Chapter 95 Chapter 95
Liana's Pov
I sat in the control room, balancing one hand on my thigh to keep it from shaking. Stanley was standing behind me, arms crossed tight as we both watched the grainy hospital surveillance monitor. The guy behind the control rewound the tape to the time I had demanded for. My throat tightened, my breath became thin.
"There," I said, gesturing. "That second… riight before the door opened. Roll it back ten additional seconds."
The technician obeyed but the screen flashed.
"Wait… What happened?" Stanley asked, stepping forward. "Did the feed just glitch?"
I already knew the response. My instincts had caught it first, before my mind did. Five minutes of deleted footage.
"Just like Smiths HQ," I said, my tone glacial.
Stanley looked at me. "What?"
I leaned my head in his direction, my heart racing. "When my case with him got heated last week, remember they tampered with our video footages? Same time gap, same kind of 'coincidence.' That wasn't a breakdown, that was a well crafted act."
The technician fidgeted in his chair. "That part of the footage may be corrupted, we…"
"Don't waste your time," I said to him, already on my feet and pushing the chair backwards. My eyes scanned the room, but nothing could explain what I'd experienced. This was no technological glitch. It was deliberate.
Stanley frowned, then reached out to put a hand on my arm. "Liana, I'm certain too but what does this mean? How is it linked"
I clenched my jaw, then breathed softly, "It means I actually saw someone out there. And he didn't want to be seen and he is connected to that wizard."
………..
Serena was still awake when we came back into her room. Her hands were bunched in the blanket, the knuckles white.
"Stanley," she croaked.
I collapsed by her side immediately. "Are you okay? What happened?"
Her eyes darted to the door, then to me. "While you were away… someone was here."
My stomach somersaulted. "Who, Serena? Did you see his face?"
She moved her head incrementally. "I felt him. Heard his voice… under water."
I paused, trying to understand that. "What do you mean?"
She said nothing. Her breathing sped up like a fussy child trying to recall a bad dream.
"He whispered it," she went on, closing her eyes. "Like it was beneath something. Far away but he was here. I know it."
I couldn't completely comprehend what she was saying but I understood a larger part. Stanley looked anxious. I could tell he was trying not to let it show, but something in Serena's tone found its way to him too.
I got to my feet again. "I want a guard posted outside this room."
The desk nurse furrowed her brow. "Ma'am, unless there's an actual police request, we're not permitted…"
"Then let's make it official." I pulled out my phone and dialed.
I had reported the attempted stalking and security invasion at the nearest police station. It wasn't sufficient, but it was where to start. I returned to the room afterward and found Serena asleep. Stanley had left to get coffee or so he said.
Alone, I sat in the chair beside the window, phone in hand, perusing unread messages and email alerts.
And then there was a message from an unknown number. Just one message:
You already lost your spot. Quit doing too much.
I didn't know how to react. I stayed there, my heart slamming against my chest. Like an alarm, a memory from earlier hit me. I had first seen that man when we went to get water we didn't check that.
Stanley pulled up just in time for me to get to the nurses' station. I grabbed his wrist.
"We need to head back to the control room. Now."
He blinked. "What?"
"That corridor. The one I walked past before when you saw me going to get water? We didn't play back that part of the video. He was there, Stanley. I saw him there."
Without hesitation, he took my hands and we headed there.
Back in the control room, the technician was irritated but complied. We rolled video of the hall outside Serena's door. I leaned across the screen.
There. Tall man in black. Hands shoved deep in his pockets. Just standing there watching. His face was uncovered.
I leaned in closer. So did Stanley.
And when the figure finally glanced up, straight into the lens, I couldn't believe my eyes.
"No," I whispered.
The room spun. Stanley took a step toward me. "Liana, do you know him?"
My knees had grown weak and I fell into the nearest chair.
It couldn't be. The man on screen had no business being here.
He had no business having issues with me. This man had nothing to do with crimes or crime scenes.
Or so and thought because now, I know better than to trust a man just by the personality he presents to me.
I slowly got to my feet, swallowing the bile that had entered my mouth.
"Save this recording," I told the tech.
"Already done."
I turned to Stanley. His face was flat.
"I want him locked up. I want information on him, every single tiny detail but before then, I need this double faced devil locked up. "
He nodded slowly. "Taking it on yourself?"
I grinned nastily. "Yes. Now that I know who the snake is an ai don't let snakes, I will cut it's throat. "
Outside, the sky had darkened to black. A storm was brewing. The weather sure knew how to read moods.
I was going to march right through this storm until all of its remaining secrets were torn out into the open.
Even if that meant scorching it all to the ground.