Chapter 45

OLIVIA

Time seemed to stall as I lay sprawled out on the floor, the distant echoes of frantic voices and screeching brakes seeping into my subconscious. The sound of distant voices was muffled and indistinct.

My head throbbed with an unrelenting ache, and I struggled to keep my eyes open.

As the paramedics rushed to my side, their urgent commands and gentle assurances sounded distant as I was placed into a car that wasn’t Emily’s.

***

ETHAN

I was on my knees, picking up the mess in my office, trying to regain some semblance of order I had caused. Logan was beside me, silently helping to restore the room to its former state. Just as I straightened a few papers, my phone’s loud ring disrupted the tense silence. Tia’s name flashed on the screen as I snatched it up in a rush.

Her voice was frantic and stuttering, barely coherent as she blurted out, “Et-Ethan.”

“What is it?”

“Olivia was in an accident, and we’re on our way to the hosp