Chapter 12 St. Valerio Private Hospital
Ariel
I knew something was wrong the minute we walked into the hospital. Maybe even before we did because tell me why a hospital is located in the middle of nowhere with trees and a narrow road as its only companion and no other property for miles around.
Chloe stopped me before we could go further into the wide lobby. The place was spacious, I'll say that and private according to its name so maybe only a selected number of clients use the place. "You transferred mum here?"
I stuttered immediately. "Y-yes. I found them online and thought this would be a good place for both privacy and good treatment."
"You thought this was a good place?"
Okay, I know. Now that I was thinking about it, how could I have just thought everything would be good when it was killers that transferred my mum, and to a place that looks like this?
"This place literally looks like a mental asylum or secret quarters for illegal government experiments. Do they even have the proper equipment to treat her?"
"I..."
"Oh, hi. How may I help you?" A woman in her late twenties and a nurse uniform came out from a room just beyond the nurse desk that had been empty before I could contort a logical answer and I said a quiet prayer for that save because I'd had no idea what to say to Chloe.
She looked quite unsettling, though, because of how brightly she was smiling, or maybe it was just my mind due to the uneasy feeling that hadn't abated from my chest.
"Hi," I said with a bright smile too, though. "I'm here to see a patient that was admitted here recently, Margaret Bennett."
"Margaret Bennett?" She moved behind the desk to tap on the desktop computer that was there and she looked up at me with that same smile again. "Ah, you're Ariel Bennett?"
"Yes, her daughter."
"Oh nice, the doctor told me you'll be coming in. He's been waiting for you."
"Oh okay."
"He's in his office. Follow me." She moved away from behind the desk and started down the hallway where the room she had come out from was and I took a step back when she suddenly turned to face us halfway through, her face suddenly grim.
"And you are?" It took a while for me to realize she was talking about my sister who was right behind me.
"Chloe Bennett," I replied before Chloe could. "She's my sister."
"Oh okay." The woman smiled again. "Well, the doctor requested to see only you, so I'm afraid you'll have to wait in the lobby."
Chloe scoffed almost immediately, stepping in front of me. "Did you miss the part where she said I'm her sister? That also means I'm a daughter of Magret Bennett and I'd love to see my mum."
"As i said, the doctor only requested to see Miss Ariel here, so I'm afraid—"
"Okay, this is bullshit." Chloe interrupted before she could finish and threw her hands up. "We're taking mum away from here immediately."
"W-wait. Let me at least talk to the doctor first." I pulled her slightly to the side. "Remember, she was meant to go through surgery days ago. We're not sure of her condition yet or what has happened."
"You moved her without knowing her condition?"
I stuttered. Well, I didn't move her but... "I had been scared, remember, that they might get to her. We still don't know the current situation of things."
She stared at me intensely for a minute before backing down. "I don't like this."
"I know. Me too. I'll be in quick and back in no time."
"Alright. Be fast."
She stayed back as the nurse and I continued our journey down the hallway to the doctor's office and I tried to peer in through the doors of rooms we passed to see if there were any other patients. The place was just so eerily quiet.
"I... I don't know. Do you guys have any other patients?"
The woman stopped to peer at me in front of a door right at the end of the hallway. Then she smiled. "Of course. Here. This is his office."
"Oh." Written boldly on a plaque in front of the door was the name Dr Frank.
"You can go in."
"Okay." I wasn't sure if I should do the knocking before going since she hadn't. I did.
"Come in." A deep voice said and that's when i went in.
At first glance, the doctor's office looked normal: anatomy charts, a slightly disarranged table, a nice leather-covered couch to the side, and files on shelves and on the table; it was the doctor himself that made me uncomfortable.
"Miss Bennett. I was told you'll be coming." He said as he dropped the phone he was holding and took off his glasses.
"Huh?"
"Kael. He told you about the place, didn't he?"
"Y-yes. He didn't mention that it was a deserted hospital, though." Despite the reassurance of the nurse, I couldn't believe there were patients here. I haven't even seen any other nurses or doctors.
He chuckled. "You're wary. I like that."
"No. I said firmly. "I'm not just wary. I'm concerned. What exactly is this place? I don't feel comfortable leaving my mom here or letting her get treated here, no offence. I would like to transfer her, please."
He maintained his smile. "I'm afraid we can't do that."
"What? Why?"
"Only the benefactor of the transfer can initiate another transfer or a discharge even."
I scoffed. "The benefactor? Who is that?"
His smile widened. "I think you know who it is."
Kael or wait, the Vincent guy? He had seemed like the boss.
"So would you like to go see your mother? I'm not sure what had been going on in the former hospital but she had been in bad shape when she was brought in yesterday."
"What?!" I squeaked, alarmed. "Oh my God, please tell me she's okay."
"She is, at least for now but we'll have to monitor her before we commence the surgery."
"The surgery? Another one?"
He nodded. "The last one was done maliciously. If I can even say it was done at all."
What? I was livid, registering that.
That fucker. So he had really been messing with us, her health, out of everything.
I still shuddered, though, at the memory of how he had died.
"Shall we go?"
I followed after him when he started to leave the office.
By the time we left the hospital, time had gone. I had managed to convince the doctor to allow my sister visits since she's also family. I don't know why I had to do that considering we're her family. Talking about some benefactor. It was almost as if she were being held hostage.
"I'm still saying I don't like this place. Yeah, me too. I thought at Chloe's words.
"Can't we move her? Those people seem shady and you can't tell me you didn't feel the same?" I did feel it. I just don't know what to tell her without having to spill life-changing and life-ending details.
I pondered calling those guys again by myself. What could be the harm?
But before I did that, I took out my personal phone and ran a targeted search for 'St Valerio Private Hospital' just as Chloe swerved the car out of there.
The results had my stomach sinking immediately.
Your search – St Valerio Private Hospital – did not match any listings.