a message: "Bro, got Grace. Heading back now." Attached was a blurry photo of a car interior. The back of a woman's head in the passenger seat, wearing a jacket like mine. It was an old photo she took of me months ago. She was lying. Using prepared photos. "She's lying," I said. "Caleb, come to the hospital. Now." "Grace." Silence for a few seconds. "You just don't want to come back for New Year's, do you?" "Is it because Vanessa is here? You're jealous?" "So you make up these lies?" I was stunned. "You think I'm lying?" "What else?" He sneered. "Why would Tessa lie to me?" "She's my sister. What are you?" "A woman who served her purpose after popping out a girl." I gripped the phone so hard my nails cut into my palm. "Caleb, if Lily dies today, I will never forgive you." "Whatever," he said. "Mom said Vanessa can still give me a son." "If you can't, then step aside." The line went dead. I listened to the dial tone, sliding down the wall to the floor. The trauma room doors opened. A doctor walked out, mask pulled down. "Family?" I scrambled up. "I'm her mother." The doctor looked at me, eyes full of pity. "We got her back, but..." "But what?" "Because of the prolonged hypoxia, there's brain damage." "It might affect her intelligence, or even... permanent paralysis." My vision went black. I grabbed the wall to stay upright. "How... she's so small..." "We did our best." The doctor sighed. "Go handle the admission. The ICU costs won't be low." I stumbled to the billing window. Card declined. Insufficient funds. Caleb only gave me $500 a month for "allowance," saying it was "enough for a girl." I called him. "What now?" Noisy background. Glasses clinking. Laughter. "Lily needs surgery. Transfer me $10,000." "$10,000?" His voice spiked. "Grace, do you think I'm an ATM?" "Caleb, she's your daughter!" "Just a girl. Even if we cure her, she's a losing investment." "Are you going to transfer it or not?" "No," he said. "Earn it yourself if you're so capable." "Oh, and Mom said don't bother coming back. Going to the hospital on New Year's is bad luck." "After the holidays, we'll divorce." "The house is mine. You didn't pay for it, so you get nothing." "As for Lily..." He paused. "If you can't afford her, send her to an orphanage." "I don't want a burden anyway." I hung up, drained of all strength. I looked at the billing clerk. "Can we treat her first? I'll pay back slowly..." "Sorry, hospital policy. Deposit first." I walked out of the hospital into the snow. My phone vibrated. Ethan. "Grace! Where are you? Caleb said Tessa got you?" "Ethan." My voice was so calm it scared me. "Do me a favor." "Name it!" "If I die, help me take care of Lily." "What are you talking about!" "I have no money. Lily is dying." "Caleb doesn't want her. I can't save her." "Send her to an orphanage. At least she'll live." "Grace, don't do anything stupid! Where are you? I'm coming!" "No need." I hung up and turned off the phone. I walked back to the ICU. Lily lay there, tubes everywhere. Pale face, looking like she was just sleeping. I held her hand. "Baby, Mommy is sorry." "In your next life, don't be my child." "Find a good family. Be a princess everyone loves." I leaned down and kissed her forehead. Then I turned and walked out. The hospital roof. The wind was howling. I stood on the edge, looking down. The people below looked like ants. One jump, and it would all be over. Lily would go to an orphanage. Caleb would marry Vanessa and have his son. Everyone would be happy. Except me and my daughter. I closed my eyes. Leaned forward. A hand grabbed my wrist. Yanked me back violently. I fell onto the concrete roof and looked up.
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