Becoming strangers again (Lily and Ryan)



RYAN

Lily had been waiting anxiously for me to return to the hospital. The moment I stepped inside, she told me that she believed Clover was conscious. A part of me resisted her words, doubting their truth. A voice deep within whispered that her desperation for answers might be clouding her judgment. Yet, despite my doubts, I made a choice-a deliberate decision to trust her. I decided to listen to my wife, to honor her instincts, even if they didn't entirely make sense to me.

With Amell by our side, we walked into Clover's hospital room together. My eyes darted to him, searching for any small indication that Lily might be right. At first, there was nothing-no movement, no reaction, nothing to support her claim.

“He's still unconscious," Lily began. “And we need him awake if we're going to get the answers we're looking for about the case." She paused before continuing, m. "I know you haven't been able to proceed with this yet because I was unconscious too, and as the owner of this hospital, my signature and approval are required to move forward."

They were pretending-putting on a performance, hoping to scare Clover into opening his eyes. And I swear, if this man proves Lily right by waking up now, after making us wait so long and playing us for fools, I'm going to strangle him. Not literally, of course, but the frustration inside me made the thought oddly satisfying.

"We might need to perform an intraosseous injection to administer medication or fluids," Amell said.

I blinked, completely lost. If Clover understood what that meant, he was smarter than me. "And what exactly does that mean?" I asked, half-skeptical. Lily didn't miss a beat. "It means inserting a needle directly into the bone marrow," she explained,. "It's painful-excruciating, really-and it's known to pull people out of comas just from the sheer shock of it."

"Oh..." The word slipped out before I could stop it.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Amell, have the nurses prepare him," Lily instructed. "I'll get ready and sanitize." Without another word, she turned and headed toward her ward, a woman on a mission. The rest of us followed.

Just before she disappeared into the hallway, Lily glanced back over her shoulder. "Mark my words. The nurses are going to come tell us he's awake."

True to her words, it wasn't long before one of the nurses came back with the news we had been expecting-Clover was awake. Lily didn't even try to hide her smug satisfaction as she turned to give me her classic I told you so look. Without saying a word, she brushed past me and walked off, her steps confident, leaving me standing there to digest the turn of events.

Because of his medical condition, Clover wasn't allowed to leave the hospital to go to the station for further questioning. Instead, the police came to him, determined to get answers despite his bedridden state. If they found him guilty of any involvement, there was no escaping justice he would be cuffed to the hospital bed until his discharge, at which point he'd be taken directly to the detention center.

Lily and I didn't need to be in the room for the interrogation. At our request, the audio feed from the CCTV camera in Clover's room had been turned on, allowing us to listen in on the questioning from the privacy of her office.

From the speakers, Clover's voice rose, frantic and defensive. "I swear I had nothing to do with the kidnapping or the accident!" he exclaimed, his tone edged with desperation. "The accident happened because I panicked. I noticed that Ms. Lily had lost consciousness, and for a few seconds, I took my eyes off the road. That was all it took! One minute I was driving perfectly fine, and the next, the car veered off course, and we were plunging down the slippery valley path."

Lily sat stiffly at her desk, her fingers drumming rhythmically against the wood, her face a mask of skepticism. As Clover spoke, her eyes narrowed, her mistrust solidifying with each word. When he finished, she leaned back slightly, her lips pressing into a thin line before she muttered under her breath, "I don't believe him. He knows something. He's not telling us everything."

Her voice was low, almost too quiet to hear, but her conviction was unmistakable. It wasn't just suspicion-it was certainty.

I reached for Lily's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. It was the only thing I could do in that moment, a silent gesture to ground her as we listened to the interrogation.

Detective Harry's voice came through the speakers, sharp and probing. "Why did you fake being unconscious?" he asked Clover directly. “You conveniently woke up only after the doctor said she would administer a painful procedure. How do you explain that?”

Clover frowned, his expression unreadable as he glanced up at the camera, clearly aware of being watched. "I know this must sound hard to believe, but I wasn't faking it," he said quietly. "I was really unconscious. Why would I fake something like that? It's not like I could avoid waking up forever, right?"

Lily's grip on my hand tightened, a subtle sign that she wasn't buying his explanation. Her skepticism mirrored mine, but neither of us said anything as we continued listening.

Detective Harry didn't let up. "The perfume you gave her to inhale," he pressed. "Is your so-called company even registered? Are you licensed to produce or sell perfumes to the public?"

Clover licked his lips nervously, the tension evident in his body language. Finally, he let out a long sigh, as though resigning himself to the truth. "Fine," he muttered. "I lied about that."

