ly. She had won first place in her very first dance competition, and I had used the last of my savings to buy her

room when Sophia came downstairs. Her

, her voice dripping with false s

won my dance competition," Lily sa

," she cooed, leaning over his shoulder. "Look at that doll. It' s the limited edition

Sophia' s pouting face,

ative. "Sophia likes your new toy.

n' t believe wha

said, her lower lip trembl

ternly. "Sharing is important. Sophia

said, my voice shaking with a rage I hadn' t felt in years. "I bought tha

Ava. You' re teaching her to be possessive and selfi

her special prize to someone who gets a new car and a penthouse just for existing? You want her to learn that her accomplishments mean

me as if he' d never seen me before. Sophia, seeing

ttered. "Keep y

ophy? I was just thinking, we should all go to the amusement park th

al penny-pinching, that a tiny, foolish part of me felt a

et to work on a freelance project with a tight deadline. I felt a pang of guilt f

my phone rang. It wa

. Ava Thompson?" a

this is

Six Flags. We have your daughter, Lily, here with us. She

d. "Alone? Wher

he ride and told her he' d be waiting when it was over. The ride operator found h

house. The drive to the park was a blur of terror. What kind of father aba

er face streaked with tears, her body trembling. The momen

er. "The ride went up so high, and when I got off,

herself and just walked away. What if she had gotten lost? What if someone had taken her? My mind spun with horrifying possibilities, each one