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'