#6 in medical! *
I nodded and returned my gaze back to Liv. She placed a hand on my chest, opening and closing her fist. I heard her sniffle and rubbed her hair gently.
"Listen. I know you may not want to tell me what happened right now. But at some...
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Chapter 30: the plan
"What even is your plan when we get there?" Conrad pressed on and I was about ready to pull the car over and leave him in the middle of the street. He had been asking so many questions, not the least bit worried about what was about to happen.
I seethed and clenched my hands on the wheel, "I don't know okay! Do you think I just have this whole thing mapped out?"
He made a sarcastic looking face. "Considering this guy could be a complete psychopath, we definitely don't want to just barge in and accuse him."
As much as I hate to admit it, he did have a point. We couldn't give him any hint that we knew what was going on.
I drove on, the clinic just coming into view. There still weren't any cars there besides the one that belonged to a supposed murderer. I was trying my best to mentally prepare myself. But Liv was in there, and I'd never leave her in there with that psychopath. Oh wait.
"So What's the plan, Stan." Decker completely turned in his seat so his whole body was facing me. I really wanted to kick him in the mouth. He was acting as if this was all some fucking joke. But it was far from it.
"Well. How about we waltz in there and just become the bestest of friends with him?" I said in a high overly sarcastic voice.
He held up his hands in defense.
" okay I get it. I'm not your favorite person right now."
No shit.
We stepped out of the car, cautiously walking towards the entrance of the clinic. The place I had known as my work for the past couple months. I don't think it would ever be the same after this.
I walked in first, with Decker trailing behind me. There was almost complete silence except for the soft air conditioning. Once I stepped into the waiting room, I couldn't stop myself from running down the corridor towards the room that Liv was waiting in. I couldn't hear Conrad behind me.
I turned and quickly opened the door to her room, shutting it behind me and leaning against it. Liv was seated on the examining table in a shocked daze.
"What's going on?" She rested her hands on either sides of her, and I sighed with relief to see that she was okay. He must not have come back yet.
"We need to go." I said softly with intensity. Liv furrowed her eyebrows and got up, her boot restricting her from walking more than a few steps.
"Why? Didn't you get your research from the hospital?"
I stepped closer, and put my hands on her shoulders. "I'll tell you in the car, but we need to go n-"
The soft click of the door interrupted me, and I only had a split second to pretend everything was okay as I met the face of Dr. Altman. He turned and shut the door behind him, once again a clipboard in his hand. I quickly stood next to Liv and placed my hand on the small of her back. I didn't know what she was thinking in this moment, but I wanted to give her a sign. Anything that would tell her something isn't right.
I glanced at Dr. Altman, and his expression was somber as he kept his gaze glued to the paper. I wished that I could've read his mind. To see what he was thinking of. How he was going to kill us? Lie to us? Manipulate us?
He sighed and flipped a page. "I'm afraid the results aren't what you were hoping for."
What did he expect us to be hoping for? For her to be completely fucking fine?
At his words, Liv reached back and placed her hand on mine where it was still on the small of her back.
"I'm afraid you have a malignant tumor. It's formed on the right side of your chest, and if we don't start chemo then-"
"Wait." Liv interrupted as she clenched my hand harder. I glanced over and saw tears forming in her eyes, her lip almost quivering.
"I have breast cancer?"
No. Something wasn't right. This seemed so familiar. This scenario repeated over and over in my head, trying to remember the familiarity.
"Oh God." Liv grabbed the edge of the examining table, heaving in and out. The tears were now slipping from her cheeks, and I wanted to wipe them all away. I held her elbow, rubbing her arm soothingly.
And suddenly, a light inside my head flicked on. My mind went to Ethel, how upset she was because she had... breast cancer. Dr. Altmen said that his brother was forging illnesses for money. And there have been so many women coming in for chemo for breast cancer. This has to be it. This isn't real.
I stared blankly into space, and squeezed Liv's arm lightly, trying to get her attention. She looked at me, tears threatening to escape her eyes.
Dr. Altman noticed my gesture and furrowed his eyebrows. "Is there a problem?"
My head snapped up instantly. I let go of Liv's arm but she tried to hold me back by wrapping her arm around my torso. I took her hand and pulled it away from me, letting it fall back to her side.
"Yes. It's you." I stalked toward him.
"Will, I don't know what your problem is but you need to stand down now." He pointed an angry finger at me with threatening eyes. I wasn't the least bit scared of him.
"This isn't real." I waved toward the examination table where Liv still sat. I let out an exasperated laugh, "none of this is fucking real!"
He glared. "What the hell are you talking about?"
I crossed my arms, still keeping my ground. "Tell me Hal, how much money have you made from lying to all these patients?"
His eyes turned cold.
I couldn't find any expression on his face as he stood there for what seemed like forever. But finally, he turned around, opening one of the lower cabinets behind him.
I stepped back, getting closer to Liv to prepare for the worst. She still probably didn't even know what the hell was going on.
I kept my eyes on Dr. Altman as he pulled something swiftly out of the cabinet. The gleam hit my eye and I instantly knew what it was. He held the gun, pointed at me, a psychotic smirk playing on his lips.
"You know Will, there's a reason why I chose you to work by my side." He circled around and I mirrored him blocking Liv. Once she noticed the gun, she grabbed me, hugging me from behind around the torso.
"I knew you were smart. But not this smart. Even with those certainties, I couldn't just hire you and assume you wouldn't try anything stupid to-"
He was interrupted by the door opening next to him. In walked Helm, his glasses almost falling off his face. He's been here this whole time. Fuck now is not the time.We met eyes and I tried to give him some sign to leave. But he was suddenly grabbed by the collar before I even had the chance.
Hal held the gun to his side, and a panicked look was now plastered on Helm's face. I stepped forward, trying to show some kind of courage, but nothing would work now. It was all true. Everything that Rus said was true.
"I assume you know everything. And you know what I have to do now." He tightened his grip on Helm's collar.
"How could you do this? Your own niece! She looked up to you." I pushed Liv behind me, still keeping my hand around her waist.
"She was a nosy bitch!" He sunk the gun deeper into Helm's side. His eyes grew ten times bigger. "And do you really think I did this by myself? You're not the only one I hired."
As if on cue, the door burst open, slamming into the wall. Decker appeared breathless, beads of sweat dotting his forehead. I could feel my face heating up. It was him. Decker was the inside man. All my suspicions about him were right. He was a fucking rat.
