AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Daniel smoothed his suit jacket as he headed towards the elevator. His other assistant trailed after him while asking him a barrage of questions. Daniel didn’t feel like answering any at the moment and hushed him away. He was deeply perturbed. And worried as hell. How the hell had something like this happened? Getting hit by a car twice in a month… it was almost surreal.
His chauffeur, Prescott, was waiting by the time Daniel exited the building. “Harborview Hospital,” said Daniel.
“Yes, sir.”
“And please hurry. It’s urgent.”
“Very well, sir.”
The ride to the hospital was rather uneventful. He called Anika twice on the cell, but there were no new developments. His sister was still waiting for the outcome of the surgery.
He arrived at the hospital twenty-minutes later, and Anika jumped from her seat when she saw him.
“Oh, Danny.” Anika hugged him. “This is terrible.”
“How is she?” Daniel asked.
“No changes yet.” Anika introduced the two gentlemen with her. “Danny, this is Detective Harper, the man handling this case. And this is Captain Burke from Seattle PD.”
They shook hands. “How do you do?” said Daniel, keeping his professional demeanor.
The captain and the detective exchanged pleasantries with Daniel. “I’m sorry to have to meet you under such circumstance, Mr. Addington,” Captain Burke added.
“When did the accident happen?” asked Daniel.
The detective flipped open his notepad. “The accident happened at 10.45 AM in Mansfield Park. There was a witness—an elderly woman walking a dog saw a white pickup truck cutting through the park. The driver tried to avoid a girl on a bike but overcompensated and hit Ms. Winters.”
Daniel unconsciously ran his hand through his hair. He did that often when he was deeply disturbed. “Did the driver leave the scene of the accident?
“The witness said the driver stopped at first but when he saw how bad Ms. Winters’ condition was, he took off. An hour later, we recovered the abandoned truck in Westlake Mall parking lot,” said Harper.
“Have you been able to apprehend the driver?” asked Daniel.
Captain Burke answered this time. “My department is actively seeking the suspect by putting out an APB to our active units. We are doing everything we can to bring the suspect to justice, Mr. Addington.”
“I appreciate your cooperation and the help from your department in this time of need, Captain.”
“It’s our duty, Mr. Addington. We will let you know as soon we have any new developments.” The detective nodded. “Good day, Mr. Addington. Ms. Povitch.”
They waited for any news on the surgery. In the meantime, Daniel called Marcus, the security executive who was in charge of his family’s security detail, and gave him instructions to investigate the incident. Having two accidents in less than a month was hardly believable, and it couldn’t be dismissed as a simple coincidence.
Daniel and Anika waited for several hours until the surgeon emerged from the OR. They were then ushered into a small consultation room.
“How is she, Doctor?” asked Daniel impatiently.
“I’m Dr. Huang, Chief of Medicine here. Ms. Winters is stable at the moment. She’s in the ICU while we’re continuously monitoring her condition. Are you her family?”
Daniel and Anika traded gazes. “She is my fiancée,” said Daniel firmly. “Charlotte doesn’t have any immediate family, save her mother, who is currently being treated at Bellevue.”
“Bellevue?” The doctor looked interested.
“Yes. Bellevue psych ward. She’s been in there for the past three years, but she’s been in the hospital for almost twenty years.”
Depression. Suicidal tendency schizophrenia. And attempted murder on her daughter when she was only four years old. Daniel remembered the passage from Charlotte’s dossier. Mary-Anne Winters had suffered a nasty episode that had prompted her to jump into a freezing river with her small child, hoping that death would reunite their family again.
“I see. I assume Ms. Winters’ mother isn’t capable of making decisions regarding her daughter. The reason I asked is because I need to contact the person who can act as her legal guardian.”
“That person would be me,” said Daniel in an irritated tone. “Would you tell me how Charlotte is doing?”
