"sh the hazards and signal a right turn," Mirabe said, her eyes locked on the road ahead, her voice calm and unwavering.


    The moment Leo realized the brakes had failed, panic set in. But his sister''sposed instructions somehow steadied him, and he found himself following her lead without thinking.


    Traffic was heavy, and the car wasn''t slowing down. They were closing in on the vehicle in front of them dangerously fast.


    The drivers ahead seemed to sense something was wrong, honking their horns incessantly.


    "Sis... I''m so sorry, Mirabe," Leo stammered, his face pale, heart pounding in his chest. He was pressing the brake pedal with all his might, unsure of what else to do.


    If only he had taken Mirabe homest night, maybe they wouldn''t be in this


    mess now.


    But Mirabe didn''t seem to hear him. Her eyes were fixed outside the window until she spotted an empty stretch of sidewalk with a speed bump.


    "Now," she said, leaning over to grab the steering wheel and yanking it hard to the right. The car swerved, tires screeching on the pavement, and began to slow down.


    She wrenched the wheel right again, grinding the tires against the curb, repeating the maneuver several times. Their makeshift braking method was working. Finally, she twisted the wheel onest time. "Brace yourself."


    The car jumped the curb and crashed into a flowerbed,ing to a jarring stop.


    Despite the reduced speed, the sudden stop sent shockwaves through their bodies, and the windshield shattered from the impact.


    "Cough... cough..." Mirabe suppressed the difort in her chest and turned to check on Leo. He was slumped over the wheel. She straightened him up. Aside from a few minor head injuries, he seemed okay.


    She checked his pulse-it was steady. He had passed out from the shock but was otherwise unharmed, and she sighed in relief.


    Someone had already called 911, and within minutes, the police and an ambnce arrived.


    Leo was a celebrity, so before the paramedics arrived, Mirabe pulled a mask from his pocket and ced it on him, hiding his well-known face.


    After calling the school to excuse her absence, she apanied him to the hospital.


    Twenty minutester, Collins rushed into the hospital.


    Leo had just finished a full body check-up and was wheeled back to his room, still unconscious.


    Collins entered the room, his face etched with worry. "How are you two? Are you and your brother okay?"


    Mirabe sat in a chair, a white bandage wrapped around her hand from where the windshield shards had cut her. She tugged her sleeve over the bandage, her expression steady. "We''re fine. Nothing serious."


    Collins, relieved, gave Leo a closer look. Apart from the cut on his forehead, his limbs were intact, and he let out a heavy sigh. "Thank God. You had me scared to death."


    Despite Mirabe''s efforts to shield her brother, news of the ident had already spread online. The web was buzzing with headlines about Leo''s crash and hospitalization.


    On his way to the hospital, Collins had seen the photos taken by bystanders-the front of the car waspletely smashed, the scene horrific. It had nearly given him a heart attack.