Chapter 2
The sound of metal twisting pierced her ears. Emily's forehead hit the seat in front of her, and warm blood ran down her brow and into her eyes. Her vision turned red, then faded to black.
Emily blacked out.
When she came to, she was trapped in the mangled car. Her left leg was pinned and wouldn't move, but her right hand still worked. Outside, people were shouting, their voices coming and going, muffled like they were underwater.
Her bag was lying by her feet, and her phone's screen was cracked but still lit up. She struggled to reach it, her fingers slick with blood. It took her two tries to unlock the screen.
She dialed Noah's number.
First call, no one picked up.
She dialed again, still nothing.
One more time, and still, no answer.
Emily could feel blood seeping down her left leg, but she had no idea if it was broken or not. The rescue workers outside sounded like they were miles away, shouting out car numbers that weren't hers. It wasn't her turn yet.
On the fourth try, someone finally picked up.
Noah's voice came through the phone, sounding annoyed. "What is it?"
Emily said, "I was in a car accident. On the Eastbound Ring Expressway, there was a chain rear-end collision. I am trapped inside the car and cannot get out."
Emily spoke calmly, even as blood dripped from her forehead onto the back of her hand, one drop at a time.
There was a two-second silence on the other end.
Noah's voice finally came through, sounding distant. "Are you seriously hurt?"
Emily answered, "My left leg's trapped, and my head's bleeding."
"I'll get John to send someone over."
"Alright."
The call ended. Emily set her phone on her chest, closed her eyes, and waited.
Twenty minutes passed. Thirty. Forty.
The rescue team was still working on the cars ahead. Her car was squeezed to the very edge, positioned at the end of the line. The roof continued to press down, and each aftershock-like squeeze intensified the pain in her left leg.
She called John Shields again.
"Mrs. Oliver, the helicopter's already on its way," John said, his voice uncertain. "But there's been a last-minute change in plans."
"What do you mean?" Emily asked.
John hesitated and said, "Ms. Hardy suddenly felt unwell, and Mr. Oliver told the crew to pick her up first and take her to the hospital. They'll come for you after that."
Emily stayed silent, not saying a word.
"Mrs. Oliver? Are you still there?" John asked.
"Yeah," Emily said quietly.
She ended the call, her face expressionless.
The car was pitch black inside, the mangled metal blocking out almost all the light. She could see her left leg twisted at an unnatural angle, her pants soaked through with blood.
Outside, the rescue workers were shouting for everyone trapped inside to hang in there.
Emily sat there, not making another call. It wasn't that she was out of options. She suddenly felt like there was no point anymore.
An hour and a half later, the fire department finally cut her out of the car. As they lifted her onto the stretcher and into the ambulance, she overheard people talking nearby.
"Wasn't that helicopter supposed to come here? Why did it take off?"
"I heard it went to pick up someone for a hospital run. She had really bad period cramps."
"Period cramps? There are a dozen injured people here, and the helicopter's off picking up someone just because of period cramps?"
Emily stared up at the ambulance's white ceiling and suddenly let out a bitter laugh. Her lips cracked, blood oozing out at the corners.
She spent the night in the hospital. Her left leg was fractured, her forehead was stitched up with four stitches, and she had a mild concussion.
*****
At ten in the morning, the door to her hospital room opened. It wasn't Noah who walked in. It was his mother, Dorothy Knox.
Dorothy was dressed in a tailored dark red coat. She glanced around the room before finally looking over at Emily in bed.
"How are you feeling? Nothing too serious, I hope?" Dorothy asked.
"My leg's fractured. I'll need to rest for two months," Emily replied.
Dorothy nodded and sat down in the chair by the bed, setting her thermos on the nightstand.
"Noah's tied up in a meeting today. Amber wasn't feeling well last night, so he spent the whole night with her at the hospital. I came to check on you. If you need anything, let the nurse know. She'll take care of it for you," Dorothy said.
Emily leaned back against the headboard, watching Dorothy's face. Her makeup was perfect, not a hint of exhaustion. She talked about it like she was chatting about the weather.
She said, "Dorothy, the seven-year deal between Noah and me is over. I want a divorce."
Dorothy was twisting the lid on her thermos when her hand suddenly stopped.
"What?" Dorothy blurted out.
Emily said, "Divorce. The seven-year deal Bruce and I made ended yesterday. I talked to him before I left, and he said yes."
Dorothy's face went through a few changes before she finally composed herself and set the thermos back on the table.
"Is this because of what happened with the helicopter yesterday? Noah did handle it badly, but Amber was in pain, and he was worried about his secretary. Don't get upset over something so trivial," Dorothy said.
Emily replied, "It's not about that. The deal's up. That's all there is to it."