Valerie's POV:
I stared hard at the photo again, trying to see if it was really Brian next to Robert or not. I furrowed my brows in frustration though, my eyes didn't seem to be one hundred percent yet. Dizziness was my constant still. Lyndsey's breath caught my attention though, it had become very labored. I intertwined our hands, her eyes pulling away from the photo that I know laid on the opposite side of her.
"Hey," I started, trying to keep her gaze on me. "Are you okay?" A deep sigh escaped her lips, her free hand digging into her now unkempt hair.
"No." She laughed dryly with a firm shake of her head, "This cannot be happening. You seriously can't tell that is Brian?" Her voice was weak, looking over her shoulder to ensure no one could hear us for some reason.
"I mean, it is possible, but what are the chances?" My voice sounded unsure to even my own ears then. "My eyes are having some trouble focusing," I could see the worry drawn on her features though, "I'm okay, Lyn. Why do you think it's him though?"
"I just have this feeling, I can't explain it. Does Brian even have a tattoo?" Lyndsey sighed, her eyes shut tightly. I couldn't stop myself from grabbing her hand - pulling the photo away - lacing my fingers with hers. She looked as if she hadn't slept these past few days, causing a type of dread to ease into the back of my mind. I rubbed the top of her hand with my thumb, slowly and hopefully in a soothing way.
"Right now, there isn't much to even prove that theory." I said with a light shrug, placing my free hand upon her cheek. "I'm not sure about the tattoo part as he mainly wears a watch with long sleeves." I added. If we weren't in the situation currently, I would have adored the fact that she instantly melted into my touch. Lyndsey placed her hand over my own, kissing the inside of my wrist, her lips lingering against my skin. I couldn't hide the redness that flashed upon my cheeks.
"I don't want anything bad to happen to you..." Her voice was strained. If I didn't know better, she was struggling with controlling her emotions. "I wasn't kidding when I said I love you Stella." I couldn't help but smile at a nickname she hasn't used in a while.
"Why Stella?" Lyndsey offered a small smile, pulling her hand away from mine to wipe a tear from her cheek.
"I don't mean anything negative around it."
"I thought you said it meant bitch?" I smiled warmly. She looked up behind her lashes before her eyes dropped to her lap once more.
"Perhaps I am unsure how to show affection." She averted her eyes in an attempt to avoid my gaze while her tongue clicked on the roof of her mouth. I glanced downward to see her thigh bouncing - a clear indication of her stress level. Although I couldn't move very far - mainly due to my IV drip - I scooted closer to her. I was able to lay her had in my lap, brushing my fingers through the tangled mess to smooth it out. Lyndsey took a deep breath, nestling herself against my stomach. "I don't want to lose you." Her voice sounded terrified just now, earning a frown from me. I felt her hand slide behind my back, gripping onto my gown in desperation.
"You're not going to lose me - I love you too much to allow Robert to continue with ruining my life anymore." I could feel her tense slightly. Lyndsey raised her head, her eyes red from crying. I could tell she was biting the inside of her cheek as if she was debating on speaking.
She wasn't able to though when my doctor had entered the room with three other people. The doctor looked at Lyndsey for only a moment before coming to the other side of my bed. Lyndsey sat up right, wiping at her face to hide her tears from the strangers in the room. She cleared her throat as doctor spoke.
"Miss Christopher, I am Dr. Gisslen. How are you feeling?" Hhe asked with a monotone voice.
"Fine, what's the matter?" I asked, sensing something was off in his appearance. The doctor looked at Lyndsey with a questionable look before turning back to me. That struck strange to me for some reason.
"It appears your test results indicate that you have been poisoned. In simple terms, the results of your blood work show traces of rat poison. The levels are quite large." All I could feel in that moment was the squeeze my hand was receiving. "Hence my involvement with you now."
I couldn't believe what the doctors were telling me. My body was frozen in that moment, unable to really even process what was being said. Someone was yelling, but my mind was thousands of miles elsewhere that I was unable to make out what was even happening.
'Someone was actually trying to poison me.' Was the only thought that was stuck on repeat. 'Could this really be the work of Robert? But how?'
"Val!" I snapped out of it, shaking slightly when I felt a firm squeeze on my shoulder. I turned to my right to a worried Lyndsey staring at me, trying to obviously gather my attention. A bright light flashed before my eyes, causing me to flinch. I couldn't help but wave my hand in front of my face to push the offending light away, but actually pushing a doctors hand away harshly.
