Chapter 504 Victim Conspiracy Theory
Emma's eyes filled with tears, and she quickly looked down to hide them, gently ladling out a bowl of porridge. The porridge had a faint medicinal smell.
"Grandpa, don't worry," she said softly while carefully feeding Charles the porridge. "I'll find out who did this to you."
Charles stared at her, his gaze complex and unreadable, as if he had a thousand things to say but was trapped in his failing body.
The afternoon sunlight was perfect as Emma pushed Charles for a walk in the hospital's back garden.
This was Charles' first outing in a while. The breeze ruffled his sparse white hair, and the long-awaited relaxation smoothed out some of the wrinkles on his face.
Emma spoke softly about interesting things happening outside, occasionally bending down to adjust the blanket covering Charles' legs.
But as they passed a slope, an unexpected accident occurred. The wheelchair's brakes failed without warning, and the heavy wheelchair began to slide uncontrollably downhill!
Emma gasped and instinctively tried to grab the wheelchair, but the momentum made her stumble forward.
In that critical moment, Charles suddenly summoned incredible strength. He turned sharply and grabbed Emma's wrist, pulling her into his arms with all his might!
With a loud thud, the wheelchair crashed heavily into the edge of a flower bed.
Emma was tightly protected in Charles' embrace, unharmed except for the shock.
She looked up in panic to see Charles' face pale, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, and a noticeable scrape on his arm, oozing blood.
"Grandpa! Are you okay? Does it hurt?" Her voice trembled uncontrollably as she frantically checked Charles' injuries.
Charles just shook his head, his trembling hand gripping hers tightly, his cloudy eyes shining with determination.
"Emma, safe," he managed to say.
Emma's tears finally fell uncontrollably, rolling down in large drops.
"Grandpa, even in this state, you're still thinking of protecting me," she choked up, unable to speak further.
At that moment, all hesitation and doubts were forgotten, and a firm resolve took root in her heart, 'I won't wait any longer.'
That afternoon, Emma drove straight to the police station. Her bag was filled with all the evidence she had collected over the past few days, each piece meticulously verified.
The police station was bustling, but she sat quietly on a bench, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the edge of the file folder.
"I want to file a report," she said, laying out the organized evidence on the table.
Charles' blood test report (showing chronic poisoning)
Scarlett's receipt from the herbal market for purchasing poison
Suspicious call records between Orion Lewis and Scarlett
Charles' recorded statement (though vague, it was enough as supporting evidence)
The police officer's expression turned serious, and they quickly opened an investigation.
"Ms. Jones, we will take action as soon as possible."
Emma nodded and walked out of the police station as the sky darkened.
She looked up at the sky and took a deep breath.
"Grandpa, I will make those who hurt you pay."
The police investigation progressed faster than Emma had expected. Early the next morning, she received a call from Officer Darren Moore, who was in charge of the case.
"Ms. Jones, Scarlett is currently admitted to the psychiatric ward at the city hospital," Darren's voice came through the phone, tinged with a bit of helplessness. "Her attending physician says she is in a severe depressive state and not fit for questioning."
Emma gripped her phone tighter, her knuckles turning white.
Emma knew Scarlett's current state. Could Scarlett's abnormal condition exempt her from guilt?
"We reviewed the hospital's surveillance footage," Darren continued, "and found that she indeed exhibited self-harm behavior after being admitted."
"Could she be faking it?" Emma asked, her voice tinged with skepticism.
Darren paused for a moment. "The psychiatric evaluation confirms her condition is genuine."
After hanging up, Emma stood by the window, the sunlight casting a pale glow on her face.
The police might not be able to get answers, but that didn't mean she couldn't.
The psychiatric ward's hallway was much quieter than the regular hospital rooms.
Emma peered through the glass window on the door and saw Scarlett lying in bed.
The once elegant and strong Scarlett was now curled up in bed, her face ashen, and her wrists wrapped in thick bandages.
"She tried to slit her wrists last night," a voice suddenly sounded behind Emma, startling her.
She turned to see a middle-aged female doctor with glasses. "Are you her family?"
"I..." Emma hesitated, "I'm an acquaintance. How is she doing?"
"Her physical indicators are stable, but her mental state is very poor," the doctor adjusted her glasses. "She refuses to communicate and shows severe symptoms of paranoia, constantly saying someone is trying to kill her."
Emma's heart skipped a beat.
How ironic, the person who poisoned others now claimed to be a victim?
As Emma left the hospital, she ran into Darren in the elevator.
"We've found some new leads," he said in a low voice. "After Scarlett was admitted, someone saw her talking to a stranger at the hospital's back entrance. The surveillance footage is blurry, but it's clear it's not a family member."
"After she was admitted?" Emma asked, her brow furrowing.
"Yes, after she was admitted."
Emma's scalp tingled. Scarlett was already admitted, so why would she leave her room to meet someone at the back entrance?
Her injuries were real, so how did she endure the pain to meet someone at the back entrance?
And why did the doctors and nurses not notice her sneaking out?
What was going on?
And who was the person she was so desperate to meet?
Emma's heart raced. "Was it Orion?"
"We're investigating," Darren said, his expression serious. "What's even stranger is that the nurse's station records show an unusually high dose of sedatives administered to Scarlett the night she was admitted. We suspect..."
"Someone deliberately kept her quiet?" Emma gasped.
That night, Emma received a call from an unknown number.
The voice on the other end was distorted by static, then a voice altered by a voice changer said, "Stop investigating, unless you want to end up like Charles."
The call abruptly ended. Emma's hand trembled, but her gaze grew more determined. This threatening call only confirmed one thing: there was indeed a bigger secret behind Scarlett.
The next morning, the hospital reported that someone had broken into Scarlett's room overnight.
Strangely, nothing was taken, but her medical records had been tampered with.
"Someone's looking for something?" Emma muttered to herself. She suddenly remembered that before Charles' incident, he had vaguely mentioned a ledger.
Could it be...
Meanwhile, the police found a large amount of cash and a notebook filled with codes in Orion's apartment.
The case seemed to be heading in an unexpected direction. Scarlett might not just be the poisoner; she could also be a victim of a larger conspiracy.
When Darren and his team went to question Scarlett again, they found her room empty.
A nurse said that half an hour earlier, a man claiming to be her son had processed her discharge.
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