The Double or more Life of the Fake Heiress (Mirabella)

Delilah 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 glanced at Delilah, 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 accident was looking less like an accident 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 Mirabella 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 Mirabella still under eighteen? How could she have such advanced driving skills?

Nick tilted his head, eyeing her curiously.

Mirabella 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 place. 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," Mirabella added casually, as if that explained everything.

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

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

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

Standing up, Mirabella 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 Mirabella's retreating figure, Nick's expression was thoughtful.

*

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

James looked slightly confused.

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

James's gaze followed her movements, landing 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," Mirabella 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."

Mirabella 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 relaxed a bit.

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