Second Shot: Choosing Silence Over Salvage

Cindy Bale is back at the day her brother Alex was shot at the library. In her previous life, she rushed him to the hospital and begged her mother, a top neurosurgeon, to come save him. Her mother refused, believing Cindy had fabricated the story out of jealousy, and Alex died. The family blamed Cindy, and her mother pushed her down the stairs to her death.

Now, Cindy turns away from the bleeding Alex and runs. At home, her father scolds her for being late with the crabs and compares her unfavorably to Cynthia, the adopted sister the family adores. When news of Alex's shooting arrives, the family rushes to the hospital, where relatives accuse Cindy of not being with him. Her father panics when she suggests calling her mother, who is actually out of town with Cynthia. Cindy pretends to call, but her mother dismisses the news as nonsense and hangs up. A nurse warns that Alex has a severe intracranial hemorrhage and only her mother can perform the surgery, but she is off duty and unreachable.