The stranger pulled me safely away from the window and closed it behind us.

I stared at him, still shaking.

“Who are you?”

He released my wrist immediately and stepped back.

“Lucas Herrera.”

The name meant nothing to me.

But then he took a black card from his pocket and placed it on the bedside table.

HERRERA LEGAL & INVESTIGATIONS.

My breathing slowed.

“What kind of deal?”

Lucas glanced toward the hallway before lowering his voice.

“One that gives you the truth before your three days are over.”

My blood turned cold.

“How do you know about the three days?”

“The doctor who spoke to you this morning wasn’t the only person who saw your latest test results.”

I stared at him.

Lucas continued.

“Six months ago, I was hired to investigate your accident.”

“By whom?”

He didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he opened his phone and showed me a photograph.

My sister Valeria.

Adrián.

And Daniel.

The picture had been taken two weeks before my accident.

They were standing outside a restaurant.

Valeria was kissing Adrián.

Daniel stood nearby.

Watching.

My stomach tightened.

“I already know they were together.”

“That isn’t the important part.”

Lucas swiped to the next photo.

My father’s car.

The car from the accident.

Someone was crouched beside it late at night.

I leaned closer.

The image was blurry, but the jacket was unmistakable.

Daniel’s.

I stopped breathing.

“No.”

Lucas looked directly at me.

“The police report called your crash an accident.”

“It was an accident.”

“Are you sure?”

My hands began trembling again.

I remembered fragments.

The brakes.

The curve.

My father’s shouting.

Valeria screaming.

And me trying desperately to keep control of the car.

Lucas spoke quietly.

“The mechanic who inspected the vehicle found something suspicious. Before he could give a formal statement, someone paid him to leave the city.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know yet.”

I laughed bitterly.

“You’re asking me to investigate my own family when I have three days left?”

“No.”

His answer came immediately.

“I’m asking you to stay alive long enough to expose them.”

I looked away.

Downstairs, distant music floated through the hospital courtyard.

The wedding.

My wedding.

Or what should have been mine.

“What do you want from me?”

Lucas pulled out a small recorder.

“Pretend you know nothing.”

I frowned.

“That’s your plan?”

“They believe you’re weak. Confused. Dying.”

His expression hardened.

“Let them continue believing it.”

For the first time since waking up, something inside me shifted.

Not hope.

Something colder.

“Why are you helping me?”

Lucas hesitated.

Then he said something I never expected.

“Because your father hired me.”

I stared at him.

“My father?”

“He contacted me three weeks before the accident.”

My father had been in that car.

He hadn’t survived.

Lucas handed me an envelope.

My name was written across the front.

In my father’s handwriting.

My fingers shook so badly I nearly dropped it.

“When did he give you this?”

“The night before the crash.”

“Why didn’t you give it to me earlier?”

“You were unconscious.”

“And my family?”

“He specifically told me not to give it to them.”

That sentence hurt more than I expected.

Even before the accident, Dad had known something was wrong.

I tore open the envelope.

Inside was one handwritten page.

Mia,

If you’re reading this, something has happened before I could explain everything myself.

Do not trust the version of events Daniel gives you.

Do not sign anything.

And most importantly—

Do not let Valeria know what your grandfather left you.

I read the last line twice.

Then a third time.

“My grandfather?”

Lucas nodded.

“You weren’t told?”

“Told what?”

Before he could answer, footsteps approached.

Lucas quickly took the letter, folded it and slipped it beneath my pillow.

The door opened.

Adrián walked in.

Alone.

His wedding jacket was unbuttoned.

The flower on his lapel was gone.

And there was no wedding ring on his finger.

His eyes immediately moved to Lucas.

“Who is this?”

Lucas smiled politely.

“A friend.”

Adrián’s face hardened.

“Mia doesn’t have friends here.”

I almost laughed.

Apparently my fiancé knew enough about my life to betray me but still believed he could decide who entered my hospital room.

“Why aren’t you downstairs?” I asked.

Adrián ignored the question.

His eyes stayed on Lucas.

“Leave us alone.”

Lucas looked at me.

I nodded slightly.

As he walked toward the door, he whispered just loudly enough for me to hear:

“Remember. You know nothing.”

The door closed.

Adrián approached my bed.

For several seconds, he just stared at me.

Then he suddenly said:

“I didn’t marry her.”

I froze.

“What?”

“The ceremony stopped.”

My heart gave one stupid, painful beat.

I hated myself for it.

“Why?”

Adrián sat beside the bed.

“Because when the priest asked me to repeat the vows…”

He looked at me.

“I couldn’t.”

I laughed weakly.

“How romantic.”

“Mia.”

“No. Go downstairs. Valeria is probably waiting.”

“She isn’t.”

Something in his voice made me look at him.

Adrián’s face had gone pale.

“Valeria disappeared.”

My smile faded.

“What do you mean?”

“She left the chapel ten minutes ago.”

“So?”

“She took something from the family safe before she left.”

My pulse jumped.

“What?”

Adrián reached into his pocket and placed a photograph on my blanket.

It showed an old document.

At the top was my grandfather’s name.

Below it was mine.

And beside my name was a figure so large I thought I had misread it.

$48,000,000.

I stared at the photograph.

Adrián whispered:

“Valeria knew about this.”

My throat tightened.

“Since when?”

His expression changed.

“According to Daniel…”

He paused.

“…before your accident.”

At that exact moment, my phone buzzed.

Unknown number.

One message.

I opened it.

It contained a photograph taken only seconds earlier.

Valeria stood beside a black car.

In her hand was the original inheritance document.

And beside her was someone I recognized immediately.

My brother Daniel.

Below the photo were five words:

YOUR ACCIDENT WAS NEVER AN ACCIDENT.