Cade's POV

As such, I swore to myself that I’d do everything I could to make my parents proud, to become their one true pride and repay them for all they’d done for me.

But now, they’ve shattered every last illusion I had about family.

"It might seem harsh," my mother said, her tone perfectly matter-of-fact. "But it had to be done. We can’t hand the company over to someone like him."

Shortly, I heard footsteps approaching. Struggling, I quickly pushed my wheelchair back to my room.

Mom then found me staring out the window as usual and said, "You should be resting. Your legs are injured. Why are you wheeling yourself around again?"

As she entered, her gaze drifted outside, following mine to the soccer field below, where a group of kids laughed and kicked a ball across the grass.

"Will I ever walk again?" I asked quietly, eyes vacant.

For a moment, she was stunned, caught off guard, before forcing a smile. "Of course. You just need to focus on your recovery. Don't overthink it. You'll be fine."

I sneered inwardly.

My uncle is a renowned orthopedic surgeon abroad. Handling a fracture in legs was as easy as a pie for him as he could even save severed body parts. So, if they’d wanted to, they could have flown him in to help. But they didn’t. Not once since the accident.

And I knew the truth. I heard it with my own ears.

Mom was the one who ordered the doctors to take my corneas and give them to Jed.

It wasn’t the accident that made me blind.

Memories crashed over me. My heart ached with the weight of betrayal. After a long silence, I forced out another question.

"The painting I gave you... Do you still have it?"

Her eyes darted away before she answered, "The maid had it framed, but it got moldy during the rainy season. I had to throw it out." She waved her hand dismissively. "Anyway, it wasn’t even original, right? Just a copy of that foreign artist, Code Teel. You can paint me another once your eyes heal."

My throat tightened. Heal? My corneas were gone. How could I ever see again?

I remembered that day clearly. When I gifted her that painting, Jed had sneered. "It’s not bad, but it can't hold a candle to Code Teel's work. Giving Mom a knockoff... are you trying to insult her for raising a fake son all these years?"

Back then, Mom's face had darkened with disappointment. "You're my real son. There's no need to play petty games or target Jed."

I stood there, frozen. I wanted to tell her that I was Code Teel. But seeing her cold gaze, my courage suddenly drained.

Back then, my hands had already begun to weaken. The muscles wasted away, making it harder and harder to hold a brush. So, if I revealed my secret identity, I'd only be a fool.

That painting was my final masterpiece, a piece of my soul poured onto the canvas. It was priceless.

Yet she tossed it away.

But she did not discard the painting alone that day, but also my hope for our family to be connected.

"Don’t dwell on these things," Mom said, patting my shoulder. "Your father and I will always stand by you."

The cold metal of her new sapphire ring dug into my skin, and I couldn't help but manage a bitter smile.

She threw away the painting that took me six months to finish without a second thought.

But a ring Jed bought with the family's wealth? She treasured it like a priceless heirloom.

It took me a long time to understand.

They never loved me.

Maybe they never saw me as their child. To them, Jed would always be their one and only son.

Cade's POV

To them, I was nothing but an obstacle.

If that was the case, there was no reason for me to stay in this house any longer.

Mom had little patience for me. After a few half-hearted words telling me to cheer up, she made an excuse and left. Outside, I could faintly hear Jed suggesting they go shopping for luxury brands. As expected, Mom gleefully agreed and the two of them excitedly left hand-in-hand.

I let out a bitter laugh. I might be blind, but I wasn’t deaf.

I knew Jed was doing this on purpose, trying to provoke me into storming out and making a scene. He wanted me labeled as unstable so they could have me locked away in a psychiatric ward.

But I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

Surrounded by darkness, I whispered, “Hey, Siri, call Mr. Ward.”

As soon as the line connected, I spoke calmly. “Stop all financing. And get me a private flight out of the country. Immediately.”

Suddenly, I heard a cheerful female voice. "Auntie and Jed aren't here?" It was my girlfriend.

She must've come to visit me.

She didn’t know the truth about my parents or Jed. Right now, she was probably downstairs chatting with my dad. Just as I was about to call her up, I heard my father whispered, "They went shopping. I'll have the driver take you to them right away."

Then he added, "When are you breaking up with Cade? Jed is the perfect match for you. You two belong together."

My hands quickly clenched into fists. I never imagined my own father could be so biased.

Polly Clayton, my girlfriend, and I had been together for eight years. We met back when I was still in school. She never knew my true identity, only that I was an orphan, and she never cared. A year ago, when I reunited with my birth family, I came clean and introduced her to my parents.

That was when Jed claimed to have fallen for her at first sight. He pursued her relentlessly, but Polly never wavered. My parents pretended to scold him, but now I realized they never truly cared about me.

After I lost my sight, they even tried to push Polly towards him.

Determined to confront them, I pushed my wheelchair forward, but then I heard Polly let out a heavy sigh.

"Maybe I should go check on Cade first," she said softly.

A warmth spread through my chest. She still cared about me.

But what she said next shattered me.

"Over the past eight years, I kept an eye on Cade for you. I even cut the brakes on his car myself. Honestly, I still feel a little guilty about it. Maybe we should wait until he recovers before we tell him we’re married."

My mouth fell open. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

Eight years? I only reunited with my parents a year ago. How could she have been watching me all that time?

Also, she and Jed were married? How? They just met each other when I was taken back home.

