Chapter 3

The next morning, I opened my door and stepped out, only to immediately realize something was wrong. The tactile guiding tiles on the floor were gone.

Seeing me, Mrs. Lewis walked over and reluctantly grabbed my arm to support me.

“Where are my tactile guiding tiles?” I asked.

Footsteps approached from down the hall. It was Shawn.

“I had them removed,” he said.

I froze.

He continued, “Ava hurt her leg when you pushed her into the river yesterday. She has to use a wheelchair now, and those tactile guiding tiles make it difficult for her to get around.”

My body stiffened as I asked, “What about me?”

He scowled, as though he had only just remembered that I was blind and also needed accommodation.

He said impatiently, “Don’t you have a cane? And if that’s not enough, Mrs. Lewis is here to help you. Do you always have to make everything such a big deal?”

Before I could reply, I heard the whirring of an electric wheelchair, followed by Ava’s voice.

“Shawn, what’s taking so long? We need to get to the office.”

He turned away instantly, without sparing me another glance.

“Does your leg still hurt? Don’t let Ella get to you. She grew up on the streets with no education. She doesn’t know any better.”

“I know,” Ava replied. “If I let myself get worked up over an uneducated, blind girl, wouldn’t that make me look petty? Besides, how else am I going to be your favorite little sister?”

Shawn let out a warm laugh. “You really are a little rascal.”

Their voices drifted farther and farther away, and once they were gone, Mrs. Lewis let go of my arm.

She said dismissively, “Alright, Miss Ella. You’ve lived in the Mercer estate long enough to feel your way around. I have actual work to do.”

I clenched my fists. Instead of heading downstairs, I returned to my room. The Mercer estate was massive. Without my tactile guiding tiles, I couldn’t even find my way to the dining room.

At noon, a servant dropped my lunch off at my door. It was just two pieces of cold, stale bread. However, I didn’t find it horrible. Back when Shawn and I were begging on the streets, we couldn’t even afford stale bread.

Later that afternoon, I received a message from Dr. Thomas.

“Please come by the hospital sometime in the next two days. We need to collect your eye data and upload it to the lab in Meropis.”

I had no choice. I had to feel my way out of the mansion, bumping into walls and asking several servants for directions before I finally managed to step outside the gates.

Once I arrived at the hospital and contacted Dr. Thomas, he guided me and had me lie down in front of the scanning equipment.

“Don’t be nervous. Just try to keep your eyes relaxed.”

I nodded. In front of me was pitch black, as dark and empty as my own life. After what felt like an eternity, the humming of the machine stopped.

“All done.”

I bit my lip nervously. “Dr. Thomas, if I join this clinical trial overseas, will my eyesight return?”

He hesitated for a moment. “There’s a ninety percent success rate. They wouldn’t run the trial if they weren’t highly confident.”

I let out a sigh of relief.

My phone had died during the appointment, so Dr. Thomas kindly called a cab for me. By the time I finally made it back to the Mercer estate, it was nearly ten o’clock at night.

“Where the hell have you been?”

The moment I stepped through the front door, Shawn’s demanding voice came through.

He sounded incredibly annoyed. “Ella, you are a member of the Mercer family now, not Ella Long who could afford to just wander around without a care in the world! Do you have no respect for the house curfew? Where are your manners?”

My eyes began to throb with pain.

I stood there in silence for two seconds before letting out a bitter, mocking laugh. “I’m not a Mercer, and I have absolutely nothing to do with this family.”

His breathing immediately turned heavy as he said, “Say that again. I dare you! Ella, how did you become so stubborn and ungrateful? Everything I do is for your own good!”

I blinked. I wanted to cry and scream until my lungs gave out, but my eyes were so dry and painful that not a single tear would fall.

“For my own good?” I asked. “Let’s be honest, Shawn. I’m just a burden to you, the great CEO of the Mercer Group.”

His bewilderment was followed by a sudden outburst of anger. “You ungrateful brat! You’re going to stand here and reflect on your actions until tomorrow morning, and we’ll see if you still have the nerve to talk back to me!”

I didn't fight him. I stood there, feeling the cold of the night seep through my skin, freezing what was left of my heart.

Sometime in the middle of the night, a fever took hold of my body. Eventually, I couldn't hold myself up any longer, and I collapsed onto the floor.