Signed Mrs. Sterling Chapter 15
Stepping outside, the cold, late-night Manhattan air was biting.
Sebastian’s car was parked at the end of the circular driveway.
“I’m sorry you got dragged into this mess,” I said to Sebastian, my voice heavy with exhaustion.
“Don’t be stupid,” he said, opening the car door with one hand and expertly buckling Leo into the child seat in the back. “I should be the one apologizing. I never should have left you to face those two narcissistic psychopaths alone.”
Just as I was about to get in the car, Harrison came storming out of the house.
“Julianne! Stop right there!” he yelled from the top of the porch steps, his tie askew, an empty liquor glass still clutched in his hand. He had lost all of his usual polished composure. “You think you can just walk away from this? We need to talk about changing the custody agreement!”
I turned, my hand on the car door, ready to deliver one final comeback.
Suddenly, the deafening roar of an engine ripped through the quiet Upper East Side night.
A black, old-model SUV—the kind the Sterling family used for staff—shot out from a blind spot by the estate’s side gate, its headlights off, like an out-of-control steel beast.
Its target was unmistakable—me, standing in the middle of the driveway.
It all happened so fast, like a slow-motion scene in a movie.
I saw Harrison’s eyes widen in terror. I heard him scream my name.
“Get out of the way!!!”
But I was frozen. Fear had nailed me to the spot.
In that split second, a powerful force slammed into me from the side.
It was Sebastian.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he had dropped his keys and lunged, tackling me and sending us both rolling onto the manicured lawn.
CRUNCH!
A massive impact echoed through the neighborhood.
The SUV had smashed into the passenger side of Sebastian’s expensive sports car, shoving it back several feet with a sickening shriek of twisting metal.
If I had been standing there, if Leo hadn’t been buckled in yet… the thought was terrifying.
My head slammed against the stone base of a lawn statue. The world spun, and a sharp ringing filled my ears.
In the last moment before I blacked out, I saw Harrison running toward me like a madman, dropping to his knees beside me, his hands trembling, wanting to touch me but not daring to.
“Julianne! Julianne! Look at me! Somebody call an ambulance! Fucking call an ambulance!”
His voice was filled with a terror and desperation I had never heard before.
Across the lawn, Sebastian scrambled to his feet, ignoring the blood trickling down his own forehead, frantically pulling at the mangled car door to check on Leo.
“Leo! Leo! Answer me, buddy!”
I tried to speak, but darkness washed over me like a tidal wave, pulling me under.