The Blind Wife's Return: Rising From Ashes

I went to the Department of Vital Records to pick up my four-year-old son's death certificate, but I left with a birth certificate for my husband's illegitimate child.

The date of birth was August 14th. My son, Leo, had drowned in October.

While I was choosing a casket for our child, Eli had been holding his newborn with another woman.

I tried to confront him at a charity gala, but his mistress walked in holding their son's hand.

The boy pointed at Eli and innocently asked if they were playing the "game" again—the same game they were playing in the bedroom while Leo wandered into the pool and drowned.

The truth shattered me.

I screamed, lunging at the monsters who let my son die.

But Eli didn't comfort me. He shoved me off the stage to protect his mistress, breaking my leg in front of everyone.

Later, to silence me forever, his family had me beaten and dumped under a bridge, leaving me blind and broken in the freezing rain.

They thought I was dead. They thought they had won.

But I survived.

I found a doctor who could perform a radical procedure: Targeted Memory Suppression.

I chose to surgically excise Eli Stark from my mind completely.

Six months later, I stood on stage as a celebrated neuroscientist, my sight restored and my life reclaimed.

A haggard, weeping man approached me with a massive diamond ring, begging for a second chance.

I looked at him with clear, unrecognizing eyes and asked, "Excuse me, do I know you?"

Chapter 1

Harper POV

I went to the Department of Vital Records to get a death certificate for my son, but I left with a birth certificate for my husband's illegitimate child.

The clerk behind the safety glass looked exhausted.

Her eyes darted between the two sheets of paper in her hand, a flicker of confusion passing over her face before she slid them across the polished wood.

"I have your documents ready, Mrs. Stark," she said.

Her voice was too quiet. Too pitying.

I reached out, my fingers trembling slightly. It had been four years since Leo drowned, but the paperwork was a bureaucratic nightmare that never seemed to end.

I picked up the top sheet.

Certificate of Death.

Leo Stark. Age 4. Cause of death: Accidental Drowning.

The familiar, crushing weight settled on my chest, the kind that made it hard to draw a full breath. I closed my eyes for a second, trying to push back the image of his small, pale face.

Then, I reached for the second sheet.

It was supposed to be a certified copy of our marriage license, needed for the property transfer we were handling.

It wasn't.

Certificate of Live Birth.

Name: Cody Stark.

Date of Birth: August 14th.

My breath hitched.

I read the date again. And again.

August 14th.

Leo died in October.

I felt the blood drain from my face, leaving my skin cold and prickling.

I looked down at the parents' names listed on the document.

Father: Eli Stark.

Mother: Kasey Sharpe.

The world didn't spin. It didn't go black. Instead, everything snapped into a terrifying, high-definition focus.

The hum of the air conditioner became a roar. The scratching of a pen nearby sounded like a knife on bone.

Cody Stark.

My husband had a son. A son who was born two months before our own son died.

While I was planning Leo's funeral, trying to decide between a white or blue casket, Eli had been holding a newborn baby.

"Mrs. Stark?" the clerk asked, her voice trembling now. "I... I think there might have been a mistake in the file retrieval. I printed the wrong record for Mr. Stark-"

I snatched the papers off the desk.

"No," I whispered. My voice sounded like it was coming from someone else, someone standing ten feet away. "No mistake."

I stood up. My legs felt like they were made of lead, but I forced them to move.

I walked out of the office, clutching the evidence of my husband's betrayal against my chest.

Outside, the sun was blinding. Birds were chirping. People were laughing as they walked by.

It was disgusting.

How could the world be so bright when mine had just been burned to ash?

I leaned against the brick wall of the building, gasping for air.

Kasey Sharpe.

I knew that name. She was his "Executive Assistant." The one he said was indispensable. The one he spent late nights with at the office.

I looked at the address listed for Kasey on the birth certificate.

1402 Oakwood Drive.

I felt bile rise in my throat.

Eli bought that apartment three years ago. He told me it was an investment property. He said it was for our future.

He bought a home for his mistress and his secret son with our money.

I thought about the last four years.

The way Eli held me when I cried for Leo.

The way he whispered, "We will get through this, Harper. You are my everything."

He was an actor. A brilliant, sociopathic actor.

Every comfort, every hug, every "I love you" was a lie.

He wasn't grieving Leo. He had a replacement. He had Cody.

A sudden, violent shiver racked my body.

I wasn't just a grieving mother anymore. I was a fool. A blind, pathetic fool who had spent four years mourning in the arms of the monster who destroyed our family.

I looked at the papers again.

Leo's name. Cody's name.

Eli Stark.

The man I loved was dead. The man waiting for me at home was a stranger.

I pulled out my phone. My fingers were shaking so hard I could barely hit the screen.

I didn't call Eli. I couldn't hear his voice right now. If I heard his voice, I might scream until my throat bled.

I pulled up the number of my old university mentor, Casey Long.

I hadn't spoken to him in years. Eli didn't like him. Eli said Casey was "too intense."

The phone rang once. Twice.

"Harper?" Casey's voice was warm, surprised. "Is everything okay?"

I opened my mouth, but a sob choked me.

I looked at the date on Cody's birth certificate one last time.

"Eli," I whispered to the empty air, my grip on the phone tightening until my knuckles turned white. "How much was your love actually worth?"