Chapter 2
613 Words
"Sweetheart, sign this for me."
Arthur took a document and a pen from his briefcase and placed them in my hands. He said it was an informed consent form for an experimental eye treatment.
My gaze swept over the page.
The bold title was clear: [Vayne Family Irrevocable Trust Assignment and Debt Settlement Agreement.]
Once I signed it, the billions in laundered offshore funds my father had left behind would become Arthur's private property.
"Is... is it here?" My fingertips trembled violently. The tip of the pen hovered above the paper and circled uncertainly.
"Yes. Bottom right. Take your time."
Arthur's breathing quickened. Greed all but spilled from his eyes.
Just as the pen was about to touch the paper, I suddenly twisted my wrist and knocked over the hot black tea on the coffee table.
The tea soaked the signature block at once. The ink bled across the page, and the entire agreement was ruined.
"Damn it."
Arthur's polished mask shattered. He shot to his feet and cursed.
"Evelyn can't see. Mistakes are bound to happen," Sarah said, smoothing things over. "She doesn't want to stay blind forever either."
"Sorry," Arthur said to me with a smile. "I misspoke."
But his hand was already stroking Sarah's thigh, light and careless.
"I'm sorry... I can't see... the tea was too hot..."
I let the pen fall, groped blindly through the air with both hands, and forced a broken sob into my voice.
Arthur forced down his anger and went to the study to print another copy.
Sarah took the chance to lean close and mock me.
"Arthur is busy every day. Then he still has to come home and take care of you. With those bad eyes of yours, you'll drag him down for the rest of his life."
I sat there expressionless, nails digging into my palm, and said nothing.
Soon, Arthur returned. This time, he didn't hand me the document right away.
Instead, he stood in front of me and waved two fingers before my eyes to test me.
I kept my eyes perfectly still. My eyelids didn't move. My empty gaze drifted past his fingers and settled on the wall behind him.
"Arthur? Where's the document?" I tilted my head slightly, responding only to the shift in the air.
Arthur withdrew his hand, and the doubt in his eyes faded.
"The printer jammed. We'll sign it tomorrow."
He sat down and touched the back of my neck. He told me there would be fireworks on the offshore yacht tomorrow night, the kind I loved most.
Before he finished speaking, I felt a chill at my throat.
He had removed my emerald necklace. It was the necklace my mother had left me, the symbol of the Vayne heir.
Of course, this one was fake. The real piece had always been locked away at Helvetia Private Bank.
"The clasp is loose. I'll have it serviced so you don't lose it."
It was such a considerate excuse, and then he turned around and placed the necklace around Sarah's neck.
Sarah's eyes shone. She leaned in and kissed him shamelessly, teasing him right in front of me.
"Sarah and I need to handle some online business. Stay here by yourself."
Arthur kissed the back of my hand, put an arm around Sarah, and led her into the study. Soon, suggestive sounds drifted out from behind the door.
I slowly lowered my head.
A cold, murderous look rose in my eyes.
Arthur thought he had trampled me into the mud when I was blind.
He had no idea that the mafia heir who had awakened in the dark had already paved his road to hell.
- Writer
