Doctor Collins paced back and forth in his office, running his hands through his hair to show his frustration. His desk was scattered with papers, medical files, and a fallen pen stand. As he continued searching every inch of his office, it dawned on him that the serum, which was on his desk moments ago, was nowhere to be found.
"I saw it right here," Doctor Collins muttered, pointing toward the edge of his office table. "Where could the serum have fallen and rolled away to?"
He crouched down and peered under the office desk again, but the serum remained out of sight. Then, he stood up abruptly and moved over to his drawers, pulling them open one by one and slamming them shut in anger. The serum's sudden disappearance left him feeling disoriented and panicked.
"Where could it have gone?" Doctor Collins exclaimed, and his gaze fell upon Shola's body, which was still lying motionless on his office floor.
He froze at once, realizing he had an even bigger problem on his hands than the missing serum. Shola's body in his office was a huge liability, and he needed to dispose of it swiftly before anyone discovered it.
He moved closer to Shola's body, kneeling down to grab hold of her. Then, he began dragging the body across the office floor.
Doctor Collins hadn't yet figured out what to do with the body or how to dispose of it, but he needed to think of something that wouldn't raise suspicion or leave any traces that could lead back to him.
This was the dilemma Doctor Collins was still thinking of when the door to his office suddenly burst open. He turned around in shock, only to find the hospital security personnel standing at the doorway, accompanied by a police officer.
"What… what's going on here?" Doctor Collins stammered, trying to conceal his panic.
"We're here to arrest Shola," the hospital security officer said, stepping forward in his navy blue uniform. "I called the police on her."
"What do you mean you called the police?" Doctor Collins asked, feeling slightly relieved that they weren't there to arrest him.
"Shola was caught on the CCTV camera," the police officer replied. "She was seen triggering a false fire alarm and causing panic throughout the entire hospital. This is a punishable offense; it could even result in jail time."
"She triggered the fire alarm?" Doctor Collins exclaimed in surprise. "I don't believe Shola is capable of doing that. As you can see, I found her lying motionless when I rushed into my office. It's impossible for someone in her condition to have been involved in such an act."
"I have seen the footage of Shola triggering the alarm," the police officer replied. "By the way, why is she suddenly in this limb condition?"
"I already told you I found her like this too," Doctor Collins lied. "Shola must have been involved with someone who tried to break into my office, because a burglar just damaged the safe over there."
"I will take it from here, Doctor Collins," the police officer said. "We will also investigate any connection between Shola's current state and the burglar who broke into your office."
"Of course," Doctor Collins replied, "but you can't take Shola right away. She's not in any condition to be moved. She needs medical attention. Please allow me to stabilize her first."
"We have procedures to follow," the officer responded. "Kindly allow me to do my job."
"Of course you will do your job," Doctor Collins said, though he was worried that Shola might wake up and confess what had happened to the police. He wanted to take Shola into his custody and silence her completely. Doctor Collins needed to do this before Shola had a chance to explain anything to the police when she regained consciousness.
"Officer, Shola is in my care," Dr. Collins said, trying to persuade the officer. "I am responsible for her treatment, and I need to take her back to her ward now for immediate medical attention. You can question her as soon as she is stable, but not right now."
However, before Dr. Collins could finish his plea, Shola let out a heavy sigh and writhed in pain on the hospital floor. Everyone in the office turned to her as she released another strained sigh and slowly opened her eyes.
The police officer stepped forward at once, addressing Shola as she woke up. "Shola, you are under arrest for triggering a false alarm and causing panic throughout the hospital. You have the right to remain silent, but I must inform you that anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."
Shola looked confused after waking from unconsciousness. She stared at the officer as he handcuffed her and dragged her to her feet. The police were about to escort her away, and Dr. Collins tried to intervene once more.
"I'm sorry, Doctor, but this is beyond your jurisdiction." The police interrupted him. "We will handle this matter by bringing Shola in for questioning. We will also investigate the break-in at your office to ensure we gather a solid lead."
