Father spoke to me then, even as his gaze stayed upon Mother marching away, “I think that might be the last time I saved you, my Pearl. The last time I can.”
I swallowed hard but could not swallow away the lump in my throat.
Father looked at me. For the first time, I knew the incredibly successful and ruthless businessman he was. I glimpsed the core of him, a man who would do whatever it took to break his own bonds, of rebuilding, of regaining respect. I saw how much he wished me to be like him.
“The rest is up to you.”
I remember when I was a child, my mother"s hair had been a lovely sort of light brown, dark blonde mix. The strands of each tone flowed together in her long hair, adding richness and depth to the elaborate coifs so popular in those days. From the moment she met Alva Van
