Chapter 48

Williams had heard everything she needed. She remained silent for a long moment, her eyes fixed on the papers, before finally responding in a calm but chilling tone.
“Once your office has been searched from top to bottom, you may retrieve it. You will also have a team placed at your disposal.”

Polo frowned.
“A team… why?”

Williams didn’t answer.

Makizal stepped forward, filling the void with an unsettling confidence.
“We will review every single file from top to bottom. Romaric is dismissed. We will go back to every individual, the victims, the students, and you will obtain the necessary final signature.”

He leaned slightly closer.
“We will check every camera feed in every corner of the hospital to erase any strange or implicating behavior. And above all, we will make a far more extensive list of those who might have been involved in the rooms Emilio made partisan. My colleagues are masters of this art,” he said, nodding toward Beta and Ultra. “I will place infiltrators from the secret service on the case.”

This was the policy of fait accompli; a method Polo knew too well from years defending victims crushed by powerful institutions. Once such a machine started moving, evidence vanished, witnesses recanted, and judges suddenly remembered having other priorities. Sixty percent of the time, the case died before ever reaching court.

Given what had happened to Emilio, Polo feared the worst. Anyone who resisted Williams’ circle could be beaten or silenced forever.

He glanced at Williams. Who was she really?

Her face betrayed nothing.

He felt a dizzying sense of disorientation, the loss of his moral compass. The most immediate dread was for Evelyn, that one rebellious voice, and her lawyer.

Williams, ignoring the chilling conversation, finally picked up the reports and began reading them, her brow furrowed. She hadn’t wanted to read before; she had neglected the file because she hadn’t anticipated that Evelyn would complicate everything, a woman immune to the lure of money.

But now, Evelyn was going to feel her presence.

Polo, anxious, risked one last plea.
“So, what about Evelyn, since she has a lawyer?”

Williams didn’t flinch.
“I will handle her personally.”

“Williams…” he pleaded, but Makizal intervened.

“Stand up, Mr. Polo. We are escorting you home to clean up whatever is necessary. Afterwards, you will get your pho—”

“Williams, please…” Polo was abruptly escorted out of the office, his legs moving stiffly under the pressure of the guards stationed outside. He was delivered into the cold, capable hands of Makizal’s colleagues.

When the door closed, the room felt colder. Only Williams and Makizal remained.

He spoke with an eerie professionalism, almost excited.
“I will retrieve every hospital camera recording. Through Wi-Fi, I will infiltrate the phones of a good portion of the staff. I will also install surveillance in Emilio’s and Polo’s residences. As for Evelyn…”

Williams cut him short without looking up.
“You will do nothing until I tell you. Just keep a close watch on her.”

Makizal remained for a moment, absorbing the order, then gave a crisp bow and left the office, already barking orders into his headset. The hunt had begun.

Parallel to the purge, Adeline’s contingency plan was in motion. Makizal’s men were already tearing through her house and private residence, finding nothing but the emptiness she had left behind.

She had already orchestrated a clandestine meeting with Miss Kai and Ralph, her husband. The rendezvous was in a discreet, gloomy suburb, a place of anonymity where people looked inward. Kai had arrived in a simple, unremarkable sedan with Ralph, understanding the gravity of the secrecy Adeline demanded.

Miss Kai’s discomfort was evident.
“Why all of this? Why hide like criminals just to meet me?”

Inside the vehicle, Adeline reiterated her terms.
“Miss Kai, I apologize if this maneuver bothers you, but believe me, it is important that I hide until my return. I cannot risk anyone suspecting anything.”

Kai, nervous, wrung her hands.
“If you had told me, I could have pointed you to a safer place.”

“Darling,” Ralph interrupted gently. “Let’s focus instead on what she needs to tell us.”

Adeline insisted that Miss Kai must, under no circumstances, confront Williams or even speak Adeline’s name. She must call her daughter normally, maintaining the charade. Adeline knew Kai struggled to hide her intentions, but the stakes, Williams’ well-being, would compel her compliance. Adeline, meanwhile, would continue to play the role of the busy psychiatrist.

FLASHBACK: The Day Before

Adeline arrived in the cramped, pre-arranged apartment, exhausted. Riz, her husband, was pacing.
“Can you explain to me what’s happening? You come home with a bruised face, and now we are hiding like rats!”

After she met with the professor, she rushed to her private residence to clean any digital trace, then brought Riz to this discreet location, forcing him to take immediate leave from his job with a manufactured medical certificate for overwork.

“Listen, darling, it’s just for a moment. I have to travel. When I return, I will explain everything.”

“What?” Riz grumbled, his voice thick with hurt. “I understand that your work comes first, but this is too much. If you don’t give me at least one plausible explanation, I’m leaving. I didn’t ask for names, just the truth.”

Adeline stopped his pacing, holding his hands firmly.
“You have to trust me. I can’t tell you anything, but I need you to do exactly what I ask.”

“Your work, nothing but your work, that is all we ever talk about!”

“I will explain when I get back, please. Don’t go out. I’m going to leave my phone here, and you are going to make sure it stays on.” She placed her personal phone on the table. She caught his arm, her eyes softening. “Darling, I love you, you know that.”

Riz stood silent, almost wounded.
“When was the last time you told me that?”

The question hung heavy in the air. Their relationship had suffered from her professional obsession; intimacy and comforting words had long since vanished. He doubted whether the sentence was a genuine expression or just a tool to secure his compliance.

“Riz…” she called him, but he turned and walked toward the bathroom.
“Do as you wish.”

The door closed, leaving the fragile lie hanging in the quiet apartment.

End

Back in the car with Miss Kai and Ralph, Adeline was resolute. She would send the formal absence message to Williams. Riz would keep her phone on, creating a traceable, stationary signal that would appear to be her location. After the meeting, she would leave for the airport.

“If she senses the slightest suspicion, we will be exposed,” Adeline warned Kai again. “Did you ask her the questions I wrote?”

Miss Kai lowered her head sadly. Adeline took her hand.
“I know this is difficult for you, but know that it is even harder for Williams. You think you are alone, but many people are suffering. When I return, I will come back strong.”

She ensured Kai knew the specific excuse she would use with Williams, then showed her the drafted message as proof. The conversation concluded with the transfer of the most precious item: a single, heavy metal key that Kai placed in Adeline’s palm.

“Inside are the coordinates of the hospital,” Kai whispered, her eyes wet with fear. “It’s the only key I possess. The code is FK199. If you arrive at the location, just give them the key. They will tell you everything you want to know.”

There she was, a mother plotting behind her own daughter’s back.

“Miss Kai, look at me,” Adeline commanded, her voice firm. “Do not try to contact me. Do not talk to your husband about this matter. I just want you to wait for my return, because this is still only a hypothesis.”

She exchanged an empathetic look with Ralph.
“Over there, you will have the necessary help right from the airport, discreetly, of course,” he said, handing her a small, folded piece of paper detailing encrypted contacts.

Adeline thanked him, huggedMiss Kai tightly, and then turned away. Her bag was packed, the key wassecured, and the coordinates were memorized. Over there, Adeline was ready tosearch every dimension of the asylum that had shaped Williams’ mind, ready todiscover the horror her patient had lived through.

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