Chapter 10.
Stop The Procedure?
Tori Nathan.
I was too stunned to speak. I stared at the policeman with my jaw slack, confusion etched on my face.
"Excuse me?" My brows pinched together in a frown and I sat up. "What are you saying? What's going on? What's this? Murder? I don't... I don't understand."
The man, George Barrett, looked at me skeptically as if trying to see if my reactions were genuine or fake. He smiled tersely.
"The parents of the murdered child would like the remaining parts of her body, including her heart, so she can be laid to rest before the month is over." He said calmly, waiting for me to process his words.
I sat there for what seemed to be minutes, processing his statement. My eyes unconsciously traveled to the theatre room where the surgery was still ongoing. They wanted to take back the heart that Lily was getting? Was this Mrs. Eleanor's doing? Why would she be doing this? Didn't we have an agreement?
"Is it Mrs. Eleanor that sent you?" I tried to process my thoughts as I asked him.
"We don't know what you're talking about." George Barrett replied coldly and turned to his fellow officers, beckoning them towards the surgery room. "Check if the transplant has already been done. If it hasn't, stop the procedure immediately."
I quickly stood up, heart racing, and blocked their way.
"Step aside, ma'am." George Barrett said, his eyes pinning me coldly. I could see that he was trying so hard to keep his cool, but I wasn't going to back down.
"Look... I don't know what games it is you're playing right now. But my sister has been waiting for this heart for over a week, and Mrs. Eleanor promised me that she would get it. So, I don't care if she has changed her mind and tried to use you to get rid of my sister and I, you will have to kill me first before you walk past this door and interrupt the surgery. Does she think my sister doesn't deserve to live?" I spat out at them, and the officers in front of me paused, turning to their superior for help.
"The girl who was murdered didn't deserve to live too?" George stomped towards me. "You're saying that my niece deserved to be brutally murdered so that your sister can survive? After she was murdered three weeks ago and hacked into pieces, you're saying that it is right as long as your sister is well?" His eyes were red and bloodshot. The coldness in his voice seeped into my bones, making me shiver in fear.
I took a step back until my back was against the doors of the theatre. I was holding back the tears in my eyes.
"I swear to you that the heart my sister is getting isn't your niece's own." I couldn't even think about how horrific that would be. Lily would be devastated if she found out. "The hospital told us that it is from a verified source that wanted to be kept anonymous. They said she was the only perfect match and fit for my sister. And they have had the heart preserved for a week now. There's no way this heart could belong to your niece."
George Barrett stared hard at me, as if he was contemplating arresting me there and then.
"You will have to come with us to the station to make your statement." His choose his words carefully as he gestured to his men to come and escort me, but I still didn't feel safe about it.
I shook my head immediately. "I have no problem coming to the station, but I don't trust you. What if you hurt my sister after I come with you?" I was very defensive, and I could feel my heartbeat spiking as I spread my hands on the door. I didn't care if I was being seen as dramatic, but there was no way I was going to let my sister go unprotected.
"Your sister will be safe and fine. You just need to meet with the parents and answer the questions. In return, you will get the blood work proof that you, indeed, murdered that little girl just for your sister's sake."
I scoffed. "Look, I don't want to sound insensitive or anything. But you said that the child was murdered three weeks ago... I wasn't even in the country by then! It's barely been two weeks since I arrived, so..."
"You could have paid someone to do it beforehand." His countered immediately. "It would be clean and wouldn't tie you back to the murder. Thankfully, one of the culprits came forward and identified you as the person who paid him to carry out the act."
That last statement made my knees go weak. Me? This gave me the proof that this was Eleanor's doing. Was she still trying to keep me docile by threatening me with things like this? Didn't I already swear my loyalty to her?
"Look..." I steadied my voice, trying to push the fear back inside. "I'm being framed. My sister and I are innocent and..."
"Save it. You'll tell us everything at the station." George pushed his officers aside and began to make his way towards me. "Since they can't do it, I will. Now, Miss Victoria Nathan, can we go to the station, or do I have to forcefully take you there? I'm alright with doing both." He stopped in front of me, and when he saw that my protective stance had not changed, he sighed. "We're not going to interrupt the surgery process. You have my word on that."
I was about to argue when an imposing figure stepped out of the shadows, from one of the corners of the corridor actually, and moved towards us with slow and measured steps. I knew that gait.
My breath caught when our eyes met from a distance. "What is going on here?"