Lewis was in the hospital when he awoke. He opened his eyes and realized many people had crowded his ward.
"He's awake!" Conrad cried out with relief before rushing to get the doctor.
In less than a minute, a doctor arrived and examined every part of Lewis' body in detail.
"How is he?" Conrad asked.
"Everything's okay now that Mr. Alvarez is awake. He should rest more and refrain from having drastically unstable emotions. He'll need to recuperate.
"Otherwise, his body will only collapse if he continues like this." The doctor then looked at the crowd and added, " Also, try not to have too many visitors in the room. It will affect his rest."
"Everyone, please leave. I'll stay behind and look after him," Conrad told the others.
Nancy glanced at Lewis like she had something to say. Yet, she knew it wasn't the right time for that, so she left with Murray.
Tyler nudged Avery to leave, but the latter refused. She stormed ahead to question, "Where's Josephine, Lewis? Where have you taken her?"
Lewis forced himself to sit upright. He ignored Avery while removing the IV drip needle from his arm.
Conrad stared at the former with concern. "You haven't finished your bag of IV fluid yet, Chairman Alvarez."
Lewis said nothing. He swung his coat over his shoulders, then walked past the crowd to exit the ward.
Avery hurried to block his path. Her eyes burned holes into Lewis like she wanted to kill him. "Where are you going? Also, you haven't answered my question. Where is Josephine? Tell me what happened to her!"
She had discovered the truth some time ago but was in denial. After all, she had just spoken to Josephine days ago. She couldn't bring herself to accept Josephine wasn't there anymore.
After all, it was challenging and would take a long time to cope with a loved one's sudden death. One could only come to terms with the loss of another after time passed and they processed the memories of times spent together.
Lewis' gaze lowered emotionlessly onto her. "Move."
"No. I won't move unless you tell me where she is!"
Lewis didn't answer her and only stared at her.
The two's eyes met, and tension filled the air at once. In the end, Tyler forced Avery aside and apologetically said to Lewis, "Avy's just worried about her friend. Don't pay her any mind."
"Tyler—"
Tyler shot Avery a stern look as if asking her to stop.
Lewis ignored the two and left the room.
Conrad raced after the former.
When they returned to Styx Mansion, the funeral home's person in charge and its employees stood in the living room. They had been waiting with uneasy expressions. Among them, someone whispered, "He's here."
The funeral home's employees became hushed and no longer spoke after that. Their heads hung low as they peered at Lewis' legs that strolled by. A trail of the hospital's disinfectant lingered where he passed.
"Chairman Alvarez, all the personnel present that day are here."
Lewis sat on the couch. He glanced down at the urn on the coffee table. It contained Josephine's ashes. A hint of sorrow flickered in his eyes, but he soon withdrew his attention and focused on the group before him.
Conrad ordered, "Relay everything that happened on that day in detail."
He had already interrogated them earlier, but it was only to get a summary.
The manager came forward to say, "I wasn't at the funeral home that day. I just heard they received a body and asked us to cremate it urgently—"
Conrad interrupted, "So, did you guys not know our men had snuck into the place?"
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: What Separates Me and You