CHAPTER THREE: BETRAYED

I never liked Claire Ward, not even in the beginning, when I believed she was just hired to take care of me now that Mommy was in heaven. Daddy thought I would need someone to care for me, and according to him, this girl, our cruel, discourteous maid, was the perfect person to do so.

I know now why he hired her. He hired her because she was his mistress, even then, and wanted to be closer to her without it looking like he was moving too fast. I was so foolish to trust him. I wish I had known from the beginning that my Daddy was a two-faced, lying snake.

"Now stop that crying, Spring! I won't have anymore of this nonsense in my house!"

It was three months after Mommy died, and I was buried face down in my bed, sobbing. I cried a lot during those days, and having Claire hovering around me 24/7 was no help, either.

"I said stop that crying! Crying isn't going to bring your mommy back," she taunted, cruelly. "I'm your mommy now, Spring, and I say stop that at once!"

I turned my head to her, swiping the tears from my eyes. "You'll never be my mommy, Claire! NEVER! You may take over her place in the bed, at night, but you'll never replace my mommy in mine or Daddy's hearts!"

"You spoiled little brat," she screamed, marching forward and grabbing me by the shoulders. "I'll show you!" She slapped me across the face. As she raised her hand to hit me again, I struck back, sending her reeling, clutching her hand to her jaw.

"Never touch me! Not even in a motherly gesture! I don't want you anywhere near me," I screamed at her, shoving past her and running down the hall. "I wish you were dead, Claire! As dead as my mommy!" I ran straight to Daddy's office, where he was doing paperwork. He looked up from his desk and sighed heavily, frowning.

"What's happened now, Spring?" Daddy asked, in a heavy, morose tone.

"Daddy, that woman you hired hit me!" I screamed at him, pointing to the welt I knew was on my face. But instead of getting upset at what Claire had done to me, he became upset with me!

"You mustn't talk back to your elders," he snapped at me, his warm blue eyes turning as cold and hard as polished gemstones. "When Claire tells you to do something, you do it! Do you understand me, Spring?"

"Daddy, how can you side with that horrible woman?!" I cried, angry that he would not listen to what I was saying, or me. Daddy was blind to that woman's faults. He believed every horrible lie she spewed about me. He had changed. I didn't know him anymore.

"Because she's your new mommy now," he said, calmly and evenly.

"What do you mean?" I asked, my arms and legs going cold.

"I married Claire last week, in a private, secret ceremony. She's your new mommy, and she's going to be taking care of you now," he said, as if he were talking to a business partner and not his daughter. "I expect you to obey her as you did your real mommy, Spring. I won't hear of this nonsense about her striking you. I won't hear of it. She has every right to punish you the way she sees fit."

"Daddy, how could you marry that awful girl so soon after Mommy's suicide?!" I screamed at him, surprising both Daddy and myself with my rage. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO MOMMY?! HOW COULD YOU, DADDY?!"

"Stop this, Spring! Stop it now!" He got up from his plush leather chair and walked around his desk, to grab me by my shoulders. He shook me, still yelling at me. "Stop this nonsense, Spring! You're not a baby, are you?! Stop shrieking as if you are one, then! STOP it, I say! Stop it now!"

"Daddy," I screamed at him, paying no heed to his angry words, "I hate you! I wish it were you who died and not Mommy! Mommy was a good, kind woman who never did anyone wrong! It should be you lying in that cold dirt grave, not her!" I pulled free of his hands and turned, running for my bedroom. Claire was in the hallway listening to every word, waiting for me, her blue eyes hard and bitter.

"You mustn't talk back to your daddy," she snarled at me, meanly. "Since I'm your new mommy, you'll obey me. You will not mention Priscilla anymore; do you understand me? This is my house now, Spring. My house and everything that once belonged to that woman is now mine. Her clothing, her jewels, her shoes, EVERYTHING of hers now belongs to me!" she taunted me in a singsong voice, raising her hands.

I saw what Claire was clutching. She was holding the diamond and ruby necklace Mommy had given me for my fourteenth birthday. "You can't have that," I snapped at her, harshly, forgetting what she and Daddy had tried to hammer into my brain. "That's mine! Mommy gave it to me and you can't touch it!" I grabbed the necklace out of her hands. "It's MINE, Claire, not yours!"

"Your beastly little brat," she hollered, grabbing it away from me. "I'll make sure you never see this necklace again!" Without warning, Claire dashed the necklace to the marble floor and brought her foot down on it, smashing it to pieces.

"NO! MOMMY'S NECKLACE! YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT!" I screamed, shoving her out of the way and gathering the broken necklace into my hands. "THAT WAS MY MOMMY'S LAST GIFT TO ME, YOU BITCH! I HATE YOU! I HOPE YOU ROT IN HELL, WHERE YOU BELONG!"

All of my screaming brought Daddy to my side, where he saw me holding Mommy's necklace to my chest. "Spring," he barked, "what have you done to Claire?" He stepped over me and swept that awful woman into his arms, showering her face with kisses. "Claire, darling, why are you crying? What did she do?"

