CHAPTER 2 — THE BROTHER HE THOUGHT I'D NEVER SEE AGAIN
For a moment...
No one moved.
Daniel stared at me.
I stared back.
Two years.
Gone.
In a single heartbeat.
His eyes drifted from my face...
To my arm.
Then to the fading fingerprints around my wrist.
His jaw tightened.
"Who did this?"
Before I could answer...
Garrett stepped between us.
"My wife fell down the stairs."
Daniel didn't even look at him.
He kept his eyes on me.
"Elena."
"You answer."
Garrett laughed.
"She's in pain."
"I'll speak for her."
Daniel finally turned.
His hospital badge caught the fluorescent light.
DANIEL REED
Radiology Supervisor
"I wasn't talking to you."
The room fell silent.
Garrett folded his arms.
"She's my wife."
Daniel's voice became frighteningly calm.
"And she's my sister."
"You haven't let her call our family in two years."
"You don't get to speak for her anymore."
Garrett took a step closer.
"Watch your tone."
Daniel didn't move.
"I've seen thousands of broken bones."
He pointed toward the X-ray.
"I also know the difference..."
"...between a fall..."
"...and someone twisting another person's arm until it snaps."
My breathing stopped.
Garrett's face changed.
"Are you accusing me of something?"
Daniel calmly picked up the X-ray.
"The fracture spirals around the bone."
He looked directly at Garrett.
"People don't get injuries like this from slipping on stairs."
"They get them..."
"...when someone grabs their arm..."
"...and twists."
Silence.
Garrett forced a smile.
"You're just a technician."
Daniel nodded.
"You're right."
He reached for the wall phone.
"I'm not the one who makes the report."
"But I know who does."
Garrett's confidence cracked.
"Elena."
He looked at me.
"Tell him."
"It was an accident."
My hands began shaking.
For years...
I had repeated those words.
I fell.
I bumped into a door.
I bruised easily.
Every lie sounded the same.
Daniel quietly walked over.
He knelt beside my wheelchair.
"I don't need you to protect me."
"I need you to protect yourself."
A tear rolled down my cheek.
Then another.
For the first time in eight years...
I whispered the truth.
"He broke it."
The room went completely silent.
Garrett stared at me.
"You stupid—"
Daniel slammed the emergency button on the wall.
Red lights flashed.
Hospital security began running.
Garrett took one step backward.
Then reached into his jacket.
May you like
Everyone froze.
END OF CHAPTER 2.
