Chapter 100
Sophia only got wind of Haleyâs accident the day after it went down
Laura herself gave her a ring.
âYou wicked girl, you vanish for two years, donât even drop a call or send some cash back home, all that time raising you up for nothing. Your father adored you, and all he got was disappointment. You know your dadâs knocking on deathâs door?â
On the other end of the line, Lauraâs sobbing, almost gasping for air, turned Sophiaâs face white as a sheet.
âWhatâs wrong with my dad?â she blurted out, her voice laced with urgency.
Though she hadnât touched base with Laura and Aaron, sheâd kept in sporadic contact with her dad, Haley, even had a video chat just last week.
In that video, Haley looked worn and aged from years of boozing, but he still seemed to have some pep in his step, not at all like he was sick or anything.
âHe had a car accident, hit someone, and now heâs laid up in the ICU. No telling if heâs gonna pull through.â Lauraâs voice was breaking, the words coming out in fits and starts. âBefore they wheeled him in, he was out of it, kept calling your name.â
âDonât panic, Iâm on my way back now.â
After calming Laura with those words, Sophia hung up.
She told Laura not to panic, but inside, she was freaking out.
Sophia didnât dare waste any time. She buzzed Susan, left her some instructions, and booked a flight back. home for that very day.
Brandon handed off the Haley situation to Kent.
Haley had called that day looking to borrow some dough.
Haley had a fender bender, both he and the other guy got banged up pretty bad, ended up in the ICU. Traffic cops hadnât figured out who was at fault yet, and the other party was adamant that Haley was to blame, demanding the Yearwood family cough up for the medical bills upfront.
Aaron wasnât clued in on Haleyâs condition, but knowing his old man was fond of a drink, feared he mightâve been driving under the influence. Given the other partyâs steadfast attitude and his own insecurity, plus the lack of surveillance at the crash site making it tough to pin down who was at fault, and witnesses who couldnât quite give a clear account, though they all saw Haleyâs car hit the other guyâs.
Aaron was leaning towards the idea that it was probably his dadâs fault. Both sides were facing hefty medical bills, possibly a fat stack of compensation on top.
Aaron did some digging, found out the compensation wasnât gonna be peanuts, and he couldnât cover it. In a panic, he rushed to Brandon for help.
Brandon had Kent scope out the situation, found out the accident report wasnât ready, so he put the compensation on hold and just had Kent front the cash for Haleyâs medical expenses.
Kent had been running around nonâstop the past couple of days, dealing with Haleyâs mess.
Luckily, Haleyâs recovery was looking up. After three days in the ICU, he finally got moved to a regular room.
Back at the office, Kent relayed the news to Brandon
âIs he awake yet?â Brandon paused his work to ask, looking up.
Kent shook his head. âNot yet.â
Brandorts brow furrowed slightly. He glanced at his phone, snapped his laptop shut, and stood up. âIll head
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Chapter 100
over to the hospital,â
Kent didnât try to stop him. Even though Brandon and Sophia were divorced, Haley was still Brandonâs exâfatherâinâlaw, and the call had come to Brandonâs phone after all,
âTâll get some gifts and fruit ready,â Kent offered.
When Brandon arrived at the hospital, Haley was still out cold.
The man was lying in the room, his face gaunt and pale.
Laura was keeping vigil by his side, looking pretty worn out herself.
Aaron was there too, in better shape than Laura, still had the energy to play games on his phone. He put it down and stood up with a smile when he saw Brandon come in. âBrandon, you made it.â
With that, he stepped up and took the gifts and fruit basket from Brandonâs hands.
Brandon didnât look at him. His eyes went straight to Haley on the bed, then to Laura. âWhatâd the doc say?â
âThey say heâs doing okay, gonna see if he can wake up tonight.â Lauraâs voice was hoarse, her eyes worriedly flicking back to Haley.
Brandon nodded, didnât say much more, stayed a bit longer, then after the doc did rounds and asked about Haleyâs condition, he said his goodbyes to Laura and Aaron, pushed the door to leave but froze as he caught sight of something in the moment he lifted his gaze.
Sophia, hurrying out of the elevator, also spotted Brandon and hesitated for just a second.