Ninety Nine

CHAPTER 99

Alicia fell over after seeing her parents' bodies covered in cloth in the hospital morgue. The autopsy had been completed and Michelle and Edward's body parts had been sewn back together and were as perfect as ever. But they were already lifeless. Alicia fell over after seeing her parents' bodies covered in cloth in the hospital mortuary, and their bodies were pale and cold.Their legs were given name tags according to their name, age and cause of death.

                  

"What happened-"

Nicholas immediately lowered his voice. He embraced Alicia's body when she cried out, "No...."

Without making any comment, Nicholas remained silent and hugged Alicia from behind. The girl's cries sounded tight and loud. All the emotions that she had been holding back from the beginning, broke out instantly.

"Mom! Dad!"

Nicholas' heart beat with pain. This was not the first time Alicia had felt the loss of death. Her parents had died twice when she was little, her friends had died at school, her favorite professor had died and now? She had lost her adoptive parents again. Why was Alicia so close to death?

Only after Alicia's crying subsided did Nicholas dare to open his mouth there. "Alicia, we can't stay here for too long. This place is cold, we should go and talk outside."

And the gesture of Alicia's body standing up from the floor, made Nicholas a little relieved. He was still holding Alicia's arm, helping her to stand up and walk away from the bodies of her dead parents.

Her parents were dead, her house burned down. What else was left for the girl now?

"You can sit here," Nicholas said, helping Alicia sit on the waiting chair. And Alicia agreed with Nicholas' suggestion.

While Alicia rubbed her face in frustration, Nicholas sat beside her. The girl was trying her best not to cry anymore, and Nicholas sympathized with that. But even the information he knew bothered him. So after Alicia lowered both hands from her face, Nicholas immediately cleared his throat and spoke, albeit in a low voice.

"Alicia, I have something to tell you."

Alicia knew that Nicholas said that hesitantly, but Alicia still turned her head and nodded. "You can say anything, Nic."

"Are you really okay?"

And the girl murmured her assent.

"Your parents have already been autopsied, we examined them immediately because... they were victims of a fire and the big fire was considered quite suspicious. The explosion you said came from a gas leak in the kitchen. But-" Alicia was still listening carefully to the information given by Nicholas. "Your adoptive parents didn't die from the fire or smoke poisoning. They died from impact and trauma to their vital organs."

Alicia's face turned serious. Alicia's eyes, still swollen from crying, now looked at Nicholas straight on. She furrowed her brow, and Nicholas could immediately tell what Alicia was thinking. Nicholas nodded slowly. "You mean... my parents died before the fire? But... who called me?"

Nicholas looked back at Alicia with a confused expression. "Did you receive a call from your parents?"

"It was Mom. Mom called me and then...,"

"And then?"

Alicia rounded her eyes, looking surprised at the situation that could have happened. She righted her seat and looked enthusiastically at Nicholas sitting next to her. His face looked excited as he explained. "Mom called me on her cell phone, I didn't hear anyone's voice, then there was a loud explosion. I came immediately after feeling that mom was in danger."

"It could have been the culprit who set your house on fire."

"Or... the criminal who killed my parents?"

Nicholas and Alicia looked at each other as they nodded their heads at the same time.

"This is definitely premeditated murder," Alicia said, she drew conclusions quickly.

"And this is an attempt to eliminate evidence." Nicholas suddenly remembered something. "But... why would they want to kill your parents?"

Alicia gave a short snort. She found it amusing with the rhetorical question thrown by NIcholas. The girl turned her face the other way, then sighed. A breath that sounded heavy and labored. "Maybe because they are my parents."

"This is absurd, Alicia. You never even exposed them!"

Nicholas's words made Alicia look back at him. Alicia's blue eyes were still wet, but the sadness in them was now mixed with a look of disgust and anger that Nicholas could not explain. "Never meeting them or exposing them on social media doesn't mean I don't have a life, Nic. Someone must be watching me. He could be here, watching me from afar and laughing at my parents' death. He wants me to feel humiliated and that everything I do is for nothing!"

"Alicia."

Alicia stood up from her chair abruptly and made Nicholas gasp. Grunting angrily, the girl exclaimed, "You wouldn't understand!" and she walked away, leaving Nicholas alone.

Unfortunately, Alicia did not return to her room. Instead, she turned her gaze to the fire escape that led to the upper floor. A crazy idea suddenly popped into her head. She was desperate. Death would only continue to haunt her if she lived well. Karma had already chosen her. Alicia didn't know what sins she had committed in the past to have to live a bad future life like this, but clearly... Alicia was tired of all this.

The girl's tall body stood at the end of the building barrier on the top floor of the hospital. From this height, Alicia could see the rooftops of the houses and buildings surrounding the Golden Group's hospital. The rooftops were colorful, but Alicia looked at them from another angle. Everything had turned gray. Alicia had lost all color now.

And one of Alicia's tears fell down her left cheek. She took a deep breath, as if all that oxygen was pushing her to recall the events of the past few hours. She closed her eyes, and the last sight of Michelle in her arms appeared like a movie scene.

"Mom, can I go with you now? You know that I have nothing left in this world. So... please let me meet you in heaven."

And Alicia jumped off the building.