Yesterday (Part Two - Chapters 25 & 26) (Patreon)

Chapter 25

Eva desperately sought a U-turn on the highway and returned to the Stanhope Clinic a nervous wreck. She had just received a call on her cell phone. Adrian had suffered a shock. Her heart began to race. Her fingers and knees were shaking. She felt a palpitating panic and her impatience wouldn't let her breathe. Finally, something was right that damn day.

They told her over the phone that this could be a good sign. He had had a reaction shortly after she left, almost recovering consciousness. A torrent of emotions surprised her and she hit the gas, flooded with a sudden and immense love for Adrian. She needed to be close to him, to embrace him, to feel that everything was coming back to normal. There was very little time left for the wedding. She had kept to herself the hope that everything would work out and had not cancelled anything. Fortunately so, she said to herself.

She stepped into the clinic right away and arrived at the room panting.

Adrian was being tucked in by a nurse while his doctor carefully studied some data on the flat screen on one side of the bed.

She approached them with her heart in her mouth and noticed that Adrian's eyes were closed but his skin had better color. She reached out with a trembling hand and touched him tenderly. She moved closer to the bed and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

—Don’t worry, he might wake up this very night— the doctor whispered to her.

—How is he? — she asked with a sense of relief.

—Better. We don't know why, but better. But he must rest now,— the doctor concluded, —we are going to give him a sedative so that he can sleep for a few hours. He'd better take it easy.

Eva nodded her head and squeezed Adrian's hand, trying to transfer some of her energy to him.

—Don’t worry, love, I'm not going anywhere. — She whispered to him.

But the doctor waved her out of the room. Once there, he gently guided her until they got to his consulting room near the exit of the second floor gallery.

—I want you to remain calm, Eva. Adrian seems to have come out of the coma safely, and is semi-conscious and hemodynamically stable, except for the usual side effects of this type of condition — the doctor reassured her.

—It’s a relief,— Eva conceded.

—But there's something we need to talk about,— the doctor pointed to a printed paper in front of her. —So far we didn't noticed this, I don't want you to be alarmed because it doesn't necessarily mean anything. Even so, I must ask you several questions. Do you know if Adrian was undergoing any type of hormonal treatment?

Eva stared at him in shock and shook her head.

—Steroids, growth hormone? — Eva denied again. —Drugs?

— No!— she said, horrified.

— Mm. We've detected traces of a foreign substance in his system, and I'm concerned about this latest episode he's had. It's unusual, far from it, and we still haven't ruled out a tumor,— the doctor stressed. —But we must wait for the results of the intracranial biopsy to determine what we are dealing with, and that will not be until next Friday. In the meantime, we'll keep him in the ICU, just in case.

—Do you think he might go back into a coma? — Eva asked alarmed.

—I can't tell you for sure. What worries me most is that we haven't found anything that justifies his recovery. It's not quite the usual thing.

One more week. She felt weak.

—But then again, I ask you not to despair and to let us take care of everything. Try to rest, there is little else you can do in this situation.

Eva nodded and gave him a resigned look. She grabbed her bag and left the room after shyly thanking the doctor for his attention.

She returned to the room. The nurse was still there. She had been waiting for her and asked if she would like her to call someone for them, but Eva nodded gently.

The nurse left and Eva sat down next to Adrian. It was true, he had better color and his expression wasn't so gloomy anymore. She remembered her mother at that moment and felt a prick in her heart. She was the first one she would have called in that situation. But she couldn't anymore.

She had been buried that very morning.

She realized in anguish that she was alone.

She didn't know who to call. Her sister seemed so upset when she left her... And her father... Her father must be devastated.

She called home eventually. As luck would have it.

—Hello? — replied a faint voice on the other end. It was Laura.

—Laura, it's Eva. How are you? And Dad?

—Dad left a long time ago. I thought he would be with you... Haven't you spoken to him?

—No, I've been at the clinic all afternoon, I didn't know he was coming.

Eva tried to inject some optimism into her voice. —Adrian has finally reacted!

Laura sighed with relief on the other side.

—Thank goodness, that's good — she sighed weakly. — So good. And how is he?

—They told me they were surprised at how well he was doing. I spoke to the doctor and, although he said something about some tests, things are looking better. Can you imagine? After all this tension, finally a break. They say he might wake up at dawn.

Laura remained silent. She didn't know whether to tell Eva about the delicate conversation with her father. Eva interpreted her silence as a result of her mother and the sedatives.

—Yes… I miss her too. It's horrible, but don't worry Laura, let's talk later. Now I have to go to the apartment in the city to get Adrian's laptop, in case he wakes up. I'll call you when I get back.

—Don’t — Laura stopped her —I’ll take a cab to pick it up at the apartment and I'll bring it to you, do not leave Adrian alone, please.

—But Laura, you don't even know the address.

