A Worthy Sacrifice

After joining the nation's top research lab as a sophomore, everyone assumes I've taken shortcuts to get there.

Mom throws away the handmade gift I had spent days crafting and says with disdain, "I don't have a daughter who's this shameless."

Andreas Fitzgerald, my fiance, doesn't hold back, either. He warns coldly, "Remember your place as Mrs. Fitzgerald."

Later, when my younger sister, Elaine Wilde, destroys my left hand, they all pressure me to drop the matter.

I wake up in the hospital, pain crawling up my arm, and I know exactly what I have to do.