Chapter 165

In the midst of a flood of complicated thoughts, the video finally finished loading. Sophia hit play again, and it started.

A black car was speeding down the highway. Sophia recognized it immediately — that was Zephyr's car.

It was her fault, really. She had been the one who told him the car looked cool and sharp, that it suited him perfectly. So Zephyr had gone ahead and bought it without a second thought.

Years had passed, but Zephyr never switched to a new car. This one was still his go-to.

The security footage was grainy, but even through the blur, Sophia could make out Zephyr's figure.

He was sitting in the back seat, talking on the phone while typing on a laptop, clearly buried in work.

The flight must have been close to departure. The assistant in the front seat kept urging the driver to go faster.

The tragedy happened in a single instant. The moment the driver pressed the accelerator, the car seemed to lose all control and slammed straight into the truck ahead.

The cars behind had no time to react. One after another, they crashed in, setting off the biggest chain-reaction accident the country had ever seen.

Sophia stared at the smoking black car and tightened her grip on her phone.

If only she could travel back in time. Right now, more than anything, she wanted to go back and pull Zephyr out of that wreck.

But she couldn't. She had to face reality. The only thing she could do now was find whoever was behind the crash.

After the accident, police had arrived almost immediately. Sophia scanned the crowd in the footage, looking for Alice — but Alice was nowhere to be seen.

How was that possible? If Alice hadn't been at the scene, then what was the point of the photo Finnegan had hidden in the red box?

Why did Finnegan's investigation lead straight to Alice being at that crash site?

Sophia watched the video over and over again. Every time she got to the moment of impact, the pain tore right through her — but she pushed it down and kept watching, because she needed to be sure whether Alice had been there or not.

Time slipped by without her noticing. By the time Sophia finally pulled herself away from the screen, it was evening. She had spent the entire day watching the footage, and by now she was almost certain: Alice had never appeared at the scene.

She refused to accept that. She immediately contacted a professional forensics agency, sent them the video, and asked them to verify whether it had been tampered with.

Over the next few days, Sophia kept to her normal work routine — but anyone who knew her well could tell something was off. She kept zoning out mid-task, clearly somewhere else in her head.

Harry had been calling her every chance he got during those days, but Sophia had no energy to keep him happy. Most of the time she just let it ring. When she did pick up, she'd give a few short, hollow replies and hang up quickly.

Then one evening, the forensics report finally came through.

The moment she opened it, Sophia froze. It felt like all the blood in her body had rushed straight to her head.

How could this be? The report showed no signs of any editing or post-processing. So where had Alice gone? She was a real person — she couldn't have just vanished.

Right then, her phone started buzzing like crazy. At the same moment, Sophia felt a twitch in her right eye, like some kind of warning.

She reached to answer it, but her hand slipped and the phone clattered to the floor.

Ethan had come looking for her and caught the whole thing. He picked up the phone and handed it back. "What's going on with you? You're totally out of it."

"Nothing. I was just thinking about something. My hand slipped."

Sophia took the phone and hit answer.

Saskia's frantic voice came through immediately. "Sophia, your grandfather was in a car accident! Come to Starlight Hospital now — it's bad."

The phone slipped from Sophia's hand.

The words hit her like a physical blow. She stumbled backward several steps.

Ethan grabbed her by the shoulders right away. "What happened? What's going on?"

Sophia's hands were shaking. She forced herself to breathe, steadied herself, and got the words out. "My grandfather was in a car accident. Please take me to Starlight Hospital. We need to go now."

"Okay. Don't worry. I'm taking you right now."

The drive from the office to Starlight Hospital normally took half an hour. Ethan got her there in fifteen minutes.

When Sophia arrived, Finnegan was still in the emergency room. Saskia was leaning against the wall outside, crying so long she barely had any strength left.

"Mom, has the doctor said anything about his condition?" Sophia fought to keep herself calm.

Saskia's voice was rough. "The doctor said it doesn't look good. Whether he pulls through is down to luck and how hard he wants to fight."

Sophia's legs nearly gave out. Ethan caught her just in time.

"Don't worry. I'll call in every favor I have. I'll get the best surgeons in the country here. I won't let anything happen to your grandfather."

"Thank you." Sophia said it quickly, then turned to Saskia. "Where did the accident happen? Was it... an accident, or was it..."

She couldn't bring herself to say "deliberate." But she had a feeling — deep and uneasy — that Finnegan's accident and Zephyr's crash might be connected.

Why else would Finnegan get hurt right when she started digging into that old chain-reaction accident?

"I don't really know what happened. I was at the office today. Someone said Finnegan felt a bit bloated after dinner and wanted to take a walk. He said he'd just stroll around the villa grounds, so he told the staff not to come with him."

"But after a long time, he still hadn't come back. The butler sent people to look for him, and they found him in the flower beds — unconscious, bleeding badly."

"No one saw the car? No one saw who did it?" Sophia's brow furrowed. She went straight to the key question.

"The car was still there. But the driver was already gone." Saskia's voice cracked. "Sophia. Finnegan  going to be okay, right?"

"He's going to be fine." Sophia's voice was firm. But under her hands, resting on her legs, her fingers were curling tight without her realizing it.

Her gut told her this was no accident.

Ethan wasted no time. He pulled every string he had and reached out to some of the most respected surgical specialists around. But when they arrived and assessed Finnegan's condition, they all shook their heads.

"Dr. Farley." Ethan grabbed the arm of surgeon Clifton Farley, who was about to leave. His voice was almost pleading. "You're the top authority in this field. Are you really saying there's nothing you can do?"

"This man is the grandfather of someone who means a great deal to me. Losing him would devastate her. Please — I'm asking you — think again. There has to be something."