Chapter 2

The ambulance took Vanessa to St. Joseph Medical Center downtown. Ethan rode with her. The rest of us followed.

At the emergency room, I complained about my tremors until a neurology resident evaluated me and ordered follow-up testing. Once the burn team dressed Vanessa's chest, I carried my paperwork to the hospital's urgent eye clinic.

Vanessa was leaning against Ethan, whimpering about the burn.

I walked over and yanked her out of his arms.

"Doctor, fit her with the thickest glasses her actual prescription requires. And make the frames impossible to miss."

The ophthalmologist blinked.

"Her myopia is significant, but modern high-index lenses can correct it without being unusually thick."

I laughed coldly.

"She mistook a six-foot man for an empty chair and sat down on him. If the prescription isn't the problem, then perhaps we should discuss why she keeps behaving as if she's blind."

Vanessa shook her head frantically, tears spilling down her face.

"I won't wear glasses! They make me look hideous. Ethan, help me!"

Ethan stepped in front of her.

"That's enough, Claire. Vanessa cares about her appearance, so she normally wears contacts. She just forgot them today."

I pulled a bottle of industrial-strength superglue from my purse.

"You don't want glasses? Fine. I'll glue the contacts to your eyeballs. Then you'll never forget them again."

I twisted off the cap and walked toward her.

Vanessa screamed and hid behind Ethan.

Ethan seized my hand.

"You're insane!"

My wrist jerked, and glue shot all over the front of his suit jacket.

"Parkinson's. Nothing I can do."

Ethan shook with rage. He tore off the expensive jacket and threw it in the trash.

I turned back to the doctor.

"Use her real prescription. Put it in thick black frames, and make sure she leaves with them on. If she walks out unable to identify furniture, I'll file a patient-safety complaint."

The doctor looked exhausted, but the prescription itself was medically appropriate. He sent us to the optical shop across the lobby for temporary lenses and heavy black frames.

Half an hour later, the glasses sat on Vanessa's face.

She looked in the mirror and burst into tears.

I walked over and slapped the remaining superglue onto the counter.

"If you take those glasses off, I'll glue them to the bridge of your nose."

Vanessa clutched the frames. She was too frightened even to cry out loud.

When we got home, I locked Ethan outside.

He pounded on the door.

"Claire! Open this door! I don't feel right leaving Vanessa alone at a hotel. She can't see. I need to grab some things and go take care of her."

I shouted through the door.

"Go ahead. But if you leave, don't come back."

The hallway went quiet.

I knew Ethan would not dare walk away.

My father's family trust had provided the seed money for Ethan's company and still controlled its main line of credit. With me taking this hard a line, Ethan knew that if he openly turned against me, the trust could freeze his financing by morning.