Page 4 of His Wicked Revenge

I’ve only seen him look at another person this way. And that person is why I’m in this situation.

“Did Veronica threaten you?” I don’t look directly into his eyes, not after seeing the full-blown disappointment sitting in them. Instead, I stare at the top button of his dress shirt. “Did she say something to you that made you help her escape?”

I could lie to him. Seeing how she betrayed me, I could blame it all on Veronica, but lying would get me nowhere. “No, sir. It uh—it was a mutual agreement.”

A long sigh leaves the man, and he pinches the bridge of his nose. “We haven’t found her yet. Did she mention where she would go when she got out?”

“No, sir.” It’s the truth. She and I never discussed where we would end up once we escaped. We were going to run for the hills and never look back.

“I had high hopes for you, Leo.” He uses my full name. Not Dr. Madden anymore because I’m sure, in his eyes, I’m no longer a doctor. Am I even a doctor anymore? With all that has happened, I haven’t even given the fact that I could be done with helping people in need. “I thought that you were a great asset to our team.”

“I’m so sorry, Henry.” My eyes have dropped from the button on his shirt to the remote in my hand. I don’t even want to look in his direction anymore.

“I’m afraid apologies won’t work in this situation, Leo. Once you are cleared for discharge, the officers will have you transferred to the Washington Corrections Center.”

Prison? I’m being taken to prison.

The room starts to spin. The same way it did after I found out my mother was dying. Tears line my eyes at the thought of her, but I shove it to the back of my mind. I tighten my hold on the remote as if it will steady me.

What is my family going to think? How am I going to tell them? Will all of this be on the news?

“But don’t I have to speak to a judge?”

“You will see one when they are available. Until then, you will be waiting in prison,” he states. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have another patient in the hospital that I need to visit.”

My brows furrow at the mention of someone he knows being admitted here. It’s not Veronica because they haven’t caught her. Who else could it be?

“Who?” I take this as a chance to peek up at him. He stares out the hospital window.

“Scarlett. Veronica almost killed her.” Henry’s head turns in my direction in time to watch the color drain from my face. “You didn’t know?”

I shake my head and answer, “I had no idea.”

“I tried warning you about Veronica, Leo, and I’m truly sorry it had to come to this.”

He gives me one more look over, but this time, I’m unsure if it is to assess my injuries or to get one last good look at the person who screwed him over.

Once he disappears through the door, I am met with the stares of the officers who will eventually escort me to my new home.

Two days later, a nurse walks into my room with the discharge papers. Honestly, I was hoping they would keep me in here longer so I didn’t have to go to prison, but sadly, I started making improvements in my health.

The nurse shows me where to sign and then gives me privacy so I can change into the clothes they provided.

Once I am dressed, I wait for the nurse to peek her head in and allow the officers to come in to retrieve me. They have me turn around to clasp the cold metal cuffs around my wrists, and then one man walks ahead while the other has a tight grip on me.

They didn’t have to do this. I’m not going to run. That would be stupid and get me in even more trouble.

As we walk down the hall, I can’t help but meet the eyes of other patients. Men and women eye me curiously, but I can sense the disappointment rolling off them even though they have no clue why I am being escorted out of here by two police officers.

People take one look at someone who is wearing handcuffs, surrounded by cops, and think the worst. What I did wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible. I didn’t kill anyone.

This is probably the most humiliating situation I’ve ever been in. I can no longer face the hospital patients, so I hang my head low, watching my feet as we walk down the hall. The officer guides me where I need to go so I don’t have to pay attention.

A door opens, and the sun shines brightly into the hospital. I glance up, seeing we are at the exit, and right outside is the van that will be transporting me to the prison.

CHAPTER 3

Veronica