Chapter 1 Her Eyes Will Never Heal

"Kyra will be back soon. From this moment on, don't use Kyra's name around Lindsay." Matthew Riley's voice carried from the study, low and smooth, but tinged with a rare, unmistakable joy.

Lindsay Gordon lingered in the hallway outside the study, rooted to the spot. Shadows danced across her wide, unseeing eyes, her body quivering with fear. Her fingertips dug into the wall hard. She could barely breathe, the shock keeping her frozen in place. Kyra Gordon, her adopted sister, was coming back? That couldn't be possible. Kyra was supposed to be gone forever.

Vernon Bennett's voice was barely a whisper in the tense silence. "Matthew, how long do you plan to deceive Lindsay? What happens if her sight ever returns and she sees Kyra, alive and unharmed? Every lie we've told-everything from three years ago-will explode in our faces."

Three years had already passed since Lindsay's near-fatal accident and the blaze that consumed the Gordon estate. Both tragedies had been quietly closed by the authorities. The news of Kyra's death sentence had been brought to Lindsay by Vernon himself, a capable lawyer.

Matthew's gaze turned ice cold, his posture radiating authority. "Lindsay's eyes will never heal. I made Kyra a promise when I sent her overseas three years ago-only three years apart, nothing more. For her sake, I have already married Lindsay. I'll make sure Lindsay never wants for anything. But she has no reason to expect anything beyond that."

A jolt of cold terror sent Lindsay fleeing, her hands groping along the walls as she stumbled back to her room, each step shaky and desperate.

Once inside her room, she lost her balance and crumpled at the side of her bed, drawing her knees close to her chest.

Alone in the pitch-black room, it felt like invisible claws were clawing through her, tearing her apart piece by piece.

Three years ago, everything had unraveled-Kyra's car had come barreling straight toward Lindsay, and shards of glass had carved through her eyes.

Lindsay still remembered Kyra, not satisfied with harming her deliberately, had dragged her bleeding body from the scene to the Gordon family home, where fire had already raged through every room. The memory had been painted in flames and chaos-her parents' and brother's frantic cries mixing with Kyra's wild laughter.

Kyra's words still echoed. "Lindsay, your damned folks took me in when I was little. They told me again and again that they would treat us all the same, but in reality, you got everything good while I got nothing. Even when Matthew and I truly loved each other, they forced Matthew and me apart just so you could marry him. I just decided to burn them all! Ha-ha!"

It had been so overwhelming that Lindsay had blacked out completely. Her next memory was waking up in a hospital bed, crushed and hollow.

Matthew, her fiancé at the time, had handled the funerals and all the aftermath for her. He had even insisted the wedding go on, linking the Gordon and Riley families forever.

For three years, Lindsay had clung to Matthew as if he were the last solid thing in her life. Only now did she realize she'd been trapped in a careful web of deceit.

"Linds, why are you on the floor?" Matthew stepped into the room and rushed straight to Lindsay, gently scooping her up and settling her on the bed.

His fingers brushed her cheek in a gentle sweep as he tucked her hair behind her ear. His voice carried that usual warmth, tender and comforting. "The next time you wake up, just press the bell. If I'm not here, Raelyn will come. Don't wander on your own. I don't want you to get hurt."

Everything about him-the scent of his cologne, the softness in his tone, the way he handled her-bore his signature tenderness. He had always treated her with meticulous care, tending to her needs before she even voiced them.

She now realized that what she had previously thought of as him spoiling her was actually how he wanted her-dependent and unable to contact anyone but him and his people. If she stayed wrapped in the world he built for her, she would never discover any of the lies beneath it. And their unconsummated marriage? It made sense now. Every bit of restraint had been for Kyra.

Lindsay clamped down on her lip until she tasted blood, the metallic tang spreading across her tongue. A scream clawed at her throat. She wanted to demand answers, to rip the truth out of him.

But she grasped that since Matthew had easily buried the truth three years ago, he would not hesitate to silence her now if she confronted him, especially for Kyra's sake. Besides, her brother was still in a hospital Matthew had arranged, trapped in a coma, his body ravaged by burns and unable to protect himself. His life would hang by a thread if she ever acted recklessly.

Lindsay refused to crumble or lose her cool-not now, not when everything depended on her to seek revenge. She forced her breathing steady, lifted her head, and shaped her lips into a small, sweet smile. "I had a nightmare during my nap and got scared, so I came to find you. I thought I heard Vernon."

Matthew's fingers tightened on her shoulder, the movement slight but unmistakable.

Lindsay kept her smile in place, pretending not to feel it. "He's your company's legal counsel, right? It must be something about work. You don't have to stay here with me. Go take care of whatever Vernon comes for."

She could feel his eyes raking over her face, searching for cracks. Her heartbeat thudded wildly against her ribs. She had dropped Vernon's name on purpose to gauge whether Matthew still believed she was blind to the truth.

His reply came a moment later. "There are some issues with a project. I might not make it back for dinner."

Lindsay nodded. "Alright, I'll wait for you to come home before I sleep."

Satisfied with her response, Matthew brushed a hand through her hair, leaned down, and pressed a soft kiss against her forehead before walking out.

Only after the sound of the engine faded down the driveway did Lindsay's composure collapse. Her entire body sagged, trembling as she sucked in shallow breaths. Hot, furious tears streamed silently down her cheeks.

After the tragedy that had shattered the Gordon family, Lindsay's world had shrunk to nothing. Her parents had perished in the flames, her brother had been trapped in a coma from the conflagration, and she had been left blind, haunted by nightmares and fear. For three years, she had drifted through life cut off from everyone and everything she once knew.

Every asset Lindsay's parents had built was now entirely under Matthew's management. Her marriage to Matthew was just another chain; the Gordon Group was likely just a quiet division of the Riley empire by now.

Lindsay clung to the bedsheet, her fingernails biting into her skin. That sharp sting was nothing compared to the grief and fury that twisted inside her. All she wanted now was vengeance. She wanted to reclaim every scrap of what had once belonged to her family.

But the cruelest irony was that she couldn't even step out of this house on her own, let alone storm the Gordon Group to challenge Matthew's lies. The first step would be to restore her sight-no matter what she had to risk or how far she had to go.