Delh watched her youngest son beat himself up with guilt. Her heart hurt for him, but what she felt even more was relief.


    What if their darling daughter hadn''t been there today? Could she have faced losing Leo?


    With that heavy thought, she took a deep breath, patted Leo gently on the back, and whispered, "Mira''s our lucky star."


    Leo nced at Delh, then dropped his gaze. "Lucky star" didn''t even begin to cover it. Mira was the best sister in the world.


    Shawn, who had been sitting quietly, looked over at Leo and asked, "How did the brakes just give out like that? Didn''t the warning system go off?"


    Leaning back against the headboard, Leo straightened up and shook his head. "Nothing. No warning at all, and the emergency brake didn''t do a thing."


    Shawn squinted, gears turning in his mind. Brakes don''t just fail for no reason; this ident was looking less like an ident by the minute.


    Was someone trying to hurt Leo?


    Nick, who had been absorbing Leo''s story without catching his dad''s worried look, turned to Mirabe in surprise, “Sis, you can drive?"


    Though he hadn''t seen the crash, the way Leo described it painted a pretty clear picture. It would take some serious driving skills to pull off that kind of save.


    But wasn''t Mirabe still under eighteen? How could she have such advanced driving skills?


    Nick tilted his head, eyeing her curiously.


    Mirabe was sitting next to him by the window, her hand resting on the sill. Meeting Nick''s gaze without blinking, she said, "...a little bit, I guess."


    Nick''s feelings were all over the ce. A little bit of skill was all it took to turn a massive crash into a narrow escape?


    "The principle of friction and deceleration is actually in our textbooks. Just happened to apply it today, and it worked out pretty well," Mirabe added casually, as if that exined everything.


    Worked out pretty well? Nick stared at her, thinking, Is that really the takeaway here?


    Mirabe cleared her throat and turned away, just as her phone buzzed with a message from James. She pulled it out, nced at the message, and felt a twinge of annoyance. After a quick look around at Shawn, Delh, and her two brothers


    in the hospital room, she typed out a reply and pocketed her phone.


    Standing up, Mirabe said, "I''m heading to the restroom for a sec."


    Everyone except Nick seemed to take her at her word, not suspecting a thing.


    Watching Mirabe''s retreating figure, Nick''s expression was thoughtful.


    *


    As soon as she stepped out and saw James waiting, Mirabe felt like she''d walked into a trap. Quickly, she shut the hospital room door behind her.


    James looked slightly confused.


    Mirabe touched her nose and, ying the good Samaritan for once, said, "It''s crowded in there, not really convenient."


    James''s gaze followed her movements,nding on her bandaged hand. His brow furrowed slightly, "You hurt your hand?"


    "Oh, it''s just a scratch. It''ll be fine in a few days," Mirabe said casually, waving off his concern.


    James''s eyes darkened with rare seriousness. "I have an ointment that''s great for injuries. I''ll bring you some when we get back."


    Mirabe was about to refuse, but looking into his earnest eyes, the words turned into, "Sure, that''d be great."


    Seeing her agreement, James''s expression rxed a bit.


    Just then, the hospital room door behind Mirabe swung open again.