Prologue

My family life had never been what one would consider "normal"...

Most of my life I was raised by a foster family, who thankfully, were very sweet, although emotionally distant people...

Why was I in foster care?

Because my mother had been institutionalized when I was very young. She was completely and irrevocably insane. Be that as it may, however, I loved her...and would visit her often.

Pennybrook Wellness Center was fairly high security. I even had to be let into my mother's "apartment" by a guard with a special key card...

When I was young, I used to love her crazy stories...she told then with such passion...

Because she believed them to be true...

"Our family was cursed by that very witch they condemned in those days...Every woman in the line was to have 100 children...or die an early and tragic death..."


"Is that really true, mommy?"


"Oh yes, in fact...You grandmother had over 50 children...but eventually she thought she could cheat death by becoming a vampire...but one by one, her daughters...my sisters...began to fade away...She and I are the last two left you know...its part of her punishment...she must watch all of us go before her...then she'll go too..."

"Does that mean you'll die too, Mommy?Are you cursed?"


She would never answer, but she told me about how like me, most in our family never knew their fathers, and that supposedly, My Grandma Fayth's 50 kids all had different fathers...it was like some twisted fairy tale. But why wouldn't I believe my mom then?


As I grew older, her insanity became more and more clear to me...perhaps because I was older, or perhaps because she really was getting worse...

I just couldn't believe her stories anymore, and it caused me so much pain just watching her fall apart a little more each time, desperately wanting me to believe...to be her one supporter...but I couldn't lie to her...not to my Mom. I wouldn't say something was true that just COULDN'T be. Vampires?Curses?49 siblings? No...it was too much...

One day I guess enough was just enough...I snapped. I wanted a normal Mom, a normal life...one I could never have. I felt so robbed of a normal childhood that I lashed out...

"No Mom! There are no stupid vampires!You are an only child, and grandma walked out on you a long time ago, and is probably long gone by now. I have coped all my life without a mom and haven't made up crazy stories, so why can't you do the same?!"

She completely fell apart without my support...

"Why?Why doesn't anyone believe me?Its true!I'm telling the truth, I would never lie to you. How could YOU accuse me of this?I take it from everyone else, but not you. Go. Just go!"


I tried to calm her, but there was no hope. The guards came, and I was escorted out of the room so I wouldn't have to see her being sedated...
It was later that evening that she died...perhaps crazy in my own right, I have always known it was from a broken heart, and that sin was on my conscience...

I thought I had known all this time what it meant to be alone, but once she was gone, I met the true meaning of the word...

I was alone...completely alone...

As years passed, I researched my family lineage as much as I could, but most of it had seemed to have gone missing from public records, and what was there was a mess...
Criminal Masterminds, Crazy People, and by rumor, some really overly promiscuous types...

When I finally came into adulthood I knew one thing for certain...

"I want my family name to be  worth remembering..."


Kat's Notes:
For those of you somewhat confused by the prologue, Gabriel AKA "Gabe", the founder is the son of my favourite child, Cliona, of my old 100 Baby Challenge that had to end because of  sudden computer issues. I really struggled to want to write for a long time, but suddenly had the idea of simply continuing the Lively family in a different way...
To look back on the old 100 baby challenge, go HERE.
Thanks for reading!Chapter one will be up soon!