My mom ended up in a vegetable state because my husband's childhood sweetheart hit her while drunk driving.

When the police asked her to take a breathalyzer, Sarah swore she hadn't drunk anything and dared them to draw her blood for a test.

At the hospital, James faked the test results.

He staked his career on it, producing a clean report that cleared her of driving under the influence.

The day she walked free, he went to pick her up.

I screamed at him, "Don't you know she hit my mom?"

He shrugged. "Margaret is not dead. She'll wake up, okay? Why are you freaking out, trying to ruin Sarah's life? Will that make you happy?"

On my way home, I got a call from the police.

They said my mom had been in an accident and was in the ER fighting for her life.

I whipped the car around and sped to the hospital. As I walked in, I saw a bunch of police officers surrounding a woman.

At a glance, I recognized her as Sarah Miller. She was my husband's childhood friend.

"As I said, I wasn't drunk driving. That was just an accident. Why are you hauling me in like this?" Sarah snapped. "That old lady popped out of nowhere and smashed into my car. I'm kind enough not to demand compensation for the damage."

She paused and rambled on, "I understand you're doing your job, but you're wasting my time. Who is gonna make that up to me?"

Her frustration was obvious, but anyone with eyes could tell something was off.

From the bits I caught, Sarah had hit my mom and ran.

The street cameras only showed her car, and there was blood smeared on the hood.

Rage boiled up inside me. I itched to storm over and slap her silly. As I got closer, the stench of booze hit me hard.

She was lying through her teeth.

Before I could confront her, a nurse burst out of the ER.

"Who is Margaret Johnson's family?" she said urgently. "She's in bad shape. We need a signature right now. The surgery is risky, and she might not make it. We'll do everything we can."

It was like a bomb went off in my head. I couldn't hold it together.

My hands shook as I signed the form. Then I broke down sobbing. "Please, you've got to save her."

The doctor promised they'd try their best, but my mind went blank. My chest tightened like it was caving in.

Sarah's voice cut through. "Can you shut up already? It's annoying. She's not even dead. What's there to cry about?"

She locked eyes with me, clearly knowing who I was. She snorted, "I can't stand people like you, making a big deal out of nothing."

I froze, stunned by her righteous tone after she ran over my mom.

"That's my mom in there, fighting to live," I shot back. "How can you talk like that?"

"Not my mom." She shrugged, pushing her luck. "Don't look at me like that. I don't owe you squat. Besides, I haven't even blamed her for screwing up my car. Talk about bad luck."

I clenched my fists, barely holding it in. "I will get to the bottom of this, and you will pay for what you did."

The tension between us was thick enough to cut. A police officer stepped in. "Ma'am, calm down. We'll handle it. Once the test results come out and confirm she was drunk, she'll face the law."

Sarah didn't even flinch. Instead, she smirked at me.

I suppressed my anger and waited for the results. My spirit lifted when my husband, James Carter, showed up with the report.

It hit me then that he was working at this hospital as the top doctor.

A bad feeling twisted in my gut. I took a deep breath, praying it wasn't him handling this.

"James..." I whispered.

But he brushed right past me, not even a glance my way.

I had called him earlier after the police informed me of the situation. His professional advice had been much needed.

Sadly, he had ignored my calls. When he finally answered, he only complained, "I'm tied up with something important. Handle it yourself and stop bugging me."

I laughed bitterly, figuring out his important thing. He had been busy faking a report for Sarah.

"We rushed the tests," James announced. "The driver didn't drink. This might just be an accident."

It wasn't just me, but the police officers were also stunned.

I found it hard to breathe, feeling like a boulder crashed into my chest.

Before I could say anything, James doubled down.

"I can vouch for her. We had dinner together tonight, and there was no alcohol," he said. "The smell on her was fermented fruit from dessert. My team rushed the report, and it didn't go through my hands. If you don't trust me, you can have another doctor redo it"

Five hours later, a second report came back identical. The case was dropped as a regular accident, and Sarah walked free.

The police told us to settle it privately and bailed.

I collapsed onto the ground, feeling like all the vitality had been sucked out of me.

I couldn't accept it. Her dazed look and the reek of booze both screamed drunk driving. Yet the report said otherwise.

Margaret was still in the ER, her life hanging by a thread.

The pain wrecked my guts. I itched to rush over and tear Sarah into pieces.

But as I zoned out, Sarah threw herself into James's arms and hugged him tightly.

"I knew you'd have my back," she said excitedly. "You don't know how scared I was."

James had a fetish for cleanliness. At work, he only allowed his patients to get close in his scrubs.

