Rain hammered the windshield so hard it blurred into a sheet of silver, but Brandon didn’t slow down. His pulse hadn’t settled since leaving his father’s mansion; the folder lay on the passenger seat like a loaded weapon. He replayed every word, every crack in Mr. Hughes’s voice—each one slicing deeper than the last.
He didn’t see the shadowed car slip into the lane behind him. He only felt the steering wheel jerk.
The tires screamed. The world tilted. Metal bit into asphalt as the car spun, skidding through the floodlit street like a weightless toy. Brandon braced, gripping the wheel with white-knuckled desperation—then the car slammed sideways into the guardrail with a violent crunch.
Airbags exploded. Glass rained. Silence swallowed everything.
===
Arthur reached the hospital befor
