Madeline Miller was sitting next to Joshua Thomas, her lawyer who was determined he was saving her life, and finding her a good home to live in.  

Joshua tried to assure Madeline that her life was not falling apart. She was going to be okay. Joshua reminded her that she had to work on her grades, and her CGPA to get into some good college. Far from NYC, far from this 'shithole' that she was being taken to. Madeline looked out of the window. She had never felt more lost in life. 

Joshua said softly, "I remember Katherine. She and I dated for over eight months. She was just in middle school. She was always headstrong, and selfish. But might I add, she was fiery. That's where you get your fire from, Maddie. You get your fire from your mother. I know you don't like this information. But you remind me so much of her. And just like her, I know you wouldn't give up. NYC is where she birthed you. Your father might be there, who knows?  NYC will be different, trust me. Different from both Saratoga and Chatham."

Madeline pretended not to hear that, and stared at the passing landscapes. Joshua did not probe her, and left her with her thoughts. Madeline didn't want to ponder on the fact that her father might be somewhere out there in New York. She had been to NYC only twice. She was not used to cities. Suburbs were her thing. Cities were complicated. Cities were reckless. 

Joshua got down with Madeline at New York. He took a cab to her aunt's house. She lived in Long Island. She had married a rich guy early in life. She had been smarter than her sister always. Why? Probably because she had not turned pregnant in her teenage years. And married a rich bloke when she was just twenty. She was definitely smarter than her sister Katherine who left with her one year old kid to Saratoga with a guy who was a struggling soccer player. Only to leave that child in a supermarket, when the soccer guy killed himself. And then running away with an Australian, abandoning her child. But maybe, Madeline thought, leaving her alone and running off with the Australian was probably the smartest thing her mother had done in her life.

As far as Madeline recalled, her aunt Mrs. Browning had a fourteen year old son named Lucas. Madeline had seen them visit her grandparents over Thanksgiving. She never particularly liked them. She hated them, actually. They were the fakest people she knew. Her grandparents had loathed them too. 

Now, living under their very  roof was going to be torture. She should have been given capital punishment instead. What's the point of this hopeless life?

Joshua and Madeline arrived in front of a big villa. They got off the cab. Joshua cleared the bill.  The cab sped away. Joshua and Madeline pushed open the big gate, passed a massive lawn, and arrived at their doorstep. Joshua went ahead, and rang the bell. Mrs. Browning opened the door with a wide smile. She winked once  at Madeline. Madeline was very confused. 

Mrs. Browning asked, "Is that all you had to carry, hon?"
"Yes, that's everything for now. I will move stuff over the weekend again. I will go down to New Jersey again this weekend," said Madeline.
Mrs. Browning was displeased. She said, "You better bring all you need by this weekend, Maddie. And Joshua, please come in. Maddie, you too,  sweetheart."

Madeline and Joshua entered after her. The house was grand. Madeline had never lived in a place like this before. It was well furnished. Mrs. Browning led them into a massive living room. Madeline was looking at everything with awe. In Saratoga, she lived in a small stuffy apartment, and though New Jersey home was a one storey house. But New Jersey had felt home. But this villa here in Long Island seemed like a museum, where she was one of the antiques. And Mrs. Browning was one irresponsible and cruel curator. 

"We were not in good terms, you see. That's why I never got the news. I am sorry you had to go through all the trouble, Joshua. My sister always liked your tenacity. You managed to find out where we lived after all," said Mrs. Browning. 

Madeline was annoyed. Joshua chuckled, and said, "It was not that difficult, Ginny."

Madeline saw Ginny's face turn red. What was happening here? Joshua sighed, and said, "I hope you will take good care of her, Ginny. I am entrusting her to you."

Mrs. Browning said, "If you like her so much, you could have adopted her yourself."

"I have a family to tend to, Ginny," replied Joshua. He smiled again, and took his leave. Mrs. Browning now turned to Madeline, and said, "You have grown into a beautiful woman, Maddie."

Madeline knew the sarcasm behind the words. She was not some Cinderella,  she knew it.

Mrs. Browning laughed looking at Madeline's raised eyebrows. She said softly, but malevolently, "Thank god you look nothing like your mother. You must have taken after your father. A pretty face is the only thing that your mother had. You seem to lack that quality of hers. But yes, she was a strong woman. You do seem to have her tenacity."

Madeline wanted to blurt out that she was nothing like her mother. But then she remembered what she had prayed the night before her grandmother died. And she bit her lip. Her eyes grew puffy. She wanted to cry till she felt better. She had sinned, and that's why she was paying for her sins. She was, most definitely, like the selfish mother whom she never knew but had heard countless stories of.  Madeline was Katherine Miller's daughter, and she knew there was no denying it. She did have a tinge of selfishness rooted in her personality. 

Yet, Mrs. Browning's mean words hurt Madeline like hell. 

Mrs. Browning saw the hurt in her eyes, but did not assuage it. She smiled, and said, "Make yourself at home, hon. Your room is upstairs. Take the stairs, and the first room on your left is yours. Got it? Freshen up, and then we can continue this chat. I need to know the entire sob story. I need to relish every minute detail of your miserable life."

She laughed again and walked away. Madeline wanted to take a knife and cut her wrist open. Living with her was not less than any nightmare. Her life was so pathetic, that living on at times felt so pointless. So meaningless. Ending it all seemed a good option. But, no. She was not going to do something to herself. At least, not yet. Not until she found the answers that she intends to seek. She would return to New Jersey this weekend. She would enter that house, by averting the eyes of the police patrol.  She would give her dead grandfather the justice he deserved.

She knew it was not going to be easy. She knew it is a lot tougher than it sounds. But, one thing she knew for certain that Joshua was not wrong earlier. She was a lot like her mother. Katherine Miller's fire ran through her veins too. She was just as fiery as her mother was. Though, she wished to be dead, rather than have anything to do with Katherine Miller. But, life was often non-negotiable.