"Lori, what's going on?"
"You can't park here."
Dad's puzzled voice came through the line.
I gripped my phone and gunned the engine.
"Claire, call the police, now!"
"Tell them there's a drunk driver. They have to stop Carol before she reaches Lantern Court!"
My voice shook as I slammed the gas to the floor.
I raced after Carol's car.
"Lori, what's wrong?"
"Did Geoffrey Finch do something to you?"
"Don't be scared. Mom and Dad have your back!"
Dad's voice was tight with worry.
My throat closed.
And all at once I understood.
Why the future me had fallen apart and never gotten back up.
My whole life, Mom and Dad had been my shield.
Because of their love, I could throw myself into acting without looking back.
Because of their love, I could say yes to marrying Geoffrey Finch without a second thought.
What if they were gone?
The thought sent a numb, icy prickle crawling up the back of my neck.
I floored the gas again, and Carol's car came into view.
On the empty late-night road, her car suddenly lurched hard, then jerked back straight.
"Lori, I've already called the police!"
"But it might take them a while to get here."
Claire's worried voice came through.
I said nothing, every nerve fixed on Carol's car.
Faster.
I had to go faster!
It was the only thought in my head as I pushed the gas harder.
Then my parents' car appeared ahead.
Before I could even make it out clearly.
Carol's car swerved and picked up speed again.
Her car came closer and closer.
Cold sweat drenched me, and one thought filled my mind.
I had to save Mom and Dad!
I stamped the gas down and drove straight at the side of her car.
Then wrenched the wheel.
"Bang! "
The violent impact rang out through the length of Lantern Court.
The two cars collided with a screech of tearing metal.
Carol's car crumpled from the hit.
At the last second, I twisted around and shielded my friend with my body.
My whole body seized with pain.
As my mind blurred, my finger pressed the emergency call.
Geoffrey Finch's line showed the call connecting.
The call that, before, had always been answered within three seconds.
This time, no one picked up.
Pain spread through my abdomen, and I felt the blood slowly trickling down.
"Lori, your stomach!!"
Claire's panicked voice was right in my ear.
I looked down at my swollen belly. It had sunk in a little.
Fighting the searing pain, I was pulled out of the car.
I lifted my head and saw Carol, her forehead scraped, crying out like the injured party.
"Geoffrey, someone hit me."
"I feel like I'm dying. Come quick..."
On my phone, Geoffrey Finch's emergency call had already been cut off.
He'd taken Carol's call instead.
The pain in my abdomen kept building, and I blacked out.
Half-conscious, I was carried onto the ambulance, and I heard the doctors shouting in alarm.
"The baby has no heartbeat!"
"Miss Swanson's bleeding won't stop inside the uterus. We have to deliver the fetus immediately!"
My abdomen was numb with pain. I don't know how much time passed.
I felt my body go light and slowly came back to myself.
My swollen belly had gone completely flat, and beside me lay a small, human-shaped bundle of flesh.
The baby was gone.
My heart clenched, and I looked up to see a license plate I knew.
【Metro A00001】
Geoffrey Finch's car pulled right up to the crash site.
In a sharp black suit, he walked straight to Carol.
He shrugged off the black jacket, wrapped her in it, and carried her to the car. Then, frowning, he dialed my number.
"Lori, I had something urgent to deal with just now."
"Are you all right?"
"I'm fine..."
"Geoffrey Finch, look to your right."
I forced out the dry, cracked words and turned toward Geoffrey Finch a short distance away.
His brow was still furrowed, and his eyes flicked to the right on reflex.
The moment he saw me.
His face went white.
"Lori!"
