Chapter 3

Every second of pretending to be unconscious felt unbearably long, until the clock on the wall passed 7:10 PM.

Only then did I quietly breathe a sigh of relief and slowly open my eyes.

Just then, the hospital room door was gently pushed open.

Seeing that I was awake, the doctor gave me a simple examination.

Fortunately, my car's safety features were solid, and my speed hadn't been too high.

I only suffered minor external injuries, and the CT scan of my head showed no problems.

After a few days of rest, I'd be fine.

After the doctor left, two uniformed traffic officers walked in, holding notebooks and pens.

"How are you feeling? Can you cooperate with us for a simple inquiry to understand what happened during the accident?"

I rubbed my still somewhat foggy head and said softly:

"Thank you. I'm okay now, just still a bit dizzy."

I paused, pretending to recall with effort:

"I was stopped at the intersection waiting for the red light when my phone suddenly rang. I instinctively reached for my phone, and then I accidentally hit the gas pedal. Somehow I just shot forward..."

The officers carefully recorded everything I said.

One of them said, "We've already examined the scene. Our preliminary judgment is that it was a single-vehicle accident. Fortunately, no other vehicles or people were involved. However, you may need to cover the cost of repairing the stone barrier."

"Also, your car's front end was severely damaged. We've already contacted a tow truck to take it to an auto repair shop for inspection."

I nodded lightly, showing a bitter smile on my face. "Okay, okay. I should be responsible. Thank you for your trouble."

Although I lost some money and was covered in scrapes and bruises, it was worth it.

There were traffic police at the crash scene, medical personnel, and so many onlookers.

They had already left plenty of evidence for me.

Then the officers returned my phone, which was shattered to pieces but could still barely turn on.

After signing the accident report and paying the medical fees, I hurried out of the hospital.

As I walked out the hospital doors, I glanced at my phone. It was almost 7:30 PM.

I hailed a cab at the intersection.

But when the taxi stopped at the entrance to our neighborhood and I opened the car door, my heart instantly sank to the bottom.

A crowd had gathered downstairs from my building, voices discussing and sighing one after another.

I pushed through the crowd and immediately saw Cooper kneeling on the ground.

He still wore his work badge around his neck, his laptop bag beside him, clearly having just returned from the company.

Cooper's hair was disheveled, his face covered in tears and snot.

He clutched a blood-covered figure tightly, crying heartbreakingly.

"Mom! Mom, wake up! How could you just leave like this! I'm so sorry, Mom!"

"It's all my fault! I shouldn't have left, or that bitch wouldn't have pushed you off the building!"

Seeing Harvey's familiar face clearly made me feel like I'd fallen into an ice cellar.

I staggered back a step, my head roaring.

I clearly hadn't gone home, hadn't followed the original plot.