Plum Blossom | Completed

Chapter Fifteen

News quickly spread among the inhabitants of the VIP wing that Mellisa worked at the hospital. Kyle and his girlfriend were yet to gain consciousness, so they weren't about to leave the hospital anytime soon. Bethany, Jackson and even Trey had tried several times to talk to Mellisa. They had stayed awake nights on end in hopes of catching her. It had been over a week, but Mellisa had yet to make an appearance in the VIP wing.

The group had been at the hospital long enough to know that the hospital staff gossiped incessantly. So, they had agreed that venturing around the hospital trying to find her wouldn't be wise. It would spark unnecessary suspicion and gossip.

Fortunately for Mellisa, she hadn't been asked to head back to the VIP wing, although she had kept tabs on her brother. Vivian had been more than eager to share updates, and she wasn't about to start saying no to anything Vivian had to share, even if it meant hours of listening to useless information Mellisa hadn't cared about regarding other patients.

Work had been less stressful for her, as had the home front. Alex had not made an appearance since the day he slammed Mellisa against the wall. She had long since stopped caring about him. He could burn in hell, for all she cared. But she wasn't about to fast track that process. She still had Amanda to think about, and they had nowhere to hide without arousing suspicion. Emmaline no longer seemed to be around for support.

Speaking of Emmaline, Mellisa hadn't heard from her since she had reached out a few weeks ago, much less met her. Emmaline hadn't given her any details about where she was staying either. Mellisa had never needed that piece of information. She couldn't risk being seen anywhere that wasn't her home or the hospital. But she was now rethinking her choice of not asking for this information. Mellisa prayed that Emmaline would reach out soon.

Three hours later, Mellisa's wish had been granted as she saw a sombre looking Emmaline make her way towards Mellisa, followed by two stern looking men in suits. The air around Emmaline had shifted as well. She looked different, not at all like the Emmaline Mellisa knew.

"Em! What are you doing here? Is everything okay? Where have you been? What's going on? Who are these men?" Mellisa word vomitted. The hospital staff around them looked funnily at Mellisa. They weren't used to her being so animated.

Emmaline started at Mellisa for a minute before placing her hands on Mellisa's shoulders. "Mel, there's something we need to talk about. Is there somewhere we can talk in private?" Emmaline asked, scouting the area around her for an appropriate place.

"What's going on, Em? You're scaring me. Is Connor alright?"

"Connor's fine. This isn't about him. Can we please go somewhere private to talk?"

"Yeah, of course," Mellisa said, directing Emmaline into an empty consultation room.

"Agent Garcia, will you be okay taking over from here? We need to find Dr. Perez," one of the men accompanying Emmaline spoke. She nodded.

"Agent Garcia?" Mellisa was stunned.

"I'll explain everything in a minute. Let's go inside," Emmaline motioned towards the room they were standing in front of.

Mellisa held the door open for Emmaline to enter. She followed soon after, locking her door behind her.

"Speak," Mellisa commanded, once they were secured in the room. She felt a tinge of betrayal. Her closest friend and confidante had been lying to her.

"Mellisa, my name is Emily Garcia. I work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation."

"Why didn't you tell me? I thought we were friends."

"We are. Nothing I told you about myself was a lie, except for my name and what I did for a living. I couldn't tell you those things. I was undercover."

"So, Connor is really your son?"

"Yes, he is."

"And your late husband?"

"Also true. I didn't lie to you about anything else, Mel. Please believe me."

"Why lie at all? What's going on?"

"When the hospital in Boston had you admitted as Jane Doe, the local police started investigating. They found nothing. After you gained consciousness, and we learnt you were from California, the case went beyond state lines. That was when we were brought on," Emmaline, no Emily paused to let Mellisa absorb the information.

"We started looking into what you had said happened to you, and it didn't make sense. There was no indication of foul play near the club. But then you asked for Alex. When he came and spoke to the police, his story didn't pan out."

"What do you mean?"

"According to Alex's timeline in his statement to the police, the time gap between you leaving the club and Alex receiving the message was very short. Alex did leave the club in search of you immediately. We confirmed that on the club's security recording. But there is no way you could have disappeared so quickly. Especially, since there were no tire tracks anywhere near the club, to suggest that you were picked up by a vehicle. The club is located along a pedestrian pathway. You have to walk a fair way before you can catch a cab. But the security cameras didn't show you moving towards the main road."

"So, you found out what happened? Who did it?"

Emily nodded.

"So...? TELL ME!"

"It was Alex."

"No! It can't be."

Emily sighed. "Mellisa, do you remember when you saw Amanda for the first time? What I said?"

Mellisa took a minute to recollect. "You said that she looks nothing like me, but her features looked familiar," Mellisa replayed Emily's words, confusion overtaking her face.

"Can you think of who she looked like?"

"Oh my god! Alex!"

"Yes. Fortunately, she looks more and more like you each day."

Mellisa was still trying to digest this piece of news. Emily could see Mellisa struggling.

"Mellisa, tell me honestly. Has Alex ever done anything that's worried or scared you? Anything that made you think of getting away from him?"

Emily's question startled Mellisa.

"Don't lie, Mel. I'm only asking to help you."

"Yes," she whispered.

"How often?"

"It's erratic."

"And that never struck you as odd?"

"What was I supposed to do? I had Amanda to think about. She lived there with us."

"So, it's all recent?" Emily clarified.

"Yeah, only after we moved back home."

"That explains why you came back to him."

"What do you mean? You encouraged me to move back. What's happening, Em?"

"How much do you know about Alex's past, Mel?"

"What's with all these questions? It's really stressing me out. Just tell me what's going on," Mellisa pleaded.

"I promise to tell you everything. Just humour me for a few minutes and answer my questions. Please?"

Mellisa sighed as she stared Em down. Eventually, she relented. "I know that he's an only child. His mother passed away fifteen years ago. It's just him and his father, but he doesn't have a good relationships with his father."

"Did he ever tell you how his mother died or why his relationship with his father went awry?"

"No," Mellisa shook her head. "He said he didn't like talking about it. I didn't want to push him. I understood what he felt. So, I honored his wishes. It didn't matter to me."

"It should have."

"Why?"

"Because Alex killed his mother."