Skye opened her palm. The object was small, metallic, sharp on one end. It looked like a tiny piece of a tracking device, or a bug. Something electronic. But it wasn’t medical. It wasn’t supposed to be there.
Skye stared at it, confused. “What is this?”
The man’s face went pale. “I don’t know. But someone put it there.”
“On purpose?”
He didn’t answer. The girl sat up slowly, touching the side of her head where the object had been. No more pressure. No more pain. She looked at Skye, eyes wide.
Then something happened. A car honked down the street. The girl’s head turned. Not because she saw it. Because she heard it. Faint. Distant. But there. Her mouth opened in shock.
Skye noticed. “What? What’s wrong?”
The girl pointed at her ear. Then at the street. The man’s breath caught.
“Did you just…”
The girl nodded, tears spilling over. She heard something. For the first time in her life, she heard something. She just heard her first sound. Ever. After seven years of complete silence.
Skye’s eyes filled with tears. “You heard that?”
The girl nodded again, sobbing now. Skye pulled her into a hug, and the girl clung to her like she was the only thing keeping her from falling apart. The man covered his face with his hands, shoulders shaking. And for a moment, the three of them just sat there on the sidewalkâa miracle unfolding in the middle of an ordinary street.
The girl pulled back from the hug, breathing hard. She touched her ear again. Gently. Like she couldn’t believe it. Skye watched her, heart pounding.
“Can you really hear?” Skye asked softly.
The girl nodded. Then shook her head. Then nodded again. She was confused. Overwhelmed. The man leaned closer.
“What do you hear?”
The girl pointed at a bird in a nearby tree. She could hear it chirping. Barely. But it was there. Then she pointed at the wind moving through the leaves. She heard that too. Tears kept streaming down her face. Skye looked at the object in her hand.
“This was blocking her hearing?”
The man took it from her carefully, studying it. “It must have been pressing on something. A nerve. Something important.”
“But why would someone put it there?”
He didn’t answer. His face went dark. Skye’s stomach twisted.
“You know something.”
“I have suspicions.”
“Tell me.”
“Not here. Not now.”
The girl grabbed Skye’s hand, squeezing it tight. Skye looked at her. “What’s wrong?”
The girl pointed at the mansion gate. Someone was coming. Footsteps. Fast. Multiple people. The man stood up quickly.
“Her father.”
Skye’s heart jumped into her throat. A man in a suit burst through the gate, eyes wild. Behind him were two security guards and a woman who looked like a nanny. The billionaire saw his daughter sitting on the sidewalk and ran.
“What happened?” he shouted. “Who are you?” He looked at Skye. Then at the man. Panic flooding his face.
The girl stood up and ran to her father. He dropped to his knees, grabbing her, checking her over.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
She nodded. Then shook her head. He pulled back, confused. “What does that mean?”
She pointed at her ear. His face went pale. “Your hearing device? Did something happen to it?”
She nodded. He looked at Skye, anger flashing in his eyes.
“What did you do?”
Skye stepped back, scared. The man in the leather vest stepped forward. “She helped her, sir.”
“I didn’t ask you. You should’ve…”
“I’ve been telling you for weeks something was wrong.”
The billionaire’s jaw clenched. “I told you to stay in your lane.”
“And I told you she was in pain.”
The billionaire ignored him and turned back to Skye. “Did you touch her device?”
Skye nodded, voice trembling. “There was something behind it.”
“What?”
She held out the metallic object. The billionaire stared at it. His face went from anger to confusion to horror in seconds.
“Where did that come from?”
“It was stuck behind her hearing device,” Skye said. “It was hurting her.”
The billionaire took the object, hands shaking. He recognized it. Skye could tell.
“What is it?” she asked.
He didn’t answer. He just stared at it like it was a bomb. The girl tugged on his sleeve. He looked down at her, eyes filling with tears.
“Baby, I’m so sorry.”
She tilted her head, confused. Then a dog barked across the street. The girl’s head snapped toward the sound. The billionaire froze.
“Did you just…?”
She nodded. His breath caught.
“You heard that.”
She nodded again, smiling through tears. He pulled her into his arms, holding her so tight she almost disappeared. And he sobbed. Right there on the sidewalk. In front of everyone. Because for the first time in years, his daughter heard something. And he knew exactly who was responsible. Not the doctors. Not the specialists. A little girl who stopped when no one else did.
The billionaire stood up slowly, still holding the metallic object. His face had gone from relief to something else. Rage. He turned to the security guards.
“Find out who had access to her hearing device.”
“Sir?”
“Now.”
The guards hesitated, then pulled out their phones and walked away. The nanny stepped forward, voice shaking.
“Mr. Carter, I don’t understand…”
“Neither do I,” he cut her off. “But I’m going to.”
He looked down at his daughter. She was touching her ear, smiling every time she heard a new sound. A car engine. Footsteps. A voice. She looked at him and signed something. He read her hands, and his chest tightened.
I can hear a little bit.
He pulled her close again, kissing the top of her head. Then he looked at Skye. She was standing a few feet away, clutching her backpack, looking terrified. He walked over and knelt in front of her.
“What’s your name?”
“Skye,” she whispered.
“How old are you?”
“Seven.”
He stared at her, trying to process it. “You’re seven years old and you found something a team of doctors missed?”
She nodded.
“How?”
“I just felt it. Something was wrong.”
He shook his head in disbelief. “Do you know what you just did?”
She shook her head.
“You gave my daughter something I couldn’t. Something money couldn’t buy.”
Skye’s eyes filled with tears. “I didn’t mean to cause trouble.”
“Trouble?” His voice cracked. “You saved her.”..
