265 The devil’s spawn
Natalie stared at the psychologist before her and couldn’t make sense of anything. She had never had any encounter with a shrink before but everything about him seemed odd. As if to prove her point, she asked, “What if it’s an important matter that requires my husband’s medical records? What if it’s a matter of life and death?”
She knew that if he was being professional, he would tell her to go through the right channels and explain what she needed to do. However, he smacked his lips almost dramatically.
“In that case, I can show you what you need to know about your husband. But you know what they say.”
“Scratch my back and I scratch yours?” She asked boldly.
“What? Why would you say such a thing?” He looked taken aback, but then he chuckled. He was messing with her. “Look. I don’t mean to make things hard for you but you realise that I could lose my job if the patient knew that I revealed his records. But, there is a way for you to “accidentally” get them. Give me your address. We can discuss the other side of things there when I drop by to check on him on a day that he’s out of town.”
“What?” She was repulsed.
“Don’t give me that look. I will send the medical records to your place with any reason. They will be in a white folder. You can then access them with ease, seeing as you are his wife after all.”
When she hesitated, he chuckled. “You are not his wife.”
She bit the inside of her bottom lip in shame. She had thought that it would be easier to get the records if she pretended to be his wife but it turned out, it wasn’t that easy.
.....
“You are the girlfriend he kept talking about then. The ex girlfriend.” He deliberately emphasized on “ex” as if that proved a point.
She stood up and grabbed her purse. “Thank you for your time. I’ll get going.”
She left before he could say another word, but it was not lost to her that he would tell Devonte about their encounter. Of course, it would be the rigged version that would make her out to be the stalker.
“Just what I need.” She sighed in frustration. If only there was an option to rate psychologists. She would get her friends to one star the hell out of him. There was no way his services were any good with that kind of attitude.
When she got to her car, Devonte’s had already left. He must have only dropped by to pick something, since he came and left so fast. She frowned at the first possibility that popped in her mind. Was he on medication?
It would make sense, but why was she feeling a dull ache thinking about it?
She shrugged the thought off. She didn’t like to see anyone suffer. That was it.
Which was why before she left, she did a Google search on Dr. Stanley. The only results that showed up were about him being one of the best psychologists in the country.
“Yeah, I certainly don’t want to see a psychologist in Olphire then.” She cringed. How could that man be one of the best?
She continued checking through the results and found nothing about his family or past, which was strange. There was nothing on his social media accounts. It was almost as if he was trying to hide something...
Which was not a big deal since she knew two people who could uncover all his secrets in minutes. But when she thought about them, she waved the idea off. Zeus was too busy with Preston and Fort Group at the moment. At the same time, she didn’t want to accidentally lead him on. On the other hand, Skeleton had tasks too. She resorted to seeking the woman she didn’t think she would ever ask for help-but who might just know enough about Dr. Stanley.
_____
“Dr. Williams cannot see you right now. Please come on another day.” She received the same rejection message she had heard a bit too many times today.
However, she knew that it was true this time. Dr. Williams was highly sought after all.
“Please tell her it’s Ms. Roatta’s niece. She will definitely spare me a minute.” She pleaded with the assistant, who gave her a skeptical look but picked up the phone on her desk to give the message. As expected, the assistant showed her to an office when the call ended.
“Lucy’s niece, huh?” Kara’s brows shot up when she saw Natalie. “And it just happens to be you?”
“You would say anything to get where you want, wouldn’t you?” She smiled awkwardly. She had lied more times today than she had in the last several months.
Kara was unamused. “Maybe.” She put on her blazer. “It better be something important. I just came out of a twenty-hour surgery and I think I’m ready to crash into bed-or the floor, if you keep me standing here.” She joked.
Natalie opened the door to head out. “We can talk on the way to the parking lot. I won’t take up much of your time.”
Kara looked relieved, but she was still confused.
“I know you must be wondering what your enemy is doing here but... I can owe you this time. I need information about a psychologist.”
Kara frowned at her. “And I’m supposed to know about all the psychologists in the world?”
“Only those that have worked in Grand View Hospital before.” She gave Kara her phone, where she had the results of Stanley. According to his work history, he had worked here before.
“You’re kidding, right?” Kara almost burst into laughter but cleared her throat instead. “Listen. If you want to see a shrink, I can help you find a good one. I hate to say this about anyone but Stanley is the devil’s spawn.”
That much was obvious earlier but now that Kara said it, her heart sank. What was Devonte doing, going to him for therapy? Did he simply search for the best psychologists in Imperium, land on his name on the search lists and book an appointment?
The elevator dinged on its arrival in the lobby and the two women walked side by side to the underground parking lot, while Natalie took the chance to find out more.
“Do you mind telling me why you think he’s evil?”
Kara shot her a look. “All you need to know is that if this man has anything to do with your mental well being, you are doomed. Can I go now? I really need to rest.”
“Sure. Thanks.” She smiled and waved goodbye. She and Kara were enemies for reasons beyond her knowledge. They had only crossed paths once-literally-and the doctor had glared at her like she had murdered her mother.
However, that was not as important as Devonte’s health. Didn’t he ever see the red flags when he chose Stanley? How long had he been seeing him?
____
The following evening.
“That’s too tight.” Desmond commented about the dress that Zaria was wearing.
She had him on video call on her laptop as she got ready for her appointment with Evan.
She glanced down at the dress that barely touched her curves and rolled her eyes. “My great grandma would practically chew me out seeing me in this, okay?”
Seeing that he indeed looked nervous, she took it off and swapped it for a floral A-line dress to humor him. She knew what he was worried about. Evan was a womanizer through and through. Now that she was meeting him alone, there was a chance that he would try to hit on her.
She pulled her hair into a bun and secured it with a pin.
On the screen, Desmond laughed. “That looks more like a weapon than a hair accessory.”
She feigned a frightened look. “How did you figure out my secret plan?”
They both laughed, and she grabbed the documents she had placed on the dressing table. “I’ll get going now, love. Talk to you later.”
“Hey, don’t you have a blue dress or something?” He called before she could end the call.
She raised a brow. “Are you sure you are not looking for excuses to see me undress?”
His expression proved that she was right. She blew him a kiss. “When I get back, I’ll give you that kind of video call.”
“I’ll take that as a promise.” He grinned. “Hey, if Evan tries anything funny, you know where to kick him, right?”
Her jaw dropped. Were they friends or enemies?
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