Chapter 4

"Sonya, over here."

Seeing Karson in the car sent a wave of warmth through me. He always knew exactly what I needed.

The place where Reece had his accident was a good distance away. Just as we hit the highway, the GPS chimed with an alert. "Highway closed. Rerouting now."

It took two hours of detours to reach the hospital Joanna had mentioned.

The hospital buzzed with people, all brought in from the highway crash.

How could it be this bad?

I got the room number from a nurse and hurried to the ER, where Joanna and Lexi sobbed over Reece's body, already covered with a white sheet.

Two cops stood nearby, unable to get a word in, looking helpless.

Seeing Reece, who'd always been cold to me, lying lifeless on the bed left a bitter taste.

Karson squeezed my hand, giving me strength.

I took a deep breath and stepped forward, pointing to Reece. "Hi, I'm the victim's niece. You can talk to me about anything."

The two officers looked relieved, like I'd saved them, and showed me the details of the crash.

It turned out Reece hadn't used his turn signal on the highway. The car behind him couldn't react in time and slammed right into him.

His driver's side, caught by momentum, smashed into a concrete barrier, triggering a pile-up with several cars.

If it was that serious, how were Joanna and Lexi completely unharmed?

"The doctor also found alcohol in his system," one officer said. "Not a lot, but enough to confirm he was driving under the influence."

"Drunk driving?" My voice came out louder than I meant.

"Yeah." The officer handed me the test report.

Unbelievable.

Drunk driving, and they still had the nerve to wail like victims?

I clutched the report, grabbed Joanna's collar, and tossed the papers to the floor. "Reece was drinking, and you let him drive?"

Lexi shoved me. "Sonya, who do you think you are, pushing my mom like that?"

Her arrogance made me think she was all bravado, no brains.

I'd had enough.

"Fine, deal with it yourselves. Karson, let's go." I pulled him toward the door.

"Sonya." Joanna's voice stopped me.

She tugged Lexi behind her and looked at us apologetically. "Lexi speaks her mind. Don't take it personally. You're the only lawyer we know. Please help me out."

"Alright." I held out my hand, and Karson passed me the notebook. "Sign this contract. I'll act as Reece's lawyer. I'll handle the compensation and keep you informed."

"Sonya, you're so petty. Are we even family?" Lexi kept yapping behind me.

"Lexi, shut up!" Joanna snapped at her, then forced an awkward smile my way.

"Thanks for helping, Sonya." She signed her name on the tablet.