Chapter 155 Debbie Really Died
"Everyone died in the fire?" Fannie exclaimed with horror in her widened eyes, full of sympathy, "Those poor souls, mad as they were, to die such an agonizing death."
Charles realized she had missed the point and said with a heavy voice, "That's not what I meant. It's about Debbie... She had just been admitted there shortly before it caught fire."
Somehow, he felt that the whole situation was too much of a coincidence.
Fannie blinked dismissively, "She reaped what she sowed with her many evils."
Randy perceived Charles's concern, "Charles, are you worried there might be more to this?"
Charles nodded, "Yes! Which is why I need to find out more."
Eager to assist, Randy asked, "How do you plan to confirm it? Do you need my help?"
Charles looked at him steadily without a word, but an idea was forming in his mind.
Fannie pouted, dissatisfied, "Daddy's heart is all for mommy, and there's no room for us! I am so tired, I want to sleep."
Charles and Martin both sighed in unison.
Time slipped by unmeasured, and just as the three little ones were on the verge of falling asleep, Patricia finally woke up.
Rubbing her eyes, ready to readjust her position to continue sleeping, she realized something was off. There seemed to be someone beside her, thinking it was Charles and Fannie, she reached out habitually to touch their cheeks.
...
Her palm felt warm and soft, yet Martin clenched his fist nervously.
The texture under her hand wasn't right, the skin was not as smooth as Charles and Fannie's, rougher, with a bit of stubble at the corners, scratchy like whiskers, and the bridge of the nose higher than both Charles's and Fannie's.
So, it wasn't Charles and Fannie.
Who was it then?
Realizing it wasn't them, Patricia's drowsiness vanished in an instant. Her eyes flew open, and as she lifted her head, her gaze collided unexpectedly with a pair of bottomless eyes.
They locked eyes.
Time seemed to freeze for a moment.
Patricia's thoughts gradually recollected, piece by piece.
She remembered they kindly went to the cinema to watch a movie.
Then…
Then she felt very sleepy and seemed to have dozed off.
Why then was she sleeping on Martin's shoulder?
As this thought struck her, she suddenly realized she was still leaning on Martin's shoulder. Her breath hitched, and like a spring, she jerked away in an overly exaggerated motion. The movement was so abrupt that she almost fell to the ground, but, fortunately, Martin caught her just in time, preventing a graceless tumble.
"Am I that terrifying?" A teasing voice sounded from above her head.
Patricia, not bothering with her embarrassment, adjusted her sitting posture and asked anxiously, "Why is it just the two of us? Where are the three kids?"
How long had she slept!
Everyone in the cinema had left.
Martin gestured with his eyes toward her back.
Patricia cocked her head, not yet grasping the situation, when Charles's listless voice came from behind her: "Mommy, you finally woke up. If not, we would have had to sleep here tonight."
Hearing his voice, Patricia immediately turned around and saw the three little ones lined up, sleepily gazing at her, their faces filled with grievance.
"Did I sleep for a long time? What time is it now?"
Charles took out his phone, lit up the screen, and showed it to her: "It's almost midnight! You tell me if you've slept a lot."
Seeing the time displayed on the phone, Patricia jumped up: "Oh my goodness, it's almost midnight. You guys have kindergarten tomorrow; we need to get home quickly, or we won't be able to get up on time."
Charles pouted: "Good that you're aware."
Patricia took Charles and Fannie home, and also instructed Martin to take Randy back early and to the hospital the next morning.
After reaching home, the three of them took turns bathing, and Patricia started a load with the dirty clothes from both yesterday and today. After a flurry of activity, by the time she lay in bed, it was already one o'clock in the morning.
Because she had slept for several hours in the cinema, Patricia wasn't tired. Lying in bed, she tossed and turned restlessly. Bored, she took out her phone intending to scroll through some news.
Upon opening her feed, her attention was immediately drawn to a trending topic.
#Athens mental hospital fire, no survivors#
The mental hospital in Athens had caught fire!
Patricia's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately clicked in, her gaze captivated by the headline.
A fire at the Athens mental hospital had claimed the lives of all 180 people inside – patients and medical staff alike. Not a single survivor.
All 180 people, deceased.
Photos of the scene were attached – mainly of the burned-out building structures. Some that would cause discomfort were appropriately censored.
The names of those who perished in the fire were listed at the end of the article.
Patricia meticulously searched the dense list for the name Debbie.
And indeed, there it was.
In the last line, Debbie's name was found.
Debbie was truly dead.
Patricia couldn't quite describe how she felt at the moment—neither happy nor sad. After sighing, she exited the interface, browsed through some other news articles for a while, and only went to bed, turning off her phone when sleepiness finally set in.
...
Meanwhile.
At the Athens Psychiatric Hospital.
Madam Thomas, with an impassive face, looked at the inexplicably charred psychiatric hospital, her features distorted in fury, resembling a crazed beast: "Go search. I refuse to believe that wretch died so easily. Look for any traces, any surveillance that hasn't been burned."
Spike immediately ordered a search to be conducted from the ground up.
Having received no results, Madam Thomas refused to leave, standing at the entrance with her cane, waiting for news.
The psychiatric hospital was vast in size and took a long time to search thoroughly.
"Madam Thomas, we've checked everywhere. The place is now ruins—everything has burned down. We couldn't find anything."
Madam Thomas was incredulous: "Impossible! This hospital may be off the beaten path, but it's not in a suburban area. How could it burn everything to ashes before anyone responded to the fire?"
Spike reported truthfully, "The fire spread too quickly and fiercely. Additionally, the contractor who built this hospital cut corners to pocket more money, using cheap, highly flammable materials. By the time the fire started, it was unstoppable and couldn't be controlled. I had people inquire—yesterday, the automatic fire sprinkler system was broken and not yet repaired before today's incident occurred."
So it seemed, it was truly an accident without any suspicion.
Hearing this, a deep, blood-red hatred and frustration flared in Madam Thomas's eyes.
"That wretch... to die like that... dying so easily fills me with resentment. If I had known it would come to this, I would have caught her sooner, slowly cutting off her flesh piece by piece to feed to the dogs."
Spike advised, "Being burned alive was Debbie's retribution! She's dead, and with that, grievances should dissipate. Madam Thomas, you shouldn't let this ruin your health over her. It's not worth it."
Madam Thomas knew this all too well.
Yet, she couldn't let it go.
A suffocating anger was lodged in her heart that wouldn't disperse.
Little did she know, not far behind her, two vigilant eyes were watching her every move—like predators lurking in the darkness—
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