Chapter 2

Zara's POV

Now.

I closed my bedroom door and leaned against it.

I pulled out the folder I'd brought from the hospital. Copies of the police report, the accident investigation, witness statements. All of it.

My hands shook while I read through everything again.

Driver: Zara Sterling. Distracted driving. Phone records show active call at time of accident. Witness confirms vehicle ran red light.

Every single thing was wrong.

I grabbed my phone and pulled up my call history from that day. Found the call they were talking about. It was to Marcus's cardiologist, asking about his test results.

Two hours before the crash happened.

Not during. Evidence that doesn't match up.

The device on my waist beeped. Louder this time.

I looked down. A small red light was flashing on the artificial liver system.

Warning: Liver function abnormal. Seek medical attention.

Pain ripped through my stomach. I doubled over and gasped. Blood flooded my mouth, I could taste copper.

I crawled toward the bed, reaching for my phone. I needed to call Dr. Morrison.

Then I heard Marcus laughing downstairs. His voice was warm and real. "Jade, seriously, thank you. These past six months would have been impossible without you."

"Of course." Jade sounded so caring. "That's what family does. Sister, she's just not well right now. I get it. I'll keep helping however I can."

The pain got worse. The device was beeping frantically now.

Warning. Warning. Warning.

I pressed my hand over my mouth to keep from throwing up. To keep from screaming.

I have to find out what really happened. The thought was desperate and fierce. I have to prove I didn't cause the accident. I have to make them believe me again.

But the room started spinning and everything was going dark at the edges and all I could think was:

What if I die before I can prove I'm innocent?

I woke up in the afternoon and the taste of dried blood in my mouth.

My stomach ached but the stabbing emergency pain was gone. The artificial liver system had stopped its frantic beeping. I sat up slowly and listened for any sounds in the house.

Complete silence.

I walked to the door and opened it carefully. No voices downstairs, no TV, no footsteps. I checked from the upstairs hallway, Marcus's car was gone from the driveway.

They'd all left while I was unconscious on the floor.

This was my chance. I needed to find that dash cam and prove Marcus was driving, not me.

I went straight to his study. The door wasn't even locked. I started pulling open desk drawers one by one, digging through everything inside. Pens, papers, old receipts, charging cables. No dash cam anywhere.

I moved to the file cabinets and yanked each drawer open. Insurance documents from the accident. Medical bills. Police reports. Then I found the settlement agreement with Jade's signature as "family representative." She'd agreed to close the case quickly with just a basic settlement. No extended investigation, no subpoenas, nothing.

Why would she push to close it so fast?

I kept searching through every shelf, every box in the storage closet, behind the books. The dash cam was gone.

But Marcus's laptop was sitting right there on his desk.

I opened it and typed in Iris's birthday. The password still worked. I pulled up his car's GPS tracking app and scrolled back to the accident date.

There it was on the screen. Driver's phone connected: Marcus Wilson. Route duration: 47 minutes.

The GPS proved Marcus's phone was synced to the driver's seat controls for the entire trip. He was driving. I took photos of the screen with my phone.

Then I grabbed the police report and found the witness statement. James Rodriguez at 4772 Maple Street, Los Angeles. I typed the address into a property search website.

Address does not exist.

The witness was completely fake. Someone had invented him.

I looked at the phone records next. The report claimed I was "distracted by a phone call during the accident." I found my call log from that day. One outgoing call at 11:23 AM to Dr. Kim's office asking about Marcus's results.

The accident happened at 1:47 PM. Almost two and a half hours later.

Someone had deliberately lied about the timeline. Someone had created a fake witness. Someone had stolen the dash cam and made sure the case closed before anyone could investigate properly.

It was Jade. She was the first one at the hospital. She talked to police as "family." She signed everything while we were all unconscious. She controlled the whole narrative.

I grabbed my phone and called the police non-emergency line.

"LAPD, how can I help you?"

"My name is Zara Sterling and I need to request reopening an accident investigation from six months ago." I said.

"Case number?"

I read it off the report.

There was a long pause. "Ms. Sterling, this case was closed by mutual settlement. Both parties agreed to the terms. We can't reopen without substantial new evidence."

"I have evidence. The witness address is fake. It doesn't exist. And the phone records don't match what your report says—"

"Ma'am, if you believe there was an error, you'll need to file a formal petition with documentation. You should probably consult an attorney."

"Please just listen—"

"Is this an emergency right now?"

"No, but—"

"Then come to the station during business hours with your evidence. Have a good day."

The line went dead. I stood there staring at my phone and feeling the weight of how completely alone I was in this. Nobody would listen. Nobody would believe me. I was going to have to prove everything myself.

The next morning I came downstairs and found Jade making breakfast while Iris colored at the kitchen table. Marcus sat reading something on his tablet.

"Good morning, Zara!" Jade gave me a bright smile. "You look so much better today. I'm glad you got some rest."

I poured coffee and didn't answer her.

"Marcus, I was thinking about something." Jade's voice was light and cheerful. "Iris has been working so hard on her physical therapy. She's made such amazing progress with her recovery. Don't you think we should do something special to celebrate?"

Marcus looked up from his tablet. "Like what?"

"Well, what if we took her to that theme park she loves? The one she's been asking about for months?"

Iris's whole face lit up. "Really? Can we go? Please, Daddy, please?"

Marcus actually smiled at her. "I think that's a great idea, Jade. Thank you for thinking of it."

"Of course." Jade touched his arm gently. "That's what family does. We take care of each other."

Then Marcus turned to look at me and his smile vanished completely. "Zara, you'll drive us there."