When the crisp, clean envelope arrived in the mail that I fetched, I thought little of it. We'd received lots of letters. There were bills, letters of condolences, offers on the home. However, when I saw the tears come to our mother's eyes, I knew there was much larger work at hand. The three short pages were ones even I was forbidden to read, but according to Momma, we were to live with our grandparents in Virginia. She said that they had plenty of money and a large mansion in the mountains that we could enjoy, plus we could pay off our growing debts.

The word debt left a sour taste in my mouth. Carrie and Cory were left unawares, but I could tell that my other two siblings could decipher some meaning. We were going to lose everything. The house. The furniture. Everything but the clothes on our backs and a few other things were going to be swooped out from under our noses. When we were told this, I gave Momma a long look. She gave a short one back.

"Momma." I said softly, once the others had gone. "You lived in luxury for years and years, and then you did something to get that taken away. Why?"

She gave me doe eyes. "Your father and I made some bad decisions… All I can say is that my father was very, very cross with me. He disinherited me, but I want to regain his favor."

I nodded. "And how will you?"

"Well, any way you'd try and please me when you've made me angry." She responded sweetly, finally wiping at the smudged mascara that ran down her cheeks in rivulets. "Gifts. Being the sweetest daughter one can imagine; obedient, kind, and truthful. I aim to tell your siblings later, but you ought to know now…"

She drifted off a little, but sat up straight again. "The bank is going to come and take anything they think is valuable. You can keep your clothes, they said, and the bare necessities. I can keep my wedding band, and I'm hiding my engagement diamond. Camilla, because you are my eldest, I'd like you to keep one, small thing if you'd like. However, you need to tell me by morning. They're coming at noon."

The information was so much, I could hardly bear it. Everything really was going. However, I pushed the fears down and excused myself to me and Cathy's room. I sat down, looking around. She lay fast asleep on her bed, and I slowly pat her curls. She didn't stir. I didn't make a sound. What to save? Even if we weren't particularly well off, we were always given plenty by our parents. It was like choosing a memory. It took some deliberation, but I finally chose something - a silver necklace with a beautiful opal inlaid. It may have not been overwhelmingly expensive, but it was from Father. That's all that mattered to me.

We left in a taxi at twilight, saying goodbye to each memory we had fostered. Goodbye, bedroom where I had laid my head to sleep each night from my newborn days. Au revoir, backyard, kitchen, living room where hours of imagination took hold and my childhood could grow. Sayonara, everything I've ever known. Even school. I was pulled out with little notice, and few ripples went through the town. Of course my friends were sad. I knew they'd forget anyway.

From taxi to train, we arrived at the station in the dead of night under the name Patterson. I could barely keep my eyes open, let alone carry two suitcases. I knew the situation, though, and obediently held them as we watched the train leave. It was strange when a lavish car didn't pull up, and it was even stranger when Momma hushed every question we asked as we walked. She'd been disinherited fifteen years ago… I subtly wondered if my conception was the sin that made her go. However, the thought was snapped from my mind when the twins began to cry and scream. They didn't like the woods, they didn't like the dark. Wordlessly, I handed a suitcase off to Chris and picked up Carrie. She struggled just a little, then relaxed in my arms, exhausted. Cathy picked up Cory, who did the same.

Upon arrival, we were quickly ushered in by an old woman, dressed in all grey and possessing the face of a hawk. Her nose was sharp, hair pulled back so tightly it stretched the skin. Her face was the face of business. However, I could see the resemblance that Mother saw. I wondered, in a stroke of hope, if she had any of my personality.

Within the first few words she spoke, my heart sank. If this was grandmother, I refused to believe this was our relative. She said that we were beautiful, but kept prodding to see if there was anything 'wrong' with us. Of course there wasn't! Chris was a near genius, Cathy was intelligent in her own way, and so were the twins! I wasn't a terrible student either, averaging A's and B's. Surely there wasn't a lick of anything wrong!

