Chapter 1

A sharp, pounding pain in my forehead jolted me awake.

Up front, my father Richard and my mother Susan had already unbuckled their seat belts and were scrambling toward the seat beside me like maniacs.

"Chloe! My baby, how do you feel? Where does it hurt?"

My sister Chloe, sitting to my right, let out a sob. "Mom, my knee hurts so bad... Am I never going to dance again?"

In reality, Chloe had only scraped a patch of skin on the inside of the car door.

But Susan reacted as if the world were ending, tears streaming down her face. "Richard! Do something! Chloe has her audition at the Royal Ballet Academy next month. She's going to be a prima ballerina someday. There cannot be a single scar on her leg!"

"I know! I'm flagging someone down!" Sweating profusely, Richard kicked open the mangled car door, waving a few hundred-dollar bills as he desperately tried to stop a passing pickup truck.

I parted my lips, trying to speak. "Mom... my head hurts so bad..."

Susan finally turned to look at me, her eyes full of disgust and irritation.

"Olivia, how can you be so selfish?" she snapped. "Can't you see your sister is hurt? And you're still trying to make this all about you? Be quiet right now!"

Richard had already finished talking to the pickup driver. He hurried back and scooped Chloe into his arms.

"Hang in there, Chloe. Daddy's taking you to the best private hospital."

No one spared me a glance.

Using both my hands and feet, I painfully dragged myself out of the badly crushed car.

Just as Richard was about to shut the truck door, I finally reached out a blood-smeared hand and grabbed the edge of it.

"Take me... too..." My vision was already starting to blur.

"Get off!"

Susan shouted, then drove the heel of her shoe hard into my shoulder.

The kick sent me flying, and the back of my head slammed into the ground again.

Richard roared, "Can't you see your sister is injured? She needs the whole back seat to lie down and rest! As for you, figure something out and wait for rescue on the side of the road. Stop making trouble for us!"

The door slammed shut, and they sped away.

As more blood poured out of me, breathing became harder and harder.

Just when I was about to give up, two headlights appeared at the far end of the road. A car was coming fast.

With the very last of my strength, I raised my blood-covered hand weakly into the air.

Screech—

The car braked hard beside me.

A door flew open, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.

"Oh my God! David, look at this child!"

A gentle woman's voice sounded beside my ear. Then a pair of careful hands lifted me from the pool of blood, avoiding my wounds.

"She's lost too much blood! Margaret, get the blanket from the back seat. We have to get her to St. Mary's Medical Center right now!"

I was laid gently across the back seat. Margaret wrapped the blanket tightly around me and pressed a hand over the wound on my forehead, her voice trembling with tears.

"You poor thing... don't be afraid. Hang on. We're not leaving you behind..."

As my consciousness faded, I slipped into darkness.