Chapter 86: Interrogation in the Inpatient Room
After that, with Avery’s help, they all brought Blake to an empty executive inpatient room equipped with a sofa in the hospital’s left wing, which was reserved for pediatric patients. Once she escorted them all inside, Avery turned to leave.
"Alright, I’m heading out. Please don’t take too long, or I’m the one who’s going to get into trouble. Just text me when you’re done," Avery said.
"Will do... thanks a lot, Avery," Eric replied.
Avery left and shut the door tightly behind her. They had Blake sit on the sofa with Norman right next to him, while the two police officers stood directly behind them. Facing them were Katie, Eric, and Chloe, while Emma, Monica, Heidi, Priya, and Laura took seats on the sofa to the right. Katie then turned to look at Heidi.
"Sorry about this, Heidi, but could you please tell your dad to make sure Avery doesn’t get into any trouble? I think we’re going to be here a while," Katie said.
Everyone immediately turned to look at Heidi, who was clearly caught off guard and looked back at Katie with a serious expression.
"Um... yeah, I’ll tell my dad later, but how did you know my dad owns this hospital?" Heidi asked, completely puzzled.
Katie simply smiled and shot a meaningful look at Eric beside her. "Ahem." Not wanting it to leak that he actually held shares in the very hospital they were currently standing in, Eric leaned forward to look at Blake. He noticed that Blake looked absolutely terrified.
"Hey... what are you so scared of? Did you do something wrong? Or have you been up to illegal stuff?" Eric asked, confused by how pale Blake’s face had gone.
"Uh... I didn’t think you’d actually call the cops. If this is about your dad’s lawsuit, I throw in the towel," Blake answered, completely defeated.
"Ha... relax, this has absolutely nothing to do with that lawsuit. Let’s just get straight to it, Katie, Officer Norman," Eric said.
"Alright, first of all, I want to show you something," Norman said.
Norman reached inside his long coat, pulled something out, and placed it on the coffee table for Blake to see. It turned out to be three photos of a middle-aged woman. Blake’s expression instantly changed the moment he saw the pictures, and Norman, naturally paying close attention, questioned him immediately upon noticing his reaction.
"Do you know this woman?" Norman asked Blake.
"That’s my stepmom... what’s going on, Officer?" Blake asked, turning to Norman in confusion.
"Her name?" Norman asked.
"Marjorie Pearl... what is this all about, Officer? Why are you asking about my stepmom?" Blake asked, starting to panic.
Hearing Blake’s answer, Norman immediately exchanged glances with Katie, Eric, and Chloe, giving them a nod. He then gathered up all the photos without answering Blake’s question and slipped them back into the pocket of his long coat.
"What is all this about... Eric?" Blake asked, growing increasingly confused and anxious as he stared at Eric.
But nobody answered him. Eric just stared back at Blake with a cold, indifferent look, as if he didn’t even know him. After a brief silence, Katie finally leaned forward slightly and looked at Blake while adjusting the frame of her glasses. She pulled out her tablet and gave Norman a nod.
Norman stepped forward again while Katie opened a photo of Melissa on the tablet, turned it around, and held it out in front of Blake. Blake’s eyes went wide when he saw Melissa’s picture on the tablet, which had likely just been pulled from the company records.
"So this woman really is your step-sister. I have a few questions for you then. Are you close with her?" Norman asked firmly.
Being put on the spot, Blake began to sweat despite the air-conditioned room. He glanced at Eric once more, then shifted his eyes to Chloe, who was leaning back with her arms crossed. He looked over at the girls on the right who were sitting back comfortably but listening intently, and finally turned to face Katie. He fell silent for a moment before speaking up.
"If this is about the accident that put my sister in that state... I don’t know anything about it," Blake said.
"I’m sorry, but this has nothing to do with your sister’s accident. However, your statement could be used to uncover the truth behind it. So let me ask you one more time: are you close with your sister?" Norman asked, his voice calm and patient, but carrying undeniable weight.
Hearing Norman say that his statement could be used to uncover the truth behind his sister’s accident, Blake calmed down a bit.
"We’re pretty close," Blake said right away.
"How close? Do you talk to her every day, or do you live under the same roof?" Norman asked.
"Yeah... we live in the same apartment. It’s only been ten days, though," Blake answered.