With that, the officer led Shola out of the office, leaving Dr. Collins standing there in frustration. He was worried about Shola walking directly into the hands of the police, and he had no idea how much Shola already knew about him and his serum. This uncertainty only made Dr. Collins even more restless.
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Now, there was no sight of Aminat or Helen's ghost at the point of Shola's arrest, and this made her feel betrayed as the police officers continued to lead her away. She kept glancing around hoping to find them, but it seemed they had abandoned her after the plan backfired.
Meanwhile, in the ward assigned to Shola during her stay in the hospital, Helen's ghost was present there, pacing back and forth. Her ghost held the serum that Doctor Collins had been tirelessly searching with her ghostly hand.
Helen's ghost had vanished with the serum during Doctor Collins' brief confrontation with Shola.
Just as she had told Shola before the mission, that her ghost couldn't physically interact with objects effectively like living humans, but she could at least interact with them briefly until her time elapsed. She hid the serum under a dusty shelf the moment it started getting heavier in her hand, as her holding time was already elapsing.
Anxiously, Helen's ghost continued pacing up and down in the ward, unsure how to save Shola from going to the police station. Her ghost was caught up in the moment when, suddenly, the ghosts of Doctor Victor and Mrs. Victor appeared before her.
Doctor Victor and Mrs. Victor were a couple and also part of the 'medical ghost team.' Moreover, they were Helen's parents.
"What's going on here, Helen?" Mrs. Victor's ghost questioned. "Why is there chaos in the hospital, and why is Shola being taken away by a police officer? We have only been away for a short while, and already there is trouble."
"Mom, Dad," Helen's ghost replied, turning to face her parents. "I…I didn't mean for it to happen this way. I can explain."
"Explain what exactly, Helen?" Doctor Victor's ghost yelled at his daughter. "Explain how you've turned everything into a complete disaster? How could you let this happen?"
"It wasn't supposed to happen this way, Dad," Helen's ghost said sadly. "The plan backfired, and I had no idea the CCTV would capture Shola."
"This is unbelievable, Helen," Mrs. Victor's ghost said, twisting her face in fury. "If this is how I had handled things as a mother when we were alive, do you think you would have survived until our unfortunate accident? Shola is your daughter, Helen, and our granddaughter. You had the audacity to make her pull the fire alarm and even send her to Doctor Collins' wicked office to break into a safe?"
"You're unbelievable, Helen," Doctor Victor's ghost spat. "You had one job to ensure everything remained under control until we returned. Instead, you've endangered Shola's life, your own daughter! How could you be so reckless? What were you thinking?"
"I didn't mean for this to happen!" Helen pleaded with her parents' ghost. "I was only trying to—"
"To what?" Mrs. Victor's ghost snapped, cutting her off. "To ruin her completely? You've put Shola in a situation where even we might not be able to help her as ghosts. And what do you expect again? That our family of ghosts should start roaming the police station next, just as we started roaming the hospital since Shola was admitted here?
While all this rebuking was happening, Aminat's ghost walked sadly into the ward and interrupted the ghost family.
"I'm sorry. It's all my fault," Aminat said sadly. "I pleaded with Helen to help me tell Shola to get justice. I'm sorry. All of this happened because of me."
Doctor Victor and Mrs. Victor Ghost said nothing after Aminat's arrival and apology. They simply walked out through the wardroom door angrily without opening it.
"I'm sorry, Helen," Aminat's ghost said sadly, looking at her. "I never knew Shola was your daughter."
"What difference would that have made?" Helen's ghost replied slowly. "Would you have not wanted justice anymore because Shola is my daughter?"
"That's not the case," Aminat said, and a brief silence followed. "But, Helen," Aminat continued, "is Shola truly your daughter? I'm just curious since you appear to be around Shola's age too. I couldn't tell who is older."
"I gave birth to Shola," Helen's ghost replied hesitantly. "That was about 18 years ago. But ghosts don't grow after death, Aminat. They stop getting older. You probably didn't know that you will remain the same age as when you died. As long as you're dead, there is no form of growth whatsoever. You remain just as death found you."
To be continued….
@Berry Tyra