"The attacker tried to silence her for good, and to save herself she had no choice but to jump from the window."

"By the time we reached the scene, she was covered in injuries and barely lucid."

"But she was still clutching this good-luck charm in her hand, saying she wanted to give it to her dad."

"Such a bright, good girl. It breaks your heart."

"Don't worry, though. We'll do everything we can to catch the man who did this."

To assist the investigation, the police asked me to confirm the evidence from the scene.

The moment they laid it out, the tears came before I could stop them.

Under a heap of torn clothing lay a small good-luck charm.

Faye had gone up the mountain last year to get it.

Back then she'd presented it to Barnaby like some precious treasure, only to be scolded for wasting her time on nonsense and embarrassing the Farley name.

After that, she pushed herself twice as hard, all so she could get into his old university.

Yesterday she'd received her acceptance letter and couldn't wait to bring him the good news.

Who could have known she'd nearly not come back at all.

I pressed the charm to my chest.

The tears I'd held back for so long finally fell.

For the next few days, I stayed by my daughter's side.

With the therapist's help, she no longer had the thoughts of ending her life that she'd had at first.

She even forced smiles to comfort me.

"My dad is a great lawyer. I have to be strong. I can't let him down."

But that great-lawyer father of hers never came to see her. Not once.

She said nothing about it, yet I couldn't bear to watch her ache.

So I kept calling Barnaby.

When the agreed-upon day came, my girl deliberately changed into long sleeves.

We waited together from dawn until dark, and only then did Barnaby finally show up, dragged there against his will.

He was on the phone, frowning at me.

"The firm just took on a difficult case. Whatever it is, make it quick."

Faye was about to lift the acceptance letter in her hand.

Barnaby suddenly turned to his assistant Maxine Pruitt behind him.

"Did you find the surveillance footage from the scene?"

"Time is money. We can't waste a second."

The smile on my daughter's face faltered, but she gathered her courage and spoke anyway.

"Dad, I got into Weston University."

Barnaby ignored her.

He just went on discussing the case with Maxine as if Faye weren't there.

"But don't worry too much. Since he's your relative, I'll give it everything I've got."

"Besides, I've always despised those shameless little girls who go around sleeping with people at such a young age."

The color drained completely from my daughter's face.

She kept rubbing at the wounds beneath her clothes, the smile on her face uglier than any crying.

My heart clenched tight.

I was about to step forward and cut them off when a knock sounded at the door.

Maxine glanced over, and her expression suddenly turned eager.

"Barnaby, this is that distant cousin of mine I mentioned, the one who wanted your help with a case."

"He's just a country boy, doesn't know much about anything. He'd barely gotten to the city when he got caught in a badger game."

"Please, come look with me. I'm afraid he's so young, what if he does something desperate…"

The moment he heard that, Barnaby dropped my daughter and walked out without a backward glance.

Worried she'd be hurt, I hurried over to comfort her.

Before I could reach her, she started trembling.

"Mom."

Faye clenched her teeth.

"That night, the man who knocked me out. That's him."

"What!"

I shot to my feet.

But my daughter grabbed my hand and held on.

In the dead of summer, her hands were terrifyingly cold.

Every word she spoke carried a fear that had sunk into her bones.

"Why is Daddy defending a man like that?"

"Does he hate me? Doesn't he want me as his daughter anymore?"

"I'm not a good child. I disappointed Daddy, and now Daddy doesn't want me…"

I kept shaking my head, trying to calm her.

But she was like something possessed, calling out the same words over and over.

"Daddy doesn't want me."

"Daddy doesn't want me…"

There was nothing I could do.

I could only chase after Barnaby to make him understand the truth.

He heard the whole story out, then shook my hand off, impatient.

"Cora, could you at least think before you lie?"

"Faye is my daughter. In this city, who would dare lay a hand on her?"

"If she didn't do well on her exams, she can just tell me. There's no need to make up a lie like this to win sympathy!"

I froze, lifting my head in disbelief.

"That's your own daughter. You won't trust her, but you'll trust an outsider?"

Barnaby gave a cold laugh.

"I'm a lawyer. I go by evidence."

"If she can't produce hard, solid proof, then don't blame me for not claiming a daughter who's full of lies!"

"Dad."

My daughter's faint voice came from behind us.

She was wearing the loose hospital gown.

Her thin little hand was still clutching that acceptance letter she'd been so proud of.

"I didn't lie. I really did get into Weston…"

Before she could finish, Barnaby's phone rang.

He glanced at the name on the screen and answered without a moment's hesitation, his voice going soft and soothing.

"Maxine, don't worry. I'm coming right now."

"I'm here. You don't have to worry about anything."

The last bit of light in my daughter's eyes went dark.

