Chapter 2

At my adopted father's funeral, I wasn't even allowed to offer a stick of incense.

My adopted mother accused me of breaking my promise, of being unworthy of inheriting the art of shadow puppetry.

The rest of the family called me an ungrateful bastard, saying they should have drowned me in a toilet the day they found me.

I couldn't defend myself. I was thrown out of the house.

I sat on the doorstep like a stray dog, waiting for my wife, Melody, to give me an explanation.

But I waited until dawn, only to see her getting out of her colleague's car, her clothes disheveled.

There were dark bruises on her neck. It was obvious what had happened.

She blew him a kiss as she got out.

When she turned and saw me huddled on the stairs, she jumped, then kicked me.

"Finley! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Why aren't you at work? What are you doing here?"

I just stared at her, saying nothing.

A flicker of guilt crossed her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by indignation.

"You're not still mad about the show last night, are you?"

"I already told you, it wasn't my fault. Don't take it out on me."

"Why him?" I asked.

A look of panic flashed in her eyes, but she just blustered, "That guy, Julian, studied music and dance abroad for three years. He has tens of thousands of followers. You can't compete with that."

"Besides, I was thinking about the ratings."

"Your stupid shadow puppets are ancient history. It's not my fault your craft is a failure."

My head was pounding.

That "ancient history" was my father's life's work.

It was the very thing that had gotten her a foot in the door at the TV station when she was just starting out.

And now that she was successful, she had cast it aside like a used-up stepping stone.

My eyes fell on the marks on her neck. "Where were you last night?"

She just got annoyed, pulling the collar of her low-cut dress higher to hide the evidence.

"None of your business!"

"Finley, I'm warning you. You're supposed to be at work at 7:30. It's already 7:10."

"You have twenty minutes. If you keep this up, I'll have you fired."