When I had visited and tried to get close, he had snapped at me. "This is a hospital. Quit hanging all over me with everyone watching."

We'd been married for six years. Intimacy should have been a problem. I figured he just cared about his professional image.

Now, with Sarah clinging to him, he just frowned a little and had no intention of pushing her away.

It brought me immense pain and made me feel like a clown.

"It's nothing," he said. "I promised Rick I'd look after you."

"It wasn't my fault," she whined, refusing to let go. "That old lady darted into the road. You know I've got night blindness. I freaked out and mixed up the gas and brakes. I know you're worried about the victim, but I swear I only had a tiny bit to drink. She can name her price, and I'll pay. It's just a shame my new car is stained with blood."

James's cold face softened. He patted her head and reassured her, "I believe you. Go home and take a rest."

After soothing her, he finally glanced at me with mixed feelings.

Not happy about it, Sarah tugged at his sleeve. "I'm scared. You didn't see how aggressive Emily was earlier. She looked like she wanted to kill me. Her mom didn't watch the road, and Emily blamed it on me. I'm afraid she'd blame you for producing the report for me. That would be a headache."

I stayed silent, staring at James. The answer was clear as day.

"She won't," he said, shredding what little dignity I had left.

Everyone at the hospital knew I was his simp. I'd crushed on him for ten years.

When his company tanked, I gave him every penny I had to get him back on his feet. When he made it big and women swarmed him, I never let go.

When he proposed, I said yes without a second thought, thinking my devotion had finally paid off.

But when Margaret lay dying, he sided with Sarah and helped her dodge justice.

Maybe that was because he never loved me.

James chatted with Sarah for a while.

When he was ready to leave, she suddenly clutched her chest, claiming she was spooked and her heart hurt.

He took her straight to his office to check her out.

It was ironic. I had been married to him for years but had never once stepped foot in that office.

When I complained about it, he'd only say, "I don't get why you're making a stink about this. I'm already beat from work. Can you stop being a pain? That's my space. Can't I have a little privacy? Grow up and quit smothering me. Have a life."

He forgot how I had cut off all my friends to prop him up when he was broke.

He was my whole world. Before meeting him, I had a life too.

By the time I snapped out of it, they were already gone.

My heart ached like it was being squeezed dry. I could barely breathe.

Right then, the ER light went out. The doctor came out with bad news. "The patient's brain is damaged. She might never wake up."

I sobbed at the door till I nearly passed out, refusing to leave her side. The staff had to drag me to a room next door to rest.

For a week, I stayed with Margaret. The opposite room was James's office.

He never came by, and my heart flatlined.

But I wasn't done. I hired a nurse for Margaret and went to the police station for the surveillance footage from that night.

They said the system got an upgrade and all the old videos were gone.

My gut screamed James. With his pull, wiping those tapes would've been a breeze.

I didn't want to make a scene at the hospital, so I went home to wait.

James didn't come home until it was midnight. Reeking of booze, he stumbled in and saw me in the living room. Not catching my vibe, he rubbed his head and hugged me.

His tone was softer than usual. "Waiting for me? Missing me? Our team had a party, and it ran a little late. I got you that little cake you like. Want some now?"

He acted as if nothing had happened, but I knew better. He was trying to please me and ease his guilt.

I didn't miss the faint perfume on him. That was something I had only smelled on Sarah.

My stomach churned. I shoved him off and dry-heaved over the sink.

When I recovered, I glared at him. "Margaret is in a vegetable state. You haven't visited her once but have got time for a party? Do you have a heart?"

I rarely talked to him like that, causing his face to darken.

But he managed to hold back his anger. He said, "Chill it. You know how slammed I am at work. The party was our boss's idea. He's eyeing me for a promotion. I couldn't say no. I get you're upset, so I grabbed the cake to cheer you up. Sweet stuff helps, right?"

Since coming back, he hadn't said a word about Margaret. All her kindness to him over the years was for nothing.

Furious, I smacked the fancy cake out of his hand.

James grabbed my arm, done playing nice. "It's been days. Can't you get over it? I've been patient, but you're pushing it. Sarah already paid you guys off. What else do you want?"

I sneered at his words.

To him, Margaret's situation was not important, but money couldn't wake her up.

Rage took over, and I slapped him across the face. "That's my mom. She's still lying unconscious in the hospital."

"So what?" he shot back. "She is not dead. She'll wake up, okay? Why are you freaking out, trying to ruin Sarah's life? Will that make you happy?"

A life hung in the balance, and he was caring about someone else's future.

I laughed at my blindness of ever treasuring a man like him.

"So, Margaret's life doesn't matter?" I growled. "I want a divorce. Your face makes me sick."