The acceptance letter slipped from her hand and drifted off on the wind.

She looked like an old woman at the end of her days, her back bent, her steps unsteady.

All that was left was a soft murmur under her breath.

"So Daddy just doesn't like me after all."

My heart was breaking.

I rushed forward and grabbed Barnaby, trying to force him to go back and apologize to his daughter.

All I got in return was the same impatience on his face.

"Cora, would you stop making a scene?"

Barnaby took out his phone and opened a video.

"I already checked the surveillance."

"Last night, Faye stayed home the whole time. She never went out."

"How could she have been hurt or attacked while she was at home?"

"I know you don't like how close Maxine Pruitt and I have gotten, but you don't have to put our daughter up to slandering an innocent boy!"

An experienced, top-tier lawyer, and he didn't know surveillance footage could be faked?

Barnaby, who'd built his reputation on being objective and thorough, had lost every ounce of his judgment the moment Maxine Pruitt came into his life.

I looked at him and felt, all at once, a deep helplessness.

"Barnaby, back when we married, you said something to me."

"You said no matter what happened later, you would believe in me without wavering, and face it all with me."

"And now? Look at what you've done."

Barnaby smiled, and the smile was full of contempt.

"And what about you? Are you still the Cora you used to be?"

"Suspicious and jealous all day long was bad enough, and now you've raised our daughter into this!"

Faye was wonderful. She was my pride.

Early in his career, Barnaby's stubborn temper had offended plenty of people, and he'd nearly been blacklisted by a group of them.

It was me, carrying our daughter, who went door to door to apologize.

Back then she could barely form words.

She only knew to repeat the same thing over and over.

"I want Daddy. I want Daddy."

Those small, stumbling words were what bought Barnaby a way out.

And Barnaby, in her weakest and most helpless moment, pushed away the hand she reached out for help.

"Forget it."

Looking at my red-rimmed eyes, Barnaby let out a soft sigh.

"These years haven't been easy on you either."

"Go home and tell Faye that bad grades are fine, but there can be no flaws in her character."

"I don't expect her to inherit what I've built. I just can't have her turning me into a laughingstock in the profession."

"I'm a respected attorney. I can't have a daughter who lies through her teeth and breaks the law."

No evidence gathered. No investigation.

On nothing more than a few words from Maxine.

He, a professional attorney, convicted his own daughter outright.

Before I could even grieve, a string of messages hit my phone.

"Miss Henson, you need to come back right away."

"Someone posted an explicit video online. Faye saw it and it set her off completely."

"It's bad right now. None of us can calm her down!"

The video was blurred, but anyone who knew her could tell at a glance who it was.

And below it, the comments ran vulgar and vile.

"Whoa, I think that's the class beauty from next door. Seemed like such a proper girl. Never guessed she got around like this."

"If I were her I'd just off myself, save my parents the shame!"

"Full video, five bucks a copy. Contact info's twenty. First come, first served."

Every word, every frame.

Each one slammed into me like a bomb.

I forwarded the video to Barnaby.

My fingers shook as I typed.

"Sue whoever posted it. We can't let them spread lies about Faye!"

This time, Barnaby replied fast.

But it was only two words.

"No time."

Right. I'd forgotten.

Barnaby, right now, was busy clearing the real perpetrator.

How could he have time to care whether his daughter and I lived or died.

Tears fell onto the screen and blurred everything.

I reached out again to a few friends in the field, hoping they might help my daughter get justice.

Not long after the messages went out, Barnaby called, his tone sharp with irritation.

"Cora, why are you out there spreading rumors that Maxine put someone up to hurting Faye?"

"Do you have any idea how much damage an accusation like that does to a young girl?"

"Get over here and apologize to her. Publicly admit every mistake you've made. I won't let you destroy Maxine's future!"

The blind, one-sided blame pushed my voice higher before I could stop it.

"And Faye's future and reputation, those don't matter?"

"The one who hurt her is Maxine's distant cousin. You won't believe a word your own daughter says, but you'll help clear the man who assaulted her. Barnaby, are you even human!"

That caught Barnaby short for a moment.

Then he threw out one last cold line.

"You're beyond reason!"

Inside the room, our daughter was trembling, terrified by the sound of us fighting.

It was a long while before she slowly lifted her head.

"Mommy, does Daddy really hate me?"

I wanted to explain, but I couldn't find the words.

The bloody truth was laid out right in front of me.

I could no longer do what I'd done all those years ago, dredging up one excuse after another for Barnaby.

The light in my daughter's eyes dimmed, bit by bit.

For a long time after that, her mental state was in a bad way.

Some nights she was like a startled bird, awake till dawn.

Other times she would grip my hand and say she would live on, for my sake.