With the revelation swirling around my head, I felt my heart sank into a bottomless pit.

Then my father spoke again, his tone matter-of-fact. "When the national genetic database went live eight years ago, we found out Cade was our real son. But he missed out on years of elite education. He’s just a worthless thug."

He continued, "If only I weren't afraid he'd learn the truth and cause trouble, I'd have never arranged for you to stay by his side. After all, you and Jed were childhood sweethearts."

At the mention of the word, a memory flashed in my mind. Once, I found a photo on Jed's phone. It was of him and a girl I didn't recognize, though she bore a striking resemblance to Polly. Back then, I didn't think much of it.

Cade's POV

It hit me then. Maybe that girl was Polly all along.

I had always believed that even if I didn’t have a family, at least I had the one person who truly loved me — my girlfriend, my future wife. But reality had delivered a blow far worse than any I could have imagined.

Losing my sight didn’t break me.

But betrayal after betrayal? That made it hard to breathe.

Clutching my chest, I gasped for air, the pain almost unbearable. Just then, the door swung open with a bang.

Polly rushed in, her face pale with panic. "What’s wrong? Are you in pain?"

I couldn't understand how she managed to fake such concern, not after everything I’d just heard. At that thought, rage surged through me, and I shoved her away.

She yelped as she hit the floor, but still, she pressed on. "Is it your legs? Or are you feeling anxious because of your blindness?"

But before I could respond, a sharp slap cracked against my face.

Voice dripping with disdain, he roared, "Being blind and crippled is no excuse for throwing tantrums."

Just then, my mother and Jed returned from their shopping trip, bags of designer goods hanging from their arms. Seeing my father glaring at me, they didn’t even hesitate.

"What did you do this time to upset your father?" my mother scolded.

"Bro, why are you always causing trouble?" Jed added, feigning innocence.

Taking advantage of my blindness, Jed pulled Polly into his arms and planted a kiss on her cheek. She squirmed, but he whispered in her ear loud enough for me to hear, "We’re already married. He’s blind. Why bother hiding it?"

Then he leaned down, pressing his lips to her stomach. "Let me kiss our son."

He kissed her belly a few more times, then turned to look at me, who was staring out of the window, with a smug grin plastered across his face. He thought I was oblivious, but he didn’t know the truth.

I might be blind, but my other senses were sharp. Every whisper, every movement painted a vivid picture in my mind. I could hear everything, and I could imagine it perfectly.

But the real agony wasn’t their actions. It was my parents standing there, pretending not to see a thing.

Jed approached me, his voice laced with mock regret. "I need to tell you something. The truth is, I still like Polly. Now that you’re... well, like this, you can’t take care of her. Maybe it’s best if you two break up."

Despite his provocation, I didn’t explode. I didn’t fight. I just let out a cold laugh and replied, "Do whatever you want."

Still, my mother frowned and scolded me. "Jed is trying to talk to you nicely. Is that any way to respond?"

But contrary to them, Polly knelt in front of my wheelchair, her voice soft, almost pleading. "Even if Jed and I are together now, I won’t forget about you. I’ll still take care of you."

However, as her hand rested on my leg, a wave of nausea churned in my stomach, so I shoved her away again.

She hit the floor hard as a result and her forehead smacked against the table leg, forming a red lump immediately. She looked up at me, eyes wide with disbelief. For eight years, I had treated her like a queen, holding her above all else. I had never even raised my voice at her.

Hell, I respected her wishes so much I agreed to wait until marriage.

In her eyes, I would rather hurt myself than let her suffer.

Jed, on the other hand, rushed to her side, cradling her in his arms. "Is our baby okay?" he asked, his voice thick with concern.

He didn’t even try to hide their child. He said it out loud, knowing it would tear me apart.

Cade's POV

Even so, I just sat there in my wheelchair, unmoving.

Polly looked at me, shaking her head with a pitiful expression.

Meanwhile, my father’s voice rose in anger.

“Polly has been taking care of you out of the goodness of her heart. How dare you lay a hand on her?” he snapped. “You really are just some filthy rat from the slums. Ungrateful and full of malice.”

Maybe they were certain now that I was completely powerless because my mother dropped her act entirely. Her expression darkened as she turned to me.

“Since you don’t know how to treat Polly properly, there’s no reason for her to keep suffering because of you,” she said coldly. “Jed loves Polly very much. From now on, he’ll take care of her. In two weeks, I’ll throw them a grand wedding.” She paused, eyes narrowing. “Once the wedding is over, I’ll send you abroad. You don’t get a say in this.”

I should’ve felt hurt, but all I could do was laugh bitterly.

I was their real child. I was the one who had been kept in the dark. I was the one who had lost both my legs and my sight.

Yet here they were, looking down at me as if I were the villain.

Staring blankly ahead, I muttered, “Don’t bother sending me abroad. I’ll leave on my own.”

They were so scared I’d steal everything from Jed. But the truth? I never wanted any of it.

I turned my wheelchair around, determined to leave, when suddenly my father’s assistant burst into the room, looking frantic.

“Mr. Tillery! Something terrible has happened! The foreign company that agreed to fund us just pulled out of the deal, and the factory, which had already started production, is shutting down due to lack of funds. The workers are also outside the company building right now, demanding their pay!”

“The entire financial chain has collapsed! You need to do something, sir!”