Chapter 30
BLAIR
Liv’s shoulders are squared with determination. She's handling this better than most people would—seeing their ex and the woman they cheated with, having brunch like nothing ever happened. But there’s tension in her jaw and her fingers grip her mimosa glass a little too tightly.
Andy is still stealing glances at our table. Part of me wants to march over there and tell her exactly what I think of someone who could do that to another person on their wedding day. And Rachel—God, Rachel might be worse. She was Liv's best friend. Her maid of honor.
A thought surfaces that I'm not proud of: if Andy hadn't done what she did, Liv would be married right now.
She'd be someone's wife, living some other life, and I would never have met her.
I wouldn't know what it feels like to wake up with her, or to watch her eyes light up when she laughs, or to see her transform into a force of nature when everything falls apart around her.
The selfish part of me is grateful for a betrayal that broke another woman's heart.
"You okay?" I ask her.
Liv nods, then leans close, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Even if this is just casual," she says, "promise me you'll never lie to me."
I swallow hard, guilt clawing at my insides. "It doesn't feel that casual to me anymore," I admit.
She pulls back to look at me, her dark eyes searching my face.
I need to tell her. Right now. I need to take her outside, away from her family and the noise and Andy's watchful gaze and confess everything. The fake name, the fake job, the money, all of it. She deserves to know who I really am before this goes any further.
I'm about to suggest we step outside when my phone buzzes. I glance at the screen—a North Carolina number I don't recognize. Probably a spam call, but with Mom and Danny back home, I can never ignore them.
"I'm sorry," I say, pushing back my chair. "I need to take this."
I weave between tables toward the restaurant's entrance and answer.
"Ms. Davis?" a woman asks. "This is Dr. Sarah Marshall at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. I'm calling about your brother Daniel."
My stomach drops. "What happened? Is he okay?"
"Daniel sustained a significant head injury. From what we understand, he was struck in the head with a baseball bat."
"What?" The word comes out strangled. I have to lean against the wall to stay upright. "A baseball bat?"
"He has a skull fracture and is currently unconscious. We've induced a medical coma to reduce brain swelling and minimize further damage."
A coma. My brother is in a coma. "How... how serious is this?"
"We've discovered some internal bleeding around the brain—a subdural hematoma. He's in surgery right now. Our neurosurgical team is working to relieve the pressure and stop the bleeding."
Surgery. Brain surgery. I close my eyes, trying to process what she's telling me. "How long will the surgery take?"
"These procedures typically take two to four hours, depending on the extent of the injury. I want to be honest with you, Ms. Davis—the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours will be critical. Head injuries like this can be unpredictable."
"What does that mean? Unpredictable?"
"It means we won't know the full extent of any potential complications until he's stable and we can run more comprehensive tests.
The good news is that he's young and otherwise healthy, which works in his favor.
But with traumatic brain injuries, we have to take things one step at a time.
Your mother is already here. She asked me to call you to explain the situation. "
"I'll be there as soon as I can," I say.
"Okay. When you arrive, ask for the neurological ICU. We'll have more information once the surgery is complete.”
I end the call and immediately dial Sam, my assistant. She answers on the first ring.
"Blair?"
"Sam, I need your help. Danny's been in an accident. He's at Wake Forest Baptist in North Carolina. I need a helicopter and a plane. Now. I’m in Maryland, somewhere near Crayfield."
"On it," she says without hesitation. "Where are you exactly?"
I give her the restaurant's name and location and add, "There's a harvested field behind the building. I’ll ask if the helicopter can land there."
"Give me five minutes."
While I wait, my phone buzzes again. Mom.
"Blair." Her voice is thick with tears, barely holding together. "Did the hospital call you?"
"Just now," I say. "They told me he's in surgery."
"What if he doesn't make it? I'm so scared. There was so much blood..."
"Mom, I need you to calm down," I say as gently as I can while fighting my own panic. "Tell me what happened. How did he get hit with a bat?"
"It was an accident," she chokes out between sobs.
"He was playing with Tommy—you remember Tommy from down the street?
They were just practicing batting, taking turns.
Danny was so excited because his swing was getting better.
" Her voice breaks completely. "Tommy was swinging and Danny must have leaned forward, and the bat caught him right in the head. "
I sigh. A stupid, random accident. Danny's always been clumsy—tripping over his own feet, walking into glass doors, misjudging distances.
When he was younger, we hovered constantly, trying to cushion every potential fall.
But eventually we had to let him live his own life.
We had to let him walk to work alone, hang out with friends unsupervised, make his own mistakes.
I just never thought one of those mistakes could be this catastrophic.
"There was so much blood, Blair," Mom says again. "He was just lying there, and Tommy was screaming for help. I thought he was gone. I thought my baby was gone."
My throat tightens. "Mom, listen to me. Danny's in good hands. The doctors know what they're doing, and he's strong. He's going to be okay. We have to believe that."
"But what if—"
"No what-ifs," I interrupt, trying to project a confidence I don't feel. "Danny's a fighter. You know that. Where are you now?"
"I'm in the waiting room. John just got here."
Good. My stepfather will be able to calm her down.
My phone buzzes—Sam calling back. "Mom, I have to go. I'm arranging a flight and I'll be there as soon as I can, okay? I love you."
"I love you too, sweetheart. Please hurry."
I switch calls. "Sam, tell me you have something."
“Yes.” Sam clears her throat. “The helicopter will be with you in twenty minutes.
The service we keep on retainer had an aircraft nearby, so you got lucky.
It'll take you to BWI where I've chartered a jet that can get you to Winston-Salem Regional in under an hour.
Total travel time should be just under three hours. "
"Thank you, Sam."
"There'll be a car waiting to take you to the hospital. Anything else?"
"I'll let you know."
As I end the call, I see Liv watching me through the window, her face creased with concern. I raise my hand to acknowledge her and point to my phone. She nods.
All I can think about is Danny's voice on the phone yesterday, asking when I was coming to visit.
"Next week," I promised him—the same promise I've been making for months while I filled my empty days with meaningless distractions.
This time I really meant it. I should have been there moreShould have made time for him.
The thought of losing him now, of never getting another chance to hear him laugh is devastating, and I've never been so afraid.