"Miss. Christopher, we need to file a police report about these findings." Another firm voice came from the man standing at the foot of my bed. "Do you have any idea who could be poisoning you or may want to?"
---
After a few hours, I was still in a reclusive state. I just couldn't help the anger that was running through my veins knowing this had to the be the work of Robert. Who else would seriously be trying to poison me but the man on the run for murdering my mother?
"It has to be Robert." Was the first thing that came from Randy as he entered my room. I nearly jumped out of my skin. "Sorry, I was stuck in traffic and couldn't stop thinking about this. It has to be him." Randy spat out, taking his seat next to Lyndsey who hadn't spoken much either.
"But how? I haven't seen him." My voice was hoarse now, somewhat scared to even drink anything now. Randy shook his head, pulling out notebook from his backpack. Lyndsey looked to me with a confused look before turning her attention back to the frantic boy.
"I overheard my dad at the station a bit ago, he mention that Robert was spotted getting on a flight to Paris a few weeks ago." I felt a chill slide through my body. 'He was on the same flight...?'
"How is that even possible...?" I whispered, looking down at Randy's notes he must have written while eavesdropping. He was flipping through multiple pages before yelling out an 'AHA!' which of course made Lyndsey and I both jump.
"What the hell?" Lyndsey roared, placing a hand to her chest and glaring at him. Randy rubbed the back of his neck bashfully before placing the notebook between us, pointing to a certain area. Lyndsey tried her best to read his chicken scratch but grumbled she was unable to.
"It says here that Robert used a different passport and dyed his hair..." I spoke, trying my best to read his writing but struggling. "Your penmanship is trash Randers." Randy rolled his eyes before grabbing the book back.
"Listen, he got a fake passport and followed you. But why go to such great lengths to poison you? It simply doesn't make sense. How could he even know where you were or that you would be traveling to Paris then?" I leaned back against my pillows, overwhelmed by all this information.
"Brian..." My eyes gravitated to Lyndsey then who looked as if she paled. "This is making complete sense now." Lyndsey spoke quietly, offering a saddened glance my way as she grabbed the photo. "Is there a date on this?"
"Brian?" Randy questioned, confusion being clearly etched into his face, "The weirdo assistant you showed up with that day? What about him?"
"Lyndsey thinks that Brian was spotted with Robert in my mothers car, but I personally can't tell as my eyes aren't the best right now." I answered, watching Randy's facial expression change drastically now. He leaned back in his chair, thumb and forefinger resting on his chin as he was lost in thought.
"Yes!" Lyndsey screamed, making my heart monitor spike slightly. She slammed the picture down on my bed, pointing to the very bottom of the photo. "This was taken only a day before we left!"
"Hm, I can't personally tell if this is Brian or not either." Randy stated.
---
Time flew around me and I wasn't really sure how to process anything. One moment, Lyndsey and I shared this beautiful moment together, expressing our feelings for one another. The next? I was being informed that I had been poisoned. Thoughts of Brian being the person in the photo next to Robert were also banging against my brain.
Before I knew it, Randy was talking to his dad over the phone - Informing him how the person was possibly Brian who worked alongside Lyndsey and myself. Jared took this information seriously, trying his best to talk to me. However, I simply couldn't process any of it.
"Alright, let me go so I can look into this matter" He instructed while Randy pointed the video call towards me, "I'll be by in a few hours. Don't worry kid, we won't let anything happen to you." He said before the called ended. I closed my eyes, trying my best not to let the heart monitor reflect my anxiety to the room.
Lyndsey was now speaking with Randy with hushed voices, as if I couldn't hear them. After about an hour, I couldn't really handle the secrecy anymore.
"Guys, seriously?" I groaned out, trying to readjust myself. They both offered skeptical glances before walking closer to each side of me. "What the fuck is going on?"
"We were just discussing why Brian would be working with him." Randy spoke first. "I'm not sure what the hell connection Brian could possibly have with Robert, but I think it's worth looking into. Why else would they been together?" Randy shrugged his shoulders, his hair in a heap of mess from frustration.
"Hey!" Someone from the door was heard. I looked up to see Ana and Emalie trying to get in my room. "Can you please tell this cop that we are friends of yours?" Ana pleaded, looking concerned. Lyndsey offered me a smile before heading for the door to smooth things over.
