𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐌𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 ❦ (𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐝)

Chapter 10

I can't manage to get any sleep because of what I told prosecutor Toro, but also because of what he answered. His hypothesis... As soon as I arrive at the office, I brief M. Weekes of the situation and the details of the shooting. I also ask him for a favor; to let me pay a visit to the patient I had interviewed at the hospital, a little while ago.

M. Weekes agrees to it and wishes me luck. I rush home and put on decent enough clothes. I establish my priorities on the way, and on top of them, paying Emily a visit.

I register at the Metropolitan Hospital under a false name as one of Emily's remote relatives. It's quite surprising that the nurse and the security guard who took my information don't bother checking them. No I.D. is needed, they don't doubt my word.

As the nurse leads me to the lounge dedicated to visitors, I notice that the hallways are much cleaner and more luminous than they used to. The patients seem to be doing better, too.

Only a month has passed since my undercover operation, yet the change is noticeable in the hospital. But that doesn't reassure me. In fact, I am feeling even more uncomfortable.

I'm wondering how Emily is doing, if she is holding on... and if she is indeed the source of all my recent problems.

"You! You are this journalist! How dare you come back here?" a quite young nurse whose face I recall calls me out.

I raise my hands. "I just want to see how Emily is doing. No shady business, I promise."

"Emily? Emily is dead!"

The news reaches me like a fist in my stomach. "Dead? That's preposterous! How could have she died in a bare month? I will see her today, no matter what."

The nurse sighs and her aggressive attitude softens a little at my reaction. "I am not saying this to discourage you. Emily really died, about twenty days ago."

"You... Are you serious?" I put a hand on my mouth in shock and disbelief.

"Somebody else is already occupying her bedroom. Do you need to see her death certificate to make sure that I'm telling the truth?"

"How did she die?" I ask, ignoring the offer.

"A sudden pneumonia. No one saw it coming."

Emily did die, then? The nurse's expression isn't lying, I can tell. But I still have trouble processing the fact that this woman who seemed physically healthy is now dead.

"Can I see her body?" I request quietly. The nurse stares at me quietly.

"Sir, your sudden arrival at the hospital could cause a lot of trouble here. I need to inform my superiors," she eventually speaks up. She scurries out of the lounge.

I stay anchored on the floor though I know I can get expelled of the hospital anytime. The new is a shock. Did Emily really die? If so, how can I corroborate Mr. Toro's theory?

The sound of footsteps and a door opening catches my attention and I look up , seeing an elegant, relatively young woman enter the room, accompanied with the nurse I spoke to. The newcomer has astounding blue eyes and black hair tied in a sophisticated bun.

"How are you, Mr. Way? My name is Amy, the assistant to the president of the Metropolitan Museum. A nurse informed the president of your visit, but I would have preferred not to be warned on such...short notice." Her smile doesn't leave her face one second, but I can understand her annoyance through the mask. "The president sent me to welcome you."

Do they mean, keeping an eye on me?

"After you published your article on our hospital, its reputation was tarnished. But we have given it a thought and we have modernized the facilities and equipment..."