Chapter 1
I was on my knees in the school cafeteria searching for my white cane when a boy laughed and whispered, “Make her crawl for it.” None of them knew who my father was.
I had only been at Westbridge Academy in New York for three weeks.
Most students came from families with private drivers, vacation homes, and names printed on hospital wings.
I was different for one obvious reason.
I was blind.
That afternoon, I accidentally bumped into a table while carrying my lunch.
Someone kicked my cane away.
I heard laughter immediately.
“Looking for this?” a boy named Carter asked.
I recognized his voice because he had been mocking me since my first day.
“Please give it back.”
His friends laughed harder.
I reached toward the sound of the cane tapping against the floor.
Just before my fingers touched it, Carter pulled it away.
“Almost.”
A girl nearby started recording on her phone.
“Do it again,” she whispered.
I swallowed my anger and reached forward.
The cane disappeared again.
The entire table exploded with laughter.
“You guys have had your fun,” I said. “Give it back.”
Carter lowered his voice beside my ear.
“What are you going to do, tell your daddy?”
I froze.
Nobody at school knew anything about my father.
My enrollment records listed only my mother’s name.
Carter tossed my cane to another student.
I heard shoes circling me while phones kept recording.
Then someone shoved the cane under a table.
“Go find it.”
I got down on my hands and knees.
That was when the cafeteria doors suddenly opened.
The laughter slowly stopped.
At first, I only heard footsteps.
Not one pair.
At least six.
Heavy.
Controlled.
Then the principal’s nervous voice came from the entrance.
“Mr. Moretti, I wasn’t expecting you.”
My entire body went still.
Carter whispered, “Who’s Moretti?”
Nobody answered.
The footsteps stopped directly behind him.
May you like
Then I heard the voice I knew better than any other in the world.
My father said quietly, “Take your hands off my daughter’s cane.”
