Someone Is Taking Her Sight
Chapter 1: Someone Is Taking Her Sight
"Your daughter isn't sick, sir."
Daniel Hart looked up from the park bench.
A homeless boy stood in front of him, holding a cloth bag full of empty cans. He looked about eight years old. His clothes were dirty, his hair was tangled, but his eyes were calm and serious.
Daniel frowned. "What did you say?"
Beside him, his six-year-old daughter, Emily, sat quietly with pink sunglasses covering her eyes. Two crutches rested against the bench.
She tilted her face toward him.
"Daddy, is it night already?"
Daniel's heart tightened.
"No, baby. There are just some clouds."
The afternoon was bright. There was not a cloud in sight.
Emily's vision had been fading for months. Doctors called it a rare neurological condition. Every test brought the same answer: no clear cause, no guaranteed treatment.
The street boy pointed toward Emily.
"She's not losing her sight," he said. "Someone is taking it from her."
Daniel stood slowly.
"What are you talking about?"
The boy tightened his grip on the bag. The cans inside knocked together.
"I've seen this before."
"Where?"
The boy looked around the park before answering.
"At the house where I used to live."
Daniel stepped closer. "Who did this?"
The boy's eyes moved toward a black SUV parked across the street.
Then he looked back at Daniel.
"Your wife."
Daniel's expression hardened.
His wife, Vanessa, had cared for Emily since Daniel's first wife died. She attended every hospital visit, gave Emily her medicine, and stayed beside her at night.
"Be careful," Daniel said. "You don't know my family."
The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a small medicine bottle.
Daniel recognized the label immediately.
It was the same medicine Vanessa gave Emily every evening.
"I found this in your trash," the boy said.
Daniel took the bottle.
Someone had scratched away the real drug name.
Before he could examine it, the black SUV across the street started its engine.
The boy's face went pale.
"They know I told you."