Lyndsey was able to convince the officer to allow the two woman in, offering me a sense of peace as my favorite people were with me now. Well, except for Randy's family of course. I was also overjoyed when Emalie pulled a squeaky Oswald from her messenger bag.
"I figured you would want to see him. Randy had to leave him with me when he heard you were here." A sympathetic sounding Emalie spoke, but I was too occupied rubbing Oswald's head.
"At least he is feeling better, right?" Lyndsey smiled, squeezing my hand lightly. I took a shaky breath wrapping my free arm fully around him as he nuzzled his little body into my neck. I had been worried sick about him when we were in Paris, but to see him doing well eased my soul slightly, despite the current events.
"So," Ana started, forcing me to look at her, "What's going on?"
"We found out that Valley has been poisoned by rat poison. Pretty sure it was Brian." Lyndsey snarled, her jaw clenching tightly as the grip on my handed grew stronger. She must have noticed my wincing as she eased off immediately, rubbing her thumb gently.
"Brian...? Michele's assistant?" Ana asked in disbelief, "That cannot be true, the guy is a complete wreck sure, but he doesn't seem the type to do something like this." She frowned. I took a deep breath, pulling my hand away from a reluctant Lyndsey and sitting up.
"They gave me a picture with Robert driving my mothers car, caught on a video cameras somewhere in town," I pulled the photo out to show Ana and Emalie, "Lyndsey thinks the guy next to him is Brian." I sighed, chewing on my lower lip. I hated even seeing Robert in picture form, but knowing he was driving my mothers car? The pit of my stomach was dropping just thinking about it. I was caught off guard when Emalie made a strange gasp. I turned my attention to her, but was surprised to see her staring directly at Lyndsey, a pained expression on her face.
"Lyn..." Emalie bit her lower lip, which appeared to be trembling.
'Why does she appear to be remorseful...'
"Em, don't. Not here." Lyndsey's voice was stern, her eyes cold and demanding.
"Who is Robert?" Ana asked, somewhat out of the loop now. I couldn't take my eyes away from Emalie and Lyndsey though. Their silent reactions showed an intense disagreement with Emalie showing immense sadness. "Hello?"
"Robert killed Valerie's mother a little over a year ago." Randy finally answered, his tone showing signs of discomfort. Catching his eye, I could see he noticed the strange interaction between Lyn and Emalie. "What's the matter you two?"
"Nothing." Lyndsey shut it down, breaking the strange eye contact now. At that moment, before anything was spoken or question, Jared had return with two other officers in tow. A sorrowful expression etched into his face.
"Dad...? What's going on?" Randy asked, standing from his seat. As Jared looked around the room his eyes went straight to Lyndsey, nodding to one of his guys. My brows furrowed in confusion as I watched them walk towards her, pulling out a pair of handcuffs.
"Lyndsey Wilson, you're wanted for questioning for the murders back in Australia." Jared said as the unknown offer forced Lyndsey to stand. I tried to get up, but Randy forced me to lay back.
"Jared?" I yelled, watching the cuffs connect with Lyndsey whose face was completely empty of emotions, "What is the meaning of this? Wilson? Her last name is Ryan!" I pleaded, trying to do something.
'What the fuck is happening?' I screamed in my head, trying to get Lyndsey to look at me. Her eyes were closed though, unwilling to look in my direction. Everything was happening too fast!
"Lyndsey has an alias while here in the states." Jared started, watching the other two officers taking her from the room. "Her real last name is Wilson." he added, looking back to me with a sorrow filled face. I didn't know what to say, my heart was racing so fast that the monitor was beeping loudly. "She is wanted back in Australia for the murders of her family along with her father, Robert Wilson."
"Fuck." Emalie whispered next to Ana before glancing my way, "I'm sorry you found out this way." A tear was sliding down her cheek a sadden expression on her lips as all eyes fell to her.
"What the the hell are you talking about?" I yelled, my anger rising now and confusion overwhelming me forcing Oswald to leap into Randy's arms, scared of me now. Jared took a deep breath before placing a photo on my lap. Looking down, I felt my soul shatter into pieces.
There in the photo was what appeared to be a younger Lyndsey standing next to the man who murdered my mother - Robert Wilson.
"I don't understand-"I whispered.
"Robert Wilson, the man who murdered your mother, is Lyndsey's biological father." Jared said before squeezing my knee and following after the officers. I looked to Emalie, Ana, and the lastly Randy before blacking out.