Harper’s hand finds Mom’s, knuckles white. “He’s going to be okay, right?”
“The most concerning injury is to his head,” the doctor continues. “He was unconscious on arrival with a moderate skull fracture. We’ve operated to elevate the bone and reduce pressure on the brain, but we won’t know if there’s lasting damage until he wakes up.”
Brain damage?
Julian. My big brother who’s never missed a single one of my birthdays. Who still calls me “kid” even though I’m twenty-four.
I can’t breathe.
“When will he wake up?” Harper’s voice is barely more than a whisper.
The doctor’s face softens with sympathy. “I can’t give you a timeline. We’ve set his leg and he’s being moved to recovery. Now, it’s a waiting game.”
He walks away, and the silence that follows is suffocating.
“What the hell happened?” Audrey demands. “Someone just hit him? Who would do that?”
“I can answer those questions.”
We all turn. A man in a brown jacket stands behind us, a woman with suspicious eyes at his side.
“I’m Detective Carver. I’m sorry about your loved one, but I need to speak with you about the hit-and-run.”
“Hit-and-run?” My voice comes out too loud. “The person who did this didn’t stop?”
“Correct. And I’m saying he was hit on purpose.”
The air goes out of the room. I grip the back of the nearest chair to keep from swaying.
“No.” Mom shakes her head. “That can’t be right. Julian is a good man. Why would anyone want to hurt him?”
“We have footage from the parking lot of your family’s shipping company, where the incident took place. I need you to watch it. The driver is clearly visible, and I need to know if any of you recognize him.”
Harper makes a small, wounded sound. “It’s a video of the accident?”
“I’m afraid so.”
We follow the detectives into a small, private room. The kind of room where doctors deliver the worst news. The kind of room I hope I never see again after today.
The female detective pulls out a tablet and hands it to Mom. We crowd around her, and she presses play.
The video shows the shipping company’s parking lot. Julian is walking toward his new sports car, the one he bought two days ago. He’s only halfway across the lot when a car pulls in, going way too fast.
I know that car.
My blood turns to ice.
Julian turns toward the sound, but the car is already bearing down on him, accelerating in a way that leaves no doubt about the driver’s intentions. This isn’t an accident. This is an attack.
The impact is brutal. Julian flies onto the hood, hangs there for a sickening moment, then tumbles off to the side. He lands in a heap on the concrete, motionless, and the car speeds out of the lot without slowing.
As it passes the camera, the detective reaches over and pauses the video.
Viktor’s face fills the screen.
He’s grinning. Actually grinning, like he just won something, like destroying my brother was a game and he finally scored a point.
Harper gasps. Mom makes a strangled sound.
