Chapter 1

On my way home, I got a call from the police.

They said my mom had been in an accident and was in the ER fighting for her life.

I whipped the car around and sped to the hospital. As I walked in, I saw a bunch of police officers surrounding a woman.

At a glance, I recognized her as Sarah Miller. She was my husband's childhood friend.

"As I said, I wasn't drunk driving. That was just an accident. Why are you hauling me in like this?" Sarah snapped. "That old lady popped out of nowhere and smashed into my car. I'm kind enough not to demand compensation for the damage."

She paused and rambled on, "I understand you're doing your job, but you're wasting my time. Who is gonna make that up to me?"

Her frustration was obvious, but anyone with eyes could tell something was off.

From the bits I caught, Sarah had hit my mom and ran.

The street cameras only showed her car, and there was blood smeared on the hood.

Rage boiled up inside me. I itched to storm over and slap her silly. As I got closer, the stench of booze hit me hard.

She was lying through her teeth.

Before I could confront her, a nurse burst out of the ER.

"Who is Margaret Johnson's family?" she said urgently. "She's in bad shape. We need a signature right now. The surgery is risky, and she might not make it. We'll do everything we can."

It was like a bomb went off in my head. I couldn't hold it together.

My hands shook as I signed the form. Then I broke down sobbing. "Please, you've got to save her."

The doctor promised they'd try their best, but my mind went blank. My chest tightened like it was caving in.

Sarah's voice cut through. "Can you shut up already? It's annoying. She's not even dead. What's there to cry about?"

She locked eyes with me, clearly knowing who I was. She snorted, "I can't stand people like you, making a big deal out of nothing."

I froze, stunned by her righteous tone after she ran over my mom.

"That's my mom in there, fighting to live," I shot back. "How can you talk like that?"

"Not my mom." She shrugged, pushing her luck. "Don't look at me like that. I don't owe you squat. Besides, I haven't even blamed her for screwing up my car. Talk about bad luck."

I clenched my fists, barely holding it in. "I will get to the bottom of this, and you will pay for what you did."

The tension between us was thick enough to cut. A police officer stepped in. "Ma'am, calm down. We'll handle it. Once the test results come out and confirm she was drunk, she'll face the law."

Sarah didn't even flinch. Instead, she smirked at me.

I suppressed my anger and waited for the results. My spirit lifted when my husband, James Carter, showed up with the report.

It hit me then that he was working at this hospital as the top doctor.

A bad feeling twisted in my gut. I took a deep breath, praying it wasn't him handling this.

"James..." I whispered.

But he brushed right past me, not even a glance my way.

I had called him earlier after the police informed me of the situation. His professional advice had been much needed.

Sadly, he had ignored my calls. When he finally answered, he only complained, "I'm tied up with something important. Handle it yourself and stop bugging me."

I laughed bitterly, figuring out his important thing. He had been busy faking a report for Sarah.

"We rushed the tests," James announced. "The driver didn't drink. This might just be an accident."