With trembling fingers, Olivia turned the page. Susannah was killed bringing our daughters into this world. Her human body could not cope with vampire blood running in her veins. Olivia and Ivy are not the monsters. They are the angels. It is I who am the monster. I chose to flout the old traditions, and Susannah has suffered the consequence.
I cannot undo the evil I have done. But I vow to raise our daughters with the same supreme love that Susannah showed me. My soul may not be saved, but I shall do everything in my power to save theirs.
Olivia set the book down and closed her eyes. She needed a moment to digest what she’d just read. Our mother didn’t die in an accident like the Andover obituary said, she realized. She died in childbirth. And our father blamed himself. Still, it was clear that he hadn’t wanted to separate Ivy and Olivia at first. He’d wanted to raise them together. So what happened?
Olivia quickly leafed through the journal. A lot of it was about raising a human and a vampire infant side by side—“Olivia tried to drink from Ivy’s bottle today, and I was terrified.” And every few paragraphs, there seemed to be another mention of their mother, and her death. Her father’s guilt seemed to get worse and worse.
Finally, Olivia came to the final entry, dated the day before her first birthday. She took a deep breath.
For a year, I have fooled myself into believing that I could safely raise Olivia and Ivy together. Their mother died because human and vampire mixed—could there be greater evidence of the horrors that await them if they remain together? And yet I have forced them to live as twin souls, against sense, against nature, because I needed comfort in my sorrow.
I fear for Olivia most of all. Even if she could grow up in my home without incident, there is no way the Blood Secret could be kept from her. She will live her life among vampires. One day, she may want a husband. She will disregard my warnings about mixing, just as I disregarded my parents’ warnings. And what if she wants children?
I swear upon Susannah’s grave that I shall not make the same mistake twice. I must give up Olivia so that she can be raised in a human family. I love her more than my heart can bear. My soul screams out against leaving her, but I will not allow my selfishness to endanger her. Not anymore.
A clear droplet splattered on the page, and Olivia realized that she was crying. She put down the book and let the tears run down her face. He isn’t moving to get away from me, she thought. He’s trying to protect me. She smiled through her tears. He loves me! My father loves me.
She turned to the very last page of the journal, where there were only a few lines, followed by an expanse of blank page.
I would rather tell Ivy she is adopted than ever reveal my terrible secrets. She will never know of her mother. She will never know of her sister. It is our only hope of putting the past behind us. It is the best I can do for our daughters, and the least I can do for my Susannah, may she rest in eternal peace.
Olivia closed the book and rested her head on the side of the box. I wish Ivy were here, she thought desperately. She considered calling her on her cell, but she couldn’t give Ivy news like this when she was at the mall with her dad.
The doorbell rang, and Olivia looked at her watch. It’s Sophia and Brendan, she realized with a shock. She quickly wiped her face on the sleeve of her shirt and shoved the journal, the wooden box, and the other library things into the packing box from which they’d spilled.
“Hey. Are you okay?” Sophia asked when Olivia opened the front door. “You look like you’ve been crying,” Brendan noted.
It wouldn’t be fair to tell them before Ivy, Olivia decided. “Must be all the dust,” Olivia shrugged, wiping her nose. She forced herself back into the party spirit. “I was just moving packing boxes against the wall in the living room. Come on in. We have a lot of decorating to do!”
As Ivy’s father drove up their driveway, Ivy glanced at the clock on the dashboard: 7:05 P.M. I hope people have actually shown up, she thought nervously. And I hope my dad won’t be mad at me for inviting so many people to our house!
Once they’d parked, her father went around and opened the trunk, which was filled with shopping bags. “Well,” he said, “I should think you now have everything you need for Europe.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Ivy said. He looped his arms with shopping bags and climbed the front steps. Ivy hurried in front of him and said, “I’ll get it.”
She slowly opened the door for him, and he walked into the darkened foyer ahead of her. Suddenly, Ivy saw him tense, like something was wrong. “Ivy,” he said quickly, “is there something—”
“SURPRISE!” a chorus of voices shouted from the darkness, and Ivy’s dad was so startled he dropped all her bags.
The lights came on, revealing that the front foyer and first flight of the grand staircase were filled with guests. Olivia was perched on the end of one of the balustrades, with a party hat on her head.
Ivy’s father was speechless. He sputtered and stuttered, but couldn’t get anything out. Finally he turned around in shock. “Did you know this was happening?” he asked Ivy.
“It was my idea.” Ivy smiled. Her dad’s eyes softened, but before he could say anything else, the crowd descended on him, slapping his back and shaking his hand.
Ivy scanned the room. It seemed like every vampire in Franklin Grove had shown up—and then some! There was Mr. Grosvenor from the museum and Vincent the butcher and Dr. Pane Lee, their dentist. Georgia Huntingdon from Vamp had flown in specially for the occasion. Alice Bantam was there, wearing what looked like galoshes and a yellow and gray plastic bag. Even Miss Everling had made it! Ivy spotted Brendan, standing with his parents and Bethany on the other side of the room, and she waved to him. He gave her a big, proud thumbs-up. In return, she blew him a kiss. He caught it right on the neck.
Suddenly the crowd started calling, “Speech! Speech!” and Ivy joined in.
“Yes, yes,” her father said, raising his hands in the air. “Keep your fangs in.”
Everybody laughed.
“I would like to begin by thanking my beautiful daughter Ivy for planning this.” The room burst into applause, and Ivy couldn’t help beaming. “And I would like to thank all of you for coming,” her father continued. “But more than that, I would like to thank each and every one of you for welcoming me from the day I arrived in this town. Franklin Grove will always be my home. And I will always think of you, all of you, as my family.” His voice choked up. “It breaks my heart to leave you.”