I was the female CEO who made Wall Street flinch. But I went blind pulling my daughter out of a kidnapping. Her thank-you? “Can Daddy’s girlfriend be my new mommy?” How did it come to this? Chloe, my little girl who used to hide behind my legs around strangers, became my eyes outside—guiding me through crowds, never letting go of my hand. My husband Adrian stepped into my position and carried that weight for six grueling years. Then comes the day Thorne Group goes public. Our driver brings me to the office, saying Adrian wants me there for the bell-ringing ceremony. But the moment I’m walked out, I don’t hear applause or champagne. Just wind. And then a gasp ripples through the crowd below: “God—look, Adrian’s blind wife is trying to jump off the roof!” “Everyone knows Adrian and Vivienne Sterling are the real power couple—not him and that blind freak.” The wind whips past my ears. Sirens wail in the distance. That’s when I realize—someone lured me up rooftop on purpose. They wanted a show. “Evelyn!” Adrian rushes over and grabs me, yanking me to the ground. His voice is sharp with resentment. “You’re blind—why the hell did you come out here? Haven’t you dragged me and Chloe down enough?” I open my mouth to explain, but my daughter’s tiny voice cuts through first: “Daddy, don’t save Mommy next time, okay? I wanna get a new mommy…” “Can your girlfriend be my new mommy?” I collapse onto the ground. And then—right as the tears are about to fall—I see light. Faint at first, then brighter. Shapes bleed through the darkness. I can see. I see Adrian’s lips move. No sound. But I read them clearly: “Sounds good.” “Yay! I’m finally getting a new mommy!” I can’t breathe. “Even her own kid thinks she’s pathetic!” “Six years with a blind wife? That man’s a saint! I would’ve been gone day one.” The crowd starts sneering. The face I’d imagined a thousand times in the dark—my daughter’s face—is now staring at me with disgust. “Chloe…” I reach out, the way I always used to, wanting to hold her. “Get away from me! Don’t touch me, you blind!” Chloe jerks backward, jumping back like I’m disgusting. “It’s all your fault! My classmates all laugh at me for having a blind mom! Nobody wants to play with me!” Her words hit me like a knife to the gut. Six years ago, she was taken by kidnappers. I showed up with ten million dollars in ransom to get her back. But the moment the money hit their account, they detonated the bomb. I threw my body over hers. That’s the only reason she’s alive. The price was my eyes. I never saw anything again. “Chloe.” Adrian finally speaks up, pinching the space between his brows. “That’s enough. Mommy lost her eyes because of—” “She’s NOT blind because of me! She totally did it on purpose!” My daughter points toward the edge of the rooftop. “Why else would she be standing over there? She just wants people to feel sorry for her!” I try to speak. Nothing comes out. Right then, the media cameras swing toward me like wolves. “Ma’am—are you up here because you’ve lost it? Is this your way of guilting your husband and daughter? Some kind of sick revenge?” The camera flashes sting my eyes. The whispers around me grow uglier and uglier. People shove me from every direction. I fumble helplessly, hoping Adrian will step in. But Adrian is standing right next to me. His lips part slightly—then he looks away. “Adrian, you can’t even handle something this small? And you think you can compete with me?” Vivienne Sterling strolls over, flanked by a wall of bodyguards. The words are a dig at Adrian, but she steps in front of him, blocking every camera with her body. “Everyone.” She turns to face the press, her smile perfectly composed. “Today is a partnership celebration between Sterling Group and Thorne Group. I trust you’ll all know when to put the cameras down.” One sentence. The same reporters suddenly bow and start packing up their gear. She doesn’t even raise her voice. One wave of her hand, and she solves the mess I can’t. I used to be that person. I used to be the one who showed up and made people fall in line. But now— “Miss Viv!” Chloe doesn’t hesitate. She steps right on my hand and throws herself into Vivienne’s arms. “What took you so long?” The same daughter who just looked at me with disgust is now giggling in another woman’s embrace. The pain in my hand is nothing compared to the one in my chest. Adrian watches the scene, something I can’t read on his face. Finally, he says quietly: “Vivienne, thanks again for bailing out Thorne Group. Let me walk you out.” Vivienne scoops up Chloe like it’s second nature, then shoots me a look of contempt. “Adrian, I helped Thorne Group because of you.” She pauses, her fingers hooking under Adrian’s tie, giving it a slow tug. “As for how you’ll repay me—you know exactly what I want.” He catches her hand on his tie, but his thumb strokes slowly across her knuckles. “Behave. We’re just business partners.” But his thumb lingers on her jawline a beat too long. Soft, knowing laughter ripples through the crowd. The three of them walk away together like a family, carried along by whistles and teasing. And I’m still on the ground, eyes stinging, unable to move. “I don’t get Adrian. Why keep that burden around? Just divorce her already.” “Exactly! Vivienne’s been waiting for him for six whole years! And he’s stuck babysitting that burden!” Their words drift into my ears again. Before, I would’ve lost my mind arguing with them. I would’ve clung to Adrian, begging him not to leave. But this time—they’re half-right. It’s time to end this.
