Plum Blossom | Completed

Chapter Sixteen

Mellisa thought for a minute that she had misheard Emily. She stopped blinking and breathing.

"I think I better start the beginning. It's a lot to digest, whatever I have to say. Are you sure you're up to listening to it?"

"Just tell me, Em. It can't possibly be worse than what I'm imagining."

"I have to warn you that this one time, reality might actually be worse," Emily had a grim expression on her face, which scared Mellisa, but Mellisa encouraged her to continue, so she did.

"You started here as a candy striper at 14 years of age, right?" Mellisa nodded.

"Alex was in the hospital that day."

"So?"

"He was in the psychiatry ward. He had just been diagnosed as Bipolar with Intermittent Explosive Disorder. He took a shine to you the minute he saw you. Within a few weeks, he was obsessed with you, to the point of stalking."

"How did I never know?"

"Someone or the other always kept a close eye on him. Having just been diagnosed, his medication was still being adjusted. He was still volatile, and so his mother was constantly with him."

"Did my parents know any of this?"

"They did, and it's what got them killed."

"WHAT?"

"When Alex's parents realised just how obsessed he was with you, they asked to meet with your parents, so that they could keep you safe."

"That's why my parents always coddled me. They were scared he would get to me."

"Yes, and that angered Alex. He saw his mother and your parents as his enemies. So, he decided to eliminate the problem."

"But you said his mother died fifteen years ago. Alex was sixteen then, and he's two years older than me. My parents died two years later. That doesn't make sense."

"I'm getting there. Hold on. In a manic moment, Alex gushed to his other about you. The way he spoke about you was as if you were already his girlfriend. Alex was convinced that you were going to get married. He told his mother that he was going to propose to you soon. His mother panicked, fearful for you. She tried to talk him out of it, but she went too far. It angered him and he lost control. He strangled his mother to death, before anyone could stop him."

"What happened then?" Mellisa asked in a shaky breath.

"He went through a trial and was deemed mentally unstable. So, he was sent to the psychiatry ward as an in-patient. He was there for nearly eighteen months, and all his doctors said that he was getting better. They claimed that he had shown immense signs of progress. We checked his records. He really had convinced the doctors. So, he was released into his father's care.

Turns out, his obsession with you hadn't disappeared. He watched you every chance he got. Your parents caught him. That's when they encouraged you to do more activities either with them or at the hospital where someone could keep an eye on you at all times."

"What does the hospital have to do with all this? Is it because he was diagnosed here?"

"No. It's because this is where his father is. Me, Alex' full name is Alex Perez. He's..."

"Dr. Perez's son," Mellisa finished her sentence for her.

"Exactly.:

"So, all this while... Dr. Perez knew?" Mellisa whispered in shock.

"About his son's obsession with you? Yes. About everything that's happened since you started dating Alex? No. Edward Perez is only learning now, as we speak, about what his son has really been up to for the last three years."

"That's why Alex never wanted me to say anything about our relationship to anyone," Mellisa voiced out her realization.

"Yes, because he didn't want his father to find out."

"But if you knew all this, why would you let me stay with him?" Mellisa cried out, a grave sense of betrayal overtaking her.

"Trust me, Mell. I just found out. I came to find you as soon as we put all the pieces together. Please believe me. It was never my intention to place you in any danger. I wasn't lying when I said that you're like a sister to me," Em pleaded.

Mellisa didn't react to her pleas. Instead, she urged Emily to continued. Resigned, Emily did as Mellisa asked.

"I was telling you about how your parents caught him. They complained to Dr. Perez and he put Alex under lockdown. What we didn't find out until thirty minutes ago was that Alex escaped. He got out of his lockdown for exactly 47 minutes. It was during this time that he..." Emily didn't have to finish her sentence. Mellisa already knew what she was about to say, so she said it for Emily instead.

"...killed my parents."

A tense silence engulfed them as Emily observed Mellisa who was trying very hard not to punch something.

After an eternity, Mellisa finally spoke, "What was he trying to achieve?"

"We believe that he was trying to eliminate everyone and everything that he thought kept you from him. He was the reason Dr. Korsac was killed. Alex didn't do it himself, but he did do a very good job of covering his tracks.

"Why Dr. Korsac?"

"Because it was his idea for you to stay in Boston, remember?"

"It was just a suggestion, and even then, that was months before he was killed."

"You were pregnant. Alex needed Dr. Korsac to deliver your baby."

"So, Alex really did want the baby?"

"Of course. Amanda is what binds you to him. He is the father of your child."

"But I didn't even know it."

"In his mind, you did."

"What do you mean?"

"In Alex's mind, he didn't rape you. You two not only had consensual sex, you made love. And Amanda is a product of that love."

"If he loves Amanda so much, why is he always so aloof with her?"

"Because his brain can't process it. A part of him loves Amanda because she is a part of you. The other part of him sees Amanda as a threat because she took your attention away from him. These two parts of his brain are in constant conflict. That's why he's been so unhinged."

"How has he never been caught?"

"His psychosis aside, Alex is an incredibly intelligent man, bordering on genius. He is also very manipulative, and that makes him a very dangerous man."

"Oh my god! No! No! NO!" Mellisa screamed like a banshee, out of the blue.

"Mel, calm down. What happened?"

"Amanda! She's alone with Alex. My baby is alone with a dangerous man. Why would you come to me before rescuing her?" Mellisa cried hysterically.

"Mel, do you really believe that I would ever let anything happen to Amanda? She means as much to me as you do."

"So, my baby is okay?" Mellisa whispered like an admonished child.

"Yes, As I came to you, we had another team sent to your home to rescue Amanda. Alex is never going to be able to hurt you or anyone else ever again."

A part of Mellisa still cared for Alex. In a lot of ways, he had been her savior, even if he was the one causing all of her grief.

"What's going to happen to him?"

"Nothing. Mellisa, Alex is dead."