Reincarnated Mercenary on Duty-Chapter 34: The truth

The next morning, Frank sat at his desk, brooding over the case. His fingers tapped rhythmically against the wooden surface, his mind racing.

"Damn... This changes everything. How can a dedicated doctor like her be a criminal?" he muttered to himself.

A loud thud snapped him from his thoughts. Zoey had just slammed a file onto his desk, her expression stormy.

"I think I know why the good doctor is after Andrew," she said, her voice tight with anger.

Frank blinked up at her. "Hey, hey. What’s got you all fired up this early?"

"Look for yourself."

He reached for the file, but before he could even flip it open, Zoey was already speaking, her frustration spilling over.

"A decade ago, Karl was a senior at VTU. He sexually assaulted a freshman girl during a fraternity rush party."

Frank’s jaw tightened. "What?"

"The victim, Alicia Rose, wanted to impress him. He was popular—a star athlete. So, she had a couple of drinks with him. Claimed he slipped something into her drink."

Frank flipped through the report, scanning the details. "Then why wasn’t he arrested?"

Zoey let out a bitter laugh. "She waited two days to report the assault. Probably ashamed. Scared. The tox report came back clean, the rape kit was inconclusive, and with no physical evidence, she dropped the charges."

Frank exhaled sharply, his fingers tightening around the edge of the file. "And what does this have to do with Eliana stalking Karl?"

Zoey’s eyes darkened. "Because Alicia Rose... was Eliana’s sister."

Silence.

Frank felt something heavy settle in his chest.

"A year after the attack, Alicia was rushed to the ER." Zoey’s voice softened. "She was pronounced dead on arrival. Overdose—antidepressants and sleeping pills."

Frank stared at the words on the report. The official cause of death was listed in black ink, but the truth was written between the lines.

"This wasn’t an accident," he murmured. "She... She committed suicide."

His mind clicked pieces together.

Eliana wasn’t the victim in this case. She was the perpetrator.

His system had named her as the mission target, not Karl.

"She’s going to kill Karl."

Zoey nodded grimly. "The man responsible for her sister’s death."

"We can’t let her do this," he said, voice firm.

"She’s a doctor—she saves lives," he added. "She doesn’t know what it’s like to take one. It’ll destroy her."

Zoey exhaled and leaned against the desk. "Yeah... and I don’t think she cares."

Frank stood up, grabbing his jacket. "We need to stop her before she crosses a line she can’t come back from."

Zoey frowned. "Where are you going?"

"Keeping an eye on her before she does something stupid."

"Wait, I’m coming too." Zoey grabbed her coat and followed him out.

Sliding into the passenger seat of Frank’s car, she noticed him pull out his phone. A map-like app lit up on the screen, with a blinking red marker.

"What’s that?" Zoey asked.

Frank smirked. "That’s the doctor’s phone. I bugged it a few days ago."

Zoey’s eyes narrowed. "You know that’s illegal."

"Not unless she reports it. Besides, I’m doing it for her."

She sighed, shaking her head. "Fine. I’ll let it slide this time."

The car slowed to a stop outside a warehouse-like building.

Zoey glanced around. "Where the hell are we?"

Frank shut off the engine. "A rehabilitation group’s gathering point. People come here to talk—victims of assault, those who’ve lost loved ones, people struggling to cope."

Zoey’s expression softened. "Eliana comes here?"

"Every week. I found out during my investigation."

They stepped inside. The dimly lit space had a quiet, heavy atmosphere. In the center of the warehouse, a circle of people sat on folding chairs—young and old, men and women, all carrying invisible wounds.

Frank’s gaze scanned the group until he found her.

Eliana sat among them, her posture straight, hands folded in her lap, eyes fixed on the speaker.

A woman—mid-thirties, shaking—was speaking through muffled sobs.

"After the bar, we went back to his place... He slipped something in my drink. I blacked out."

The room was silent except for her trembling voice.

"When I woke up, I was in his bed, face down, naked. I couldn’t find my dress. I wanted to scream, to call the cops, someone, anyone. But I was afraid."

Her voice broke. "I was crying when I left. He just... smiled. Said I was a real wild woman, and he’d see me at work."

A shaky breath.

"Now, every day, I see him, and he smiles that same smile, and I want to throw up. I need this job. I can’t quit. I never talk about these things, either..."

Zoey shivered.

She leaned toward Frank and whispered, "Why does her story sound just like the doctor’s sister?"

Frank didn’t answer.

His gaze was fixed on Eliana.

She sat still, listening intently, her expression unreadable. But when the story ended, she stood up and walked toward the vending machine.

Frank followed. "Wait here," he muttered to Zoey before heading after her.

Eliana stood in front of the vending machine, staring at it absently, lost in thought.

"Did you lose someone too?" Frank asked as he approached.

She blinked, startled by the sudden voice. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt." He gestured toward the machine. "Just wanted some coffee."

Eliana exhaled and stepped aside. "Go ahead."

Frank inserted a few coins, letting the machine hum to life.

"You know, I keep coming to these meetings hoping I’ll feel better," she said softly. "But they only make me feel worse."

She took a sip of the coffee and made a face. "This coffee’s terrible."

Frank smirked. "Yeah, welcome to vending machine gourmet."

He glanced at her. "That woman in there... you know her?"

Eliana’s face drooped slightly. "No." A pause. "But I know someone like her."

Eliana asked "What about you? Why are you here?"

"I lost someone. Someone very close."

Eliana nodded. "I’m sorry."

A beat of silence passed.

"Not a day goes by that I don’t think about what I could’ve done differently," he said.

Eliana swallowed hard. "Yeah..."

She stared at the cup in her hands, then took a shaky breath. "It took me years to piece together what happened to my sister. I thought I could live with it. I told myself I had to move on. I had a good job, a good life..."

Her fingers tightened around the cup. "And then I saw him. A month ago. The man responsible for her death."

Her voice grew raw with emotion. "He was eating dinner at this little French place in my neighborhood. On a date. He looked... content." She let out a bitter laugh. "My world was shattered, and he looked content."

She quickly wiped away a tear that had slipped down her cheek. "Sorry, I don’t know why I’m telling you all this."

Frank gave a small, understanding smile. "Everybody needs someone to talk to." He extended a hand. "Frank."

Eliana hesitated, then shook it.

Her brows furrowed. "Wait. Frank? You’re the detective who came to the hospital the other day."

Frank chuckled. "Oh, so you do remember me. I figured with all the new faces you see every day, I’d be easy to forget."

Eliana tilted her head. "Well... I almost did. But I just recalled your name now." She smirked faintly. "I don’t get nice patients like you often."

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