After we come down from the rooftop, Adrian insists on taking me to the hospital for a checkup. Dr. Harris examines my eyes carefully. Slowly, excitement creeps across his face. “Mr. Thorne, your wife’s vision—” “Sorry, I need to take this.” Adrian’s phone buzzes. He glances at the caller ID and walks briskly out of the room. The movement is subtle, but I catch it—the name on his screen: Vivienne Sterling. The second he turns away, I raise my hand to stop Dr. Harris. “Dr. Harris, please keep this between us.” I lower my voice. “I want to… tell him the surprise myself.” The lie sits heavy in my throat. Thankfully, Dr. Harris doesn’t notice anything off. He catches on quickly and claps me on the shoulder. “Almost forgot! News this big—of course you should be the one to tell him.” After six years, I’d gotten good with a cane. But now that I can see again, every step feels impossibly heavy. Before I know it, I wander into the middle of the road. A screech of tires—a black sedan speeding straight at me. I see it clearly. Vivienne Sterling behind the wheel. And Adrian sitting right beside her. I stumble and fall. At the last second, brakes scream. The bumper stops inches from my face. “Do you have a death wish?!” Adrian jumps out of the car. His hands won’t stop shaking as he grabs my arms, his grip so tight it bruises. “What happens to me if you die? What happens to Chloe?” He checks me over with bloodshot eyes, searching for injuries. For one second—just one—I almost let myself believe he still cares about me. “Don’t worry.” His jaw clenches. That’s when I notice it—something reddish smeared at the corner of his mouth. “I will find whoever did this to you.” He says it firmly. But his eyes drift involuntarily toward the driver’s seat. Vivienne is still behind the wheel, inspecting her nails without a care in the world. Through the windshield, I see Vivienne press her lips together—the exact same shade that is smeared on Adrian’s mouth. Adrian helps me into the back seat, then pulls out his phone and starts scrolling through work emails. Vivienne leans over, pressing herself against his arm. Her fingers trace slow circles on his thigh. “You’re so boring when you work.” “Cut it out.” He doesn’t look up. But he doesn’t push her away either. She tilts his chin toward her and kisses him. Slow, deep. Her fingers sliding into his hair. Adrian’s hand finds her waist, then her hip, pulling her closer across the center console. They break apart just long enough for him to murmur against her lips: “Tonight. You’ll pay for this.” Vivienne bites her bottom lip and smiles, settling back into her seat like nothing happened. I sit exactly the way I always have. Eyes blank. Staring straight ahead at nothing. “Is there anyone else in the car?” I ask softly. Adrian wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and shifts away from Vivienne. “…No. Just the two of us.” I watch the streets blur past the window. For the first time in six years, one thing is perfectly, painfully clear: The family I almost died for doesn’t have room for me anymore.
