Love For Hire

Chapter 29: 29

Dr. Horton sat in his office, reviewing Nicholas’ test results. He was having trouble figuring out what had caused his patient’s quick decline. He just had no ideas. All his symptoms were consistent with radiation therapy, but the speed and severity of the symptoms were concerning. It just did not make sense.

There was a knock on his door, and Dr. Horton looked up as the orderly came in and offered him a file with test results. The lab had sent them up because Dr. Horton had asked for a speedy delivery. He thanked the orderly and then opened the results as the orderly left the room. He’d had the lab test the teacup Kinsley had given him as well as the hair he had collected from Nicholas back at the palace. He opened the teacup findings first and read the results with surprise. It tested positive for arsenic. He put down the test results, and then he checked the results on the test done on Nicholas’ hair. His hair showed a high level of arsenic poisoning going back weeks.

Arsenic, that explained everything. The symptoms of arsenic poisoning were extremely similar to radiation. That was why it had gone unnoticed. Kinsley had been right to be suspicious. Someone was poisoning her fiancé. Only he did not know who, but he was certain Kinsley did. He had to tell the family.

Dr. Horton stood up and made his way up to Nicholas’ room. When he got there, he found the family sitting around, and they all perked up when he came in. “Doctor,” Samuel took a step in Dr. Horton’s direction. “Do you have news?”

Dr. Horton turned and closed the door. He looked over at Samuel and Naya. Over the years, he had gotten very close to the family. “I know what is wrong,” he said, and everyone looked anxious to hear the news. “I ran extensive tests. Nicholas is suffering from arsenic poisoning.”

“Arsenic poisoning?” Teegan gasped.

“He has high levels of arsenic in his system, and the testing we did on his hair suggests he has been steadily poisoned for weeks.”

“Oh god,” Naya said, taking her son’s hand. “That means someone has been….”

“Trying to kill Nicholas,” Dr. Horton finished for her.

“Do you know who?” Matthew asked.

“I am afraid I do not, but Kinsley brought the poisoning to my attention. I believe she has a suspect,” he said, looking around and noticing Kinsley was not in the room. “Speaking of Miss. Wells, where is she?”

Everyone looked around questioningly like it were a question they had not considered. “She went to the vending machine to get a snack,” Teegan said. “But now that I think about it, she has been for quite a while. I wonder what is keeping her?”

“Matthew, you went to the machine with Kinsley,” Naya turned to her son.

“Yes, but I went to the washroom down the hall. When I came out, she was gone. I assumed maybe she went to the cafeteria. She probably had a craving; you know how pregnant women can be,” Matthew suggested. “If you like, I will go look for her,” he offered.

“Yes, you go do that,” Samuel suggested. Dr. Horton watched as Matthew headed for the door and exited the room. Dr. Horton was getting a bad feeling from Matthew. While the rest of the family were shocked and horrified to learn someone was trying to kill Nicholas, Matthew seemed indifferent. He had never gotten a good feeling from Matthew, the man struck Dr. Horton as a weaselly entitled little shit, but of course, he could not say so. He would not put it past Matthew to be capable of murder if he felt Nicholas’ slim chance at survival risked Matthew becoming King someday.

“Well, I have some rounds to make,” Dr. Horton told everyone. “I will pop back in later to see how Nicholas is doing,” in the meantime, Dr. Horton was going to have hospital security search the hospital to find Kinsley. He wished to talk to the girl. He was dying to know just who she suspected.

***

Kinsley faded in and out of consciousness. She could feel hands on her. She could feel as she was moved, and she could hear the faded voices of more than one person around her. She heard one person say her blood pressure was low. Another was yelling for a blood IV, saying she was hemorrhaging. Someone was ordering an x-ray suspecting broken bones. She was struggling to come to, but every time she had a moment of clarity, it was followed by darkness.

***

It had been three hours since Kinsley went missing, and no one knew where she had gone. When Matthew returned without her, Naya had gone down to security and asked them to search for Kinsley, only to find out Dr. Horton had done the same hours earlier. She was concerned by the fact that they had been searching for hours and yet to find Kinsley.

Naya decided to go to the good doctor’s office on the main floor to confront him and ask why he had sent out a search party some time ago without mentioning it. She had to walk through the ER unit to get to the administrative wing. As she passed by an open curtain, she spotted Kinsley in a bed unconscious with tubes and machines attached.

There was a nurse who was working on casting Kinsley’s right arm. Naya rushed to the bed. “Kinsley, dear.”

“Kinsley?” The nurse spoke. “Do you know this patient?”

“Yes, she is my son’s fiancée. Nicholas is up on the fifth floor. She went for a walk a few hours ago and never came back. What happened to her?”

“An orderly found her in a stairwell unconscious. It looks as if she had fallen down the stairs. She had no ID on her, so we have labelled her chart Jane Doe. I will see it is updated.”

“Fell down the stairs. Good god. Is the baby ok?”

“She is pregnant?” The nurse asked, alarmed.

“Yes, only a few weeks,” the look on the nurse’s face was not comforting.

“We will run some tests,” she said, making to leave the room.

Naya stepped in her path, preventing the nurse from exiting the room. “What are you not telling me?” She demanded. “She is still pregnant, is not she?”

“I am really not supposed to give out information. If you like, I can find the doctor and….”

“Speak now!” Naya snapped with commanding confidence that came from her station in life. “Is she still pregnant?”

“She has been bleeding steady since they brought her in. The likelihood of the baby surviving the fall and then the bleeding is slim. I am sorry, but she miscarried,” the nurse told Naya. “I will fetch the doctor so he may answer your questions,” this time, Naya allowed her to leave. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Naya walked back to the bed and stroked Kinsley’s hair. Oh, cruel fate. Her son lay dying in a bed upstairs, and her Kinsley lay here a victim of a tragic accident. Her grandchild was gone. Things could not possibly get any worse. Someone had to be down here with Kinsley when she woke. Naya would go back upstairs to tell the others she had found Kinsley.

Naya made her way back up to find her family. Nicholas still had not woken. “I found Kinsley. She is unconscious in the ER Unit downstairs. The staff says she fell down the stairs and that it is believed she has lost the baby.”

“Oh, that poor girl,” Samuel shook his head.

“I am going downstairs to sit with Kinsley,” Naya said. “She should not be alone when she wakes up.”

“Oh, no, Mother,” Matthew came to her side, offering her a supportive smile. “You should stay with your son. Spend what time you can with him in case he does not pull through. I will go down and sit with Kinsley.”

Naya placed her hand over his. “Bless you, child,” she took a seat near the bed as Matthew left to sit sentry over Kinsley.