Chapter 2 - THE WOMAN WHO JUMPED
Owen came through the rooftop doors just as the paramedics were lifting me onto a stretcher.
He stopped so abruptly a waiter nearly collided with him. "Mia? What happened?"
"The pool," I whispered. "Serena."
His eyes flicked toward his sister. She burst into tears on cue.
"It was an accident. The chair got away from me. I feel terrible."
"That's not what you told us a minute ago," Tessa said. "You said Mia rolled herself in."
Owen looked at her. Tessa was twenty-three, a temporary catering worker whose wet shoes squeaked on the deck. She had no reason to challenge the woman who signed her paycheck.
"I saw her put both hands on the handles," Tessa continued. "Then she shoved."
Serena snapped, "You're fired."
"You're not firing anyone," Owen said. It was the first useful thing I'd heard him say.
At the hospital, monitors traced June's heartbeat across a screen. I watched the green line like my whole world depended on it. A doctor checked me, asked about pain, and explained that they would keep us under observation. June's heartbeat was reassuring, but I needed time and close monitoring.
"And you?" Owen asked when we were alone. "How are you?"
"Angry," I said. "Terrified. Wet, somehow, even after three blankets."
He reached for my hand. I let him take it.
Ten weeks earlier, a delivery truck had hit my car. A nerve injury had left my legs unreliable. My doctors expected gradual improvement, but until then I needed the chair. Serena had called it my little rolling throne.
"You believe me?" I asked.
Owen hesitated. Not long. Long enough.
Before he could answer, his phone rang. It was the hotel's night security manager.
"Mr. Bennett," the man said, loud enough for me to hear, "the rooftop video has a gap. Four minutes are missing."
May you like
Owen's face changed.
"And sir? The deletion was authorized with your sister's badge."