Back home, I call out for her. “Nana Ruth?” She’s been with me since I was three years old—more mother to me than anyone. After I went blind, she never left my side. She fed me, dressed me, walked me through the house with her arm locked in mine. No answer. I feel along the wall down the hall. Her slippers aren’t by the door. Her reading glasses aren’t on the side table. Her knitting basket is gone. “Looking for that old woman?” One of the maids side-eyes me, voice dripping with amusement. “Think I saw her near the storage room this morning. Maybe check for yourself?” A bad feeling rises in my gut. I make my way toward the storage room. I’m halfway there when I hear it— “Mommy!” Chloe’s voice echoes from the doorway. She’s standing there, clutching her stuffed bunny. “My bunny fell in there. Can you get it for me?” The moment I push open the door, I see it—hundreds of thumbtacks scattered across the floor, glinting under the dim light. I instinctively step back. “Chloe?” “Please, Mommy! Daddy gave it to me for my birthday last year!” Her eyes go wide. Her lip trembles in that perfect little pout. I take a deep breath and say quietly: “Okay.” I grit my teeth and step forward, one agonizing step at a time. The tacks puncture the soles of my feet instantly. Pain shoots up my legs so hard I nearly collapse. I pick up the stuffed bunny. Turn around. Hand it to her. She takes it, looks down at the blood beneath my feet, and bursts out laughing. “Blind Mommy can’t even see thumbtacks on the floor! So stupid!!” Adrian shows up in the doorway. He looks at the mess and frowns. “You’ve been out all day, you must be tired. Come downstairs. Dinner’s ready.” He doesn’t ask a single question about my feet. At the dinner table, Vivienne sits beside Adrian like she belongs there more than I ever did. “Evelyn, I found a traditional remedy. Bone broth from high-quality meat. Supposed to help with nerve regeneration.” Vivienne pushes a bowl of dark, thick broth across the table toward me. Adrian picks up the spoon and brings it to my lips. “Drink up. Vivienne went through a lot of trouble to get this.” The moment the spoon touches my lips, my blood runs cold. In the broth, half-submerged in the dark liquid, a chunk of meat. And embedded in it—a small, curved piece of titanium. I’ve felt that shape a hundred times. Every night for six years, I massaged Nana Ruth’s bad knee. The titanium plate from her surgery pressed against her skin in a ridge I traced with my fingers so many times I could draw it from memory. I shove the bowl away. It crashes to the floor. My stomach turns inside out. “What the hell is wrong with you now?” Adrian glares at me, annoyed. I point at the bowl. My fingers tremble. The words won’t come. Adrian looks at the soup splattered across the floor, then his jaw sets. “It’s just a high-end remedy! Vivienne went out of her way to find this for you. What are you throwing a fit about?” When I still refuse, his voice turns cold. “Six years! Your eyes are still useless. Are you planning to be a burden to me and Chloe for the rest of our lives?!” He picks up another spoonful and forces it to my lips. I clamp my jaw shut. The broth runs down my chin. The moment a drop hits the back of my throat, I double over and throw up. “Gross! She can’t even eat without making a mess!” Chloe wrinkles her nose. Vivienne dabs her mouth with a napkin, cool and unbothered. She takes Chloe’s hand and stands. “If Evelyn doesn’t appreciate the help, don’t force her.” “Come on, sweetie. Let Miss Viv take you and Daddy out for something nice.” The staff crowd in, cursing under their breath as they clean up. “It’s just soup! Was all that really necessary?!” “How does someone like you even deserve Adrian?” Another one kicks me hard in the side. “Thorne Group is where it is today because of Adrian. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll get lost!” I curl up on the floor, absorbing every blow, every insult. And I laugh. “Thorne Group is where it is today because of Adrian?” I almost choke on the words. “That’s not even close.” The staff look at me like I’ve lost my mind. “If not Adrian, then who? You? The blind freak?!” “Trust me—Adrian could keep Thorne Group running just fine without you!” I close my eyes. Fine then. Let’s put that to the test.
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