Lily leaned forward, her eyes fixed on the monitor, eager for whatever confession was coming. Clover continued, his words slower now, measured. “The perfume isn't mine. It's my friend's. He's the one who's licensed to produce and sell it. I was just helping him get recognition. Since I work with people from high society, I thought I could introduce his product to the right crowd."

Detective Harry nodded, jotting something down in his notebook. His tone remained calm. "I'm going to need the name and details of this friend. We'll have to have a chat with him."

Clover shrugged. "Go ahead. He wouldn't mind."

Then, as if he couldn't resist, Clover turned his attention back to the camera. His gaze seemed to pierce through the screen as he pointed directly at it. "Is Lily watching?" he asked.

Detective Harry glanced at the camera briefly before answering. "Yes. She and her husband are watching from her office. Their three children disappeared into thin air-of course, they need answers."

Clearing his throat, Clover turned fully toward the camera. "I want to sincerely apologize, Ms. Lily," he began, "I deeply regret that this happened while I was under your service. I know it's hard to believe me, especially with my criminal record, but I swear to you—I am innocent. I had nothing to do with this. You're barking up the wrong tree. I didn't cause your son's disappearance."

Before Lily could react, Detective Harry hit his palm lightly against the table, redirecting the focus. "Direct whatever you have to say to me, not to the camera."

Clover nodded reluctantly, his gaze shifting away from the camera.

I glanced over at Lily, only to see tears spilling silently down her cheeks. Unable to stay seated, she rose and walked toward the window, her back to me. She swiped her hair away from her face with trembling hands, but her shoulders gave her away-they were shaking, her grief uncontrollable now.

Watching her come undone like that shattered something in me. I wanted to say something, anything, but the lump in my throat made it impossible. I was too close to breaking myself.

After taking a shaky breath, I got to

же

my feet and followed her to the window. Without a word, I circled my arms around her, pulling her into my chest. She collapsed into me, sobbing openly, her cries raw and unfiltered. My hands stroked her back gently, but there was little else I could do but hold her and let her cry. Silent tears slipped down my own cheeks, blurring my vision, but I didn't try to stop them. In that moment, her pain was mine too.

We stayed like that for what felt like forever, wrapped in the shared heaviness of our grief. Eventually, a knock at the door broke the spell. Lily stiffened and slowly pulled away, wiping at her tear-streaked face with shaky hands. Before I could stop her she reached up and brushed away the tears on my cheeks too, her touch brief. Then, straightening her posture, she turned and walked to the door to open it.

Detective Harry entered with his partner. He sat down heavily in the chair opposite us and let out a deep sigh. "We don't have enough evidence to hold him as a suspect," he said bluntly, his tone apologetic. "Without more to go on, we can't detain him."

"He knows something," Lily insisted, her voice tight with frustration. She was holding on to that belief with every ounce of her being.

Detective Harry nodded slowly, his face unreadable. "We'll find his friend, the one he mentioned, and bring him in for questioning," he said, though there was a certain lack of conviction in his tone. "Hopefully, we'll find a lead from there."

Hopefully? They didn't even sound sure of themselves. "What about the perfume my wife mentioned?" I asked.

Harry reached into his bag, slipping on a pair of gloves as he pulled out the perfume from a plastic evidence bag. "The results are already in," he said. "Nothing unusual in it, nothing suspicious. It's all clear. Plus, Amell confirmed that Clover gave it to him. He used it for a while, but stopped because he didn't like the scent. A few of his patients complained that it was too strong, but aside from that, there's no other complaint."

Lily glared at the perfume in Harry's hands, her eyes filled with suspicion. "That perfume made me fall asleep," she insisted. “There was something in there. Something that made me fall asleep."

Without responding, Harry pulled the perfume out of the bag and stretched it toward her. "Here," he offered. "Inhale it. Let's see if we get any reaction

from it."

Lily didn't hesitate. She reached forward, her hand outstretched to take the bottle, but before she could touch it, I shot my hand out and grabbed hers. My gaze flickered from the perfume to Harry, skepticism clouding my judgment. "Do you think that's a good idea, detective?" I asked. I couldn't risk her falling unconscious again.

Harry didn't flinch. "I just want to know if she has an allergic reaction or something. We need every clue we can get to crack this case."

I glanced at Lily, her eyes meeting mine. She gave me a small nod, a pained smile tugging at the corners of her lips. It was as if she was trying to reassure me, but her smile only deepened the worry in my chest. After a shaky exhale, I released her hand, reluctantly letting her go. She extended her wrist toward Harry, and he sprayed the perfume onto her skin.

For a moment, everything seemed to stop. Lily stared at me, her eyes searching mine for comfort, before lifting her wrist to her nose. She licked her lips, hesitated for a brief second, then inhaled deeply.