They Stole Everything: Now I Take

Carter, was my devoted savior. After the accident that stole my l

aughter of the man who crippled me. My "recovery" smoothies weren't fo

irs. As I lay bleeding on the cold marble floor, I

d down at me

c, Alayna. Stay

ut, leaving

as I slowly, miraculously, learned to wa

, and my trust. Now, I woul

pte

been useless, souvenirs of an accident I barely remembered, a blur of screeching tires and searing pain. Carter, my husband, had been my rock, my devoted caregiver, or so

unsettling grace, her smile a little too wide, her eyes a little too bright. There was something about her, a flicker in her gaze, a cert

h approval as Jade effortlessly navigated the house, bringing me tea, orga

would brush it off, a gentle hand on my forehead, a dismissive chuckle. "You're just not used to new faces, my love. Being cooped up can make y

ixels in a blurry image struggling to come into focus. One afternoon, while she was busy in Carter's study, I managed to wheel my chair close enough to peek at her open laptop. A photo winked back at me from her desktop background: a smiling young Jade, arm-in-arm with a man. My breath hitched. It was jus

ion anymore. This was concrete, terrifying truth. My body, already a prison, now felt like it was actively betraying me, trembling with a mixture o

ght was to confront them, to expose the lie that had festered for so long. I pushed myself away from the laptop, the wheels of my chair scraping softly on the poli

tal effort, every inch forward a battle against my own failing body. Just as I reached the slightly ajar do

laced with a frantic anxiety I'd never heard directed at

pping with false concern. "Just took her usual e

isted I drink every evening for "recovery."

arter's long-time business partner, who often stopped by. "Keeping Alayna sedated... It's a dangerous

ow, dangerous growl. "I've covered every track. And Fiden

hoed in my mind, a de

ding genuinely disturbed. "Why go through all

e one I should have been with all along. The accident... it was an opportunity. Fidencio crippled Alayna, yes, but it meant Jade neede

in my skull, a macabre tango of betrayal. My memory flickered back to his tender touch, his whispered promises by my b

his voice barely a whisper. "You've been givin

. "Always asking about the accident, always trying to regain her mobility. It became a

rs. The fog in my brain, the constant exhaustion, the slow, agonizing pace of my "recovery"-it all clicke

son mumbled, his voice full of disgust. "

h a fragile body. Jade, on the other hand, she knows how to truly appreciate what I do. She understands s

lf as my savior, saw me as nothing more than an inconvenience, a burden. All those years, all those whispered words of love, the gentle kisse

scraped the floor again, and the voi

riumphant smile playing on her lips. Her eyes, those unsettlingly bright eyes

her gaze raking over my wheelchair, a sneer twisting he

ul term, delivered with such venom

re you doing out here? You know you shouldn't overexert yourself." His arm slid around Jade's waist, pulling her closer, a

oat. I gripped the armrests of my chair, my knuckles white, a desperate attemp

t she? Stuck in her chair, watching us live." She let out a small, mocking laugh. "It must be hard, knowing you're just a burden, while some of us actually con

oying this, reveling in my pain. Without another word, she turned, pulling Carter gently into h

smiles, Jade's mocking gaze, the image of Fidencio Howard's face. The mansion, once my sanctuary, was now a to

ant and full of life, standing beside a smiling Carter on their wedding day. A painful echo of a life that was never real. He had never loved me. H

d. He had drugged me. He had sabotaged my recovery. He had planned this, meticulously, cruelly. His ambition, his cold calc

There was no more pain, only a chilling emptiness. I had been foolish. I had been weak. But no more. The A

my family. My fingers fumbled with the clasp, my heart pounding with a new, fierce rhythm –

secret. My fingers, rusty from disuse, dialed a number I hadn't touched in

" My older brother, Arthur,

the vulnerability that had clung to me for so long. "It'

arp and decisive. "Consider

the mansion walls, each one now a symbol of my im