"She broke the necklace you said I could have," Claire whined, faking tears. "That brat snatched it out of my hand and said, 'If I can't have it, you can't either', and stomped it to pieces!"

"Those are lies," I screamed, jumping to my feet, "those are all lies, Daddy! She wanted to have Mommy's necklace! When I wouldn't give it to her, she threw it to the ground and crushed it with the heel of her boot!"

"NO MORE!" Daddy boomed, letting go of Claire to crack me across the cheek. "I'll have no more of your insidious lies, Spring! I've half a mind to throw you across my lap and beat your bottom until it turns red!"

Claire smiled. "She's a spoiled little girl, Jeremy. She should be punished. Teach her the lessons that Priscilla never had the nerve to!"

"You're right, dear," Daddy smiled winningly at Claire, his eyes softening for her the way they once did for my mommy and me. "You're always right." He grabbed me by the arm and dragged me into my room, shoving me onto the bed and slamming the door behind him, turning his key in the lock. "I'm going to do something I should have done when you were little! Your mommy always complained that it wasn't right to strike children! Bah! Maybe if I struck you as a child, you wouldn't be so insolent today!" Daddy removed his belt from around his waist. "COME HERE, SPRING!"

"Daddy, she lied-" I began, but he cut me off harshly.

"NO MORE OF YOUR LIES, SPRING! I KNOW HOW YOU ARE OUT TO GET CLAIRE! SHE'S YOUR NEW MOTHER NOW! YOU HAVE TO FORGET ABOUT YOUR MOTHER! SHE'S DEAD AND SHE'S NEVER COMING BACK! I HAD TO MOVE ON, AND YOU MUST, AS WELL! I WON'T HAVE YOU DISRESPECTING CLAIRE," he screamed at me.

I'd never seen such an ugly look on my Daddy's face. When I did not budge, he grabbed me by the arm and threw me across his lap. "BAD GIRLS GET PUNISHED, SPRING! YOU'RE A BAD GIRL! HOW COULD YOUR REAL MOMMY LOVE YOU NOW, AFTER WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!" he screamed, as he brought the belt down on my rear end. "YOUR MOMMY DIED BECAUSE OF YOU," the man I once considered Daddy snarled, in an ugly tone I had never heard him use until Claire barged into our lives. "YOUR MOMMY KILLED HERSELF BECAUSE SHE COULDN'T HANDLE YOU ANYMORE, SPRING! SHE KILLED HERSELF BECAUSE YOU WERE A BAD DAUGHTER! WHAT WOULD SHE DO IF SHE COULD SEE US NOW, HUH SPRING?! WHAT WOULD SHE DO?! SHE'D LEAVE US BECAUSE OF YOU, THAT'S WHAT SHE'D DO!"

I cried out, but not from the pain, which was immense. "SHE'D TELL YOU TO THROW THAT WHORE OUT OF YOUR BED," I screamed back at him, my voice just as loud and as resonant as his. "SHE KILLED HERSELF BECAUSE OF YOUR WHORE, DADDY! SHE FOUND OUT YOU WERE SLEEPING WITH CLAIRE! SHE WROTE ME A LETTER! SHE KNEW! YOU'RE THE REASON MOMMY DIED! NOT ME!"

Daddy lowered his arm and pushed me aside. "That's not true," he insisted, his voice shaking. "That's not true, Spring! Mommy didn't know! She couldn't have known, Spring! I tried to keep it a secret!"

"You admit it then," I cried, glaring at him with such hate, he looked away. "I hate you, Daddy. I hate you so much, I wish I had the courage to kill myself and join Mommy in heaven. But I don't. Instead I'll remain as a reminder of what you did to my mother. I hate you Daddy, and I hate the evil, vile woman that replaced Mommy in your bed. I hope you both rot in hell for what you've done to my mommy! Tell your whore I said that!"

Daddy stood up, looming over me, his eyes hard and his voice cold. "You must never call your mommy a wh-" he began, but I cut him off.

"SHE'S NOT MY MOMMY! SHE'LL NEVER REPLACE MOMMY! NEVER!" I screamed, shoving him to the door. "SHE'LL NEVER BE ANYTHING TO ME! NOTHING MORE THAN A WHORE! A HARLOT! GO OUT AND TELL HER THAT!"

"Keep your voice down," he snapped, pulling from my hands.

"NO! I WILL NOT KEEP MY VOICE DOWN! I WANT THE WHOLE NEIGHBOURHOOD TO KNOW WHAT YOU DID TO MY MOMMY!" I screamed, opening the door and throwing him out.

I threw myself onto my bed, sobbing without abandon. Before Claire, everything was perfect! Before her, Mommy and Daddy loved one another and they were loyal to one another! Before Claire, we were a family, a happy family! But she had to change it! I'll show her! I'll show her what Spring Priscilla Danielson is all about!