Chapter 4

HENRY

"Of course! Nobody's going to find out, and on top of that, all the debts will be in Henry's name. He'll be even more screwed than he already is! He won't even have eyes in his head to dig himself out!"

They burst out laughing, mocking my disability, and I backed away, trying to think of a solution.

Yes, though I'd never mentioned it to Camille, I already knew the family company belonged to me. It hadn't been my father's — it was my mother's, and when she passed, she'd left it to her son as his inheritance.

When my father was alive and worked around the clock, he wasn't working for his own business. He was working for mine.

I went back to the bedroom and said:

"Alexa, find Robert Farias."

"Found: Robert Farias, Software Engineer."

"Call him, Alexa."

"Yes, initiating call."

The phone rang a few times before someone picked up.

"Henry? Is... is that really you, or is it Camille?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Wow! It's been ages! I haven't seen you since the accident. Are you... uh... are you doing okay?"

"Yeah, Robert. I'm just blind."

"Oh, right... but what matters is you're healthy. You know, I ran into Camille the other day and she told me you were doing great — that you graduated top of your class in your distance-learning program. She spoke really highly of you."

I scoffed, annoyed. The last thing I wanted to hear about right now was Camille.

"Robert, I didn't call you to make small talk. I called to ask for your help."

"Oh, sure! Of course! We were best friends in school — of course I'll help you. What do you need?"

"My half-brother has been robbing me. He moved all the money into a Swiss account. Can you find it?"

"Well... that's usually not easy, but you're in luck — for me, it is."

"Great! But keep it quiet. I don't want those idiots finding out yet."

"Got it! Oh, Henry — we should hang out sometime! Bring Camille."

"No, Robert! I don't want to go out and get pitying looks from everyone."

"That's silly — you won't even see them, you know..."

"Look, Robert, you'll be paid for your work. Don't push me to go out and make a fool of myself."

"Alright... okay. Well, I'll get to work on what you asked and get back to you soon."

Robert was my best friend before everything happened. Despite his attempts to reconnect, I'd always kept him at arm's length. I might not be able to see, but just imagining the pity in his eyes made me uncomfortable.

If it weren't for this problem, I probably never would have asked him for help.

The day dragged on, and Camille didn't show up to make my lunch. I was hungry, but I didn't complain — after all, she had no real obligation to me.

I was hungry, but what actually bothered me most was the thought that maybe she wasn't coming back.

But toward evening, she returned. I knew because I heard my stepmother screaming.

I left the bedroom and heard her yelling at Camille.

She was saying Camille had stolen a package of pasta from her cupboard.

Camille tried to defend herself, saying she'd only borrowed it because she hadn't been able to buy anything for me to eat that day and I was probably starving. She promised she'd replace the pasta as soon as she could.

But my stepmother kept screaming, and then I heard the sound of dishes shattering on the floor.

"Help! Help! Call the police — this woman attacked me on purpose!" my stepmother shrieked.

"That's a lie! It was an accident. You burned yourself trying to knock my bowl of pasta over," Camille tried to explain. But before long, the police arrived and took Camille away while my stepmother wailed dramatically.

Some time after the police left with Camille, I heard my stepmother laughing:

"What a stupid woman! I hate her — I hate her!"

Meanwhile, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I answered — it was Robert.

Right after talking to Robert, I went back to the living room and surprised that wicked witch.

I clapped my hands to get her attention.

"What are you doing out here? You cripple! Get back to your room, go on! Are you hungry? Well, too bad — you won't be eating tonight! Your little nanny won't be coming back anytime soon to feed you."

"Well, I think she'll be back today, because if she isn't, the one who won't be in this house anymore is you."

"What are you talking about, you moron? How are you going to throw me out of my own house?"

"Yours?! You know perfectly well this house isn't yours. This house is part of the inheritance my mother left me."

"Hahaha! Well, I'm not leaving, and I'm not going to get your little pet maid. I'd like to see you make me!"

"Hmm, well... Today I overheard something very interesting, you know? I heard that your precious son stole all my money. Lucky for me, I have a friend with some interesting skills. He knows exactly how to hack into a bank account and clean it out without leaving a trace."

"W-what are you talking about, Henry?!"

"I'm saying I had your thieving little son's account emptied, and you two have nothing again. I'm saying that if you don't get Camille out of that jail and start treating her like the true lady of this house, I'm going to throw you both out on the street with nothing but the clothes on your backs."

"You didn't do that, Henry?!"

I heard the sound of something scraping and knew she'd picked up some of the broken shards.

"I did. And if you kill me, it'll only be worse for you. I've already made my will, and everything I own goes to Camille. After everything you've done to her, I doubt she'll show you an ounce of mercy. If you kill me, you'll be out on the street just the same."

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