—Text it to me and I'll take care of it, don't worry. Shall I bring you some clothes too?

—No need, I'll go tomorrow. Tell the doorman to let you in when you get there, his name is Francisco, I'll call him and let him know. Just get the laptop, it will be on the living room table, right in front of the door. Thank you, Sis.

—No worries — ditched Laura before hanging up—. I'll take care of everything.

CHAPTER 26

Oscar's office was still in the dark. His figure was cut out over the night and the city, as he reclined on his chair and stared at the screen on the table. He had been sitting there for quite some time, pondering the situation. He was struggling to come up with some kind of strategy, but circumstances had overtaken him. He just wanted to go home and lock himself in his bedroom so he could rest, but he didn't even have the strength to get up.

He also knew that Laura would chase after him for answers as soon as he walked through the door.

How much more could he trust her without putting them all in danger?

He had wandered around the office with the phone in his hand not knowing what to do until, exhausted, he sat down. Seldom in his life had he endured so much anxiety in such a short period of time. Yet being aware of it didn't help him at all.

Not to get carried away.

Composure.

But suddenly he felt that murderous instinct again

And back to the beginning.

He got his act together, hit the front desk button on the stylish phone on the table and called his driver. He couldn't waste any more time. He wouldn't spend another hour hiding there.

His cell phone rang. It was Laura. He hesitated for a few seconds but finally answered.

—Dad, it looks like Adrian is going to come out of his coma.

Oscar leaned against the wall for a moment.

—Thank God! —Is Eva with him?

—Yes, and I'm headed over to her apartment right now to pick up a few things — there was a brief silence — if you want we can talk tomorrow —she offered.

—I’m fine with that. Don't tell Eva about our conversation, please, we’ll see how it goes. The important thing now is that Adrian recovers.

—Okay — Laura felt tremendously uncomfortable, — what are you going to do?

—I’ll go home, I need to rest, tell Eva that I'll come by tomorrow.

Oscar hung up and felt like a coward again, but decided it was best for everyone if he just rested that night. A few hours of sleep would help him sort out his thoughts, calm down and start taking decisions.

Professor Hebert would probably call him back at five or six in the morning because of the time difference. He had to be fresh to make the most of that conversation. But that night was not easy to handle, he barely managed to sleep for a few minutes at a time, constantly waking up on his problems. He didn't want to take a sleeping pill, because he knew that if he had, he wouldn't be able to be clear enough to talk about everything he had to talk about with the Professor.

He was right. It was half past six in the morning when the screen on his cell phone lit up. It was Hebert. Oscar recounted the latest events to him succinctly. He felt a twinge of bitter pain as he summed up the circumstances of Martha's accident, but went on to relate the conversation with Laura and his subsequent meeting with Jonah. Hebert was genuinely surprised by all the events and conveyed his condolences for the sudden death of his wife, but something in his tone made him certain that they shared the same suspicions.

—I have also received several notices from Father Aminarti,—Hebert replied thoughtfully.— Now I understand the urgency. But it was impossible for me to contact you before, I'm sorry.

—Please know, professor, I have always avoided contacting you as much as possible, but the time has come to do something. The situation with Jonah is out of control.

—It is certainly unfortunate that Father lost sight of Jonah. I know that he is currently somewhere in Nice, as his last message came to me from Sophia Antipolis. But the boy is already an adult, I don't know how I can possibly be of help in this situation. As you know, I stopped following the case some time ago, and nowadays almost nobody takes these matters seriously.

—With all due respect Professor, remember who you are talking to. You may have bought into your own lies by repetition but we all knew from the beginning that this was an extremely sensitive issue, and that absolute confidentiality had to be maintained for the sake of the children, but that's in the past and I need your help now, I can't let Jonah destroy my family.

The Professor mused on it for a few moments and then covered the earpiece with his hand.

—Not over the phone —replied harshly after a few seconds.

—Well then, how do you want us to do it?

—Find Aminarti, I'll meet you in Ireland as soon as I can. I' ll text you later with the details.

Jonah hung up the phone across town satisfied, placed it on the bedside table and left smiling to take a shower in the restroom. It was time to get back on track.

He had hired a private detective to monitor Oscar's calls and as additional support for some of the details of his plan. He needed access to Professor Hebert and had ventured that the best way to catch him off guard would be through his father. It turned out that he was not wrong.

He disliked the Professor. He didn't like being around him. Of all the people he had met in his life, he was the only one he could not "read", and that had always made him uncomfortable..

That's why he suspected he was a key player for completing his plan, and for that he needed to meet him in person, to find a way to overpower him once and for all. He needed to read him and find out what was behind the uncomfortable wall of silence that he encountered every time he tried to probe that man’s thoughts. He had devised a strategy, he figured if he had him close by it would work. He had been training his mind for several days. He would play him. It was critical to his ultimate goal. He would finally figure it out.

Who were his real parents?