Her dad had loved her once. Her mother had to. They'd been a normal family - well as normal as you could be when you're all both vampires and Draculas. She'd rarely been allowed to call him dad - too human. She'd rarely been allowed to eat ice cream and junk food - too human and bad for the fangs. She couldn't make friends - way, way too human.
But they'd been happy. They had balls and parties and she used to dance on her father's toes to learn and he'd taught her how to be as cruel as a vampire could be. And if sometimes he wished for a son - well she didn't care. She'd only been a toddler. All she'd known was that her father wanted another child and it wasn't like she'd known what an heir was at that age.
So when her mother was pregnant she was excited. Someone else to play with, she'd thought.
Her father had been given a son.
He didn't have time for his daughter anymore - he had his precious heir. He only had time for his heir.
Even her mother had been abandoned in her husband's fervour until she in turn abandoned them. Ingrid was left with a father that ignored her and a brother she hated.
Well that was fine with her. Her mother had shown she would always let her down but her father was still here - he must still like her, at least a bit, right?
She stayed with him for that small hope.
And then she stayed with him because she didn't have anywhere else to go.
She couldn't decide whether it was a good thing she had faint memories of the time before her brother was born. Would it be better if she couldn't remember being appreciated at all?
No.
She'd act like a doormat then. Now, as it was, she remembered that life could be better and could get better if she made it happen.
She still hated her brother - but it was hard, particularly when he was the only one nice to her and he agreed with her with her sarcastic thoughts about their parents. Maybe not with the humans - but you couldn't have everything in life and Ingrid was happy for anything. For now.
One day she'd prove she was better than them all.
She'd never forgive either of her parents. She was looking forwards to the looks on their faces, particularly her father's when they realised their daughter was the best of them all. Maybe she'd keep Vlad around as an assistant.
But she would never let herself forget it was his fault her life had been so awful.