Finally we ended in a small room on the third floor. I helped dress the half-sleeping toddlers, slipping them into beds before Grandmother nearly shrieked.

"Your three older children cannot sleep in one bed!"

Mother looked cross, claiming we were innocent of whatever sin was implied, but Grandmother was having none of it. She demanded that Cathy and Carrie slept together in one bed, and Chris and Cory in the other. However, that left me. She looked me over.

"This one," She began, "is too old and too big. She'll have to go."

Go? My blood ran like ice.

She continued. "Corinne, you're lucky that this one looks enough unlike you to pass as someone else's child. You're also very lucky that a distant nephew just passed away. She cannot stay, so she's going to have to arrive with you in the morning."

She didn't say any more, but she then instructed my siblings on how they would live until our mother regained our grandfather's favor. Her last statement chilled me further. They'd live there, but not really exist.

Once we said goodbye, Momma and I were ushered out from the room. It was locked. First, I was taken to a spare room in which I'd change. My clothes were deemed improper from a person of money. I was forced to pose as another. Deciding I'd have to please the woman, I picked a cream dress, high collared and a little outdated, but not overly so. It was approved by Grandmother, luckily, even with the opal necklace I feared was too frivolous.

Next, we dropped Momma off at a hotel in town. I think the staff knew Grandmother, so they didn't question why she was checking a woman in at four a.m. I was forced to say goodbye to her.

"You be a good girl, okay?" She asked. She looked me over. "A splitting image of your grandmother… Look, Camilla. You… you can't be my daughter anymore. From this day until your grandfather dies, we're distant cousins. After that, we can be a family again, alright?"

I nodded. "I understand. Goodbye, momma."

She waved, and I was driven home again.

Once we were in the car, driven by a butler, and the back secluded behind thick curtains, Grandmother looked me over again. I was polite, sitting silently.

"Your name is Lucille Winfield, got it?" She informed.

"Yes, ma'am." I responded.

"You are my niece, I am your great aunt. Your father was Albert Winfield, your mother was June Winfield. They died in a car accident, and you were sent to me so you might have a better life. Understand?"

I nodded curtly. "Yes, ma'am."

She continued. "You arrived on the five a.m. train from Greenville, South Carolina, and you are very distraught. All you want is to be happy again. Repeat back my instructions."

I swallowed heavily. "My father is Albert, my mother is June, I am Lucille. Our surname is Winfield. My parents died in a car crash and I was sent to live with you on the five o'clock train from Greenville."

She gave what I assume was a rare smile. I was in the clear. For now.

When we arrived back to Foxworth Manor, I was escorted to a small bedroom on the second floor. Now, small is used in the lightest sense, as the room was roughly the size that our living room had been. Grandmother explained that it was a spare bedroom, once a distant cousin's, and that I'd be using it until we could leave. She'd explain to Grandfather why I was there for me, thank goodness. The walls were a light shade of green, the floor a rich wood, and on one wall there was a large window, looking over the front of the house, facing the rising sun. Around the room was furniture, unused, but not dusty. Obviously, it was cleaned regularly. Another thing I noted was that my suitcase had been brought up.

Grandmother instructed me to do three things; wash up, put on some proper nightclothes, and read a chapter from the Bible. She handed me a thick, leather bound copy and told me that it would remain on my nightstand and be read from daily. Obviously, she was a devout Christian. Once she left, I explored a little. I had an adjoining bathroom, where I washed my face and used the toilet. However, I still felt weary. I'd been up for nearly twenty two hours, and I felt it. I could barely keep my eyes open as I read the first chapter of the Book of Job, being the first one I flipped to.

Once the words began to blur, I stopped, and went to close the curtains so I might get some rest and pray. As usual, I did my bedtime prayer, but added one thing. With all my mind, heart, and soul, I prayed that my four siblings, living in the attic, would be safe.