"Do you know where your sister works?" Norman asked.
"At CJR Real Estate and Construction. I drove her to work a couple of times," Blake answered.
"Since when has she been working there?" Norman asked.
"When she moved into my apartment... she mentioned she’d already been there for a few days, maybe around 10 to 13 days. To be exact, counting up to today, it’s been over two weeks," Blake replied, thinking it over.
"Did she talk about her job often?" Norman asked.
"No... never. When we chat, we usually talk about other things," Blake answered.
"Has she been acting strange lately... for example, not usually coming home late but suddenly doing so, or taking phone calls in secret, or any other unusual behavior? Or maybe she has some strange habits?" Norman asked.
"Hmm... not really... except... at night, she tends to have nightmares and calls out to her biological dad, who passed away," Blake answered.
The room fell silent once more as Norman paused his line of questioning. He glanced over at Katie, who nodded while busy taking notes. He then continued, "What are these dreams like? Is she just talking, or is she sleepwalking?" Norman asked.
"Just talking... but... I don’t know if I should share this. I’m a bit hesitant," Blake replied.
"Just tell us. If you can, tell us everything you know about your sister. Share it all so we can figure out whether she has any enemies who might want to hurt her," Norman countered, intentionally lowering Blake’s guard.
Then, like a dam bursting open, Blake poured his heart out. He explained that in her dreams, Melissa would sometimes talk in her sleep to the point of screaming, declaring that she would get revenge for her father’s death.
This happened quite often. When she wasn’t angry, she would cry, saying that it was because her dad tried to save her that her dad was torn away from her.
"I see," Norman said, turning to look at Eric, Chloe, and Katie.
"And... there’s something else... can I share it?" Blake asked.
"Of course, go ahead," Norman replied.
Blake went on to explain that ever since Melissa moved into his house after his dad married Melissa’s mother, Marjorie, Melissa had been a quiet child. She was completely unapproachable, quick-tempered, and always spoke harshly.
What Blake couldn’t understand was that she always insisted that, as her younger brother, Blake had to help her avenge her father. Back then, Blake just assumed his new step-sister was a fan of movies or novels and had gone a bit crazy.
But when he heard the things Melissa blurted out in her sleep, he actually started to get scared. However, because they spent every day together and he kept hearing it, his heart softened.
He actually made up his mind to look out for his sister until she could finally be happy and heal. While dating Jason, his sister stopped having those nightmares entirely. She even started using her old last name again, Johnson, instead of her new last name, Grant. Seeing his sister happy brought Blake immense relief and peace of mind.
He became friends with Jason too, thinking his job was finally done. But about seven or eight months ago, when Melissa found out about Jason’s affair with Vivian, she reverted right back to her old self.
"That’s why she had a plan to ruin your family, Ric, and drag you into it. It was all because she was heartbroken over Jason’s betrayal, combined with whatever had been haunting her since she was 17 coming right back," Blake added, lowering his head.
As Blake finished his story, the entire room fell dead silent. Emma, Priya, Monica, Heidi, and Laura looked visibly goosebumped, though they could understand her pain, even if their faces screamed, "Okay... that woman is a psycho."
Eric and Chloe remained quiet as well, and even Katie, Norman, and the two police officers were completely speechless. Blake’s statement opened a brand new door, proving that Melissa really was the daughter of the truck driver who killed Chloe’s parents, and that she intended to exact revenge on Chloe’s two uncles through Eric and Chloe’s company.
After keeping quiet and silent for a few moments, Norman pulled his smartphone back out of his pocket. He unlocked the screen and swiped open a file, then held the display up for Blake. It showed two photos side by side, featuring the faces of Paul and Mason.
"Do you recognize these two men?" Norman asked, getting straight to the point.
Blake just stared blankly at the two middle-aged men displayed together on the screen. When he looked at the photo on the right, his eyebrows knitted together, and then he pointed at the picture on the left.
"This guy... he used to buy my sister luxury items all the time. I know because every time she came home, she’d always brag about it to me. But I don’t know his name. I’ve only seen him a few times dropping my sister off at home," Blake said.
Hearing that, Eric immediately turned to look at Chloe, who was already staring right back at him. The photo on the left that Blake had pointed to was a picture of Mason.
