Chapter 12
"Ah!" A sharp scream pierced everyone's ears.
The next second, Emily broke free from Piper's hand and tumbled down the stairs.
She almost collided with Jeffrey, who was rushing up the stairs with a knife after hearing the commotion.
When Jeffrey steadied himself to see what was happening, he found everyone retreating, except for Charles, who was slowly walking forward.
"Charles! Are you crazy?"
Jeffrey and Gerald shouted in unison.
It was so obvious that anyone could see that the patient in the bed had something to do with Rachel's death!
Maybe he was the one who killed Rachel!
However, Charles ignored the two and walked straight to the bed, then squatted down to look the patient in the eye.
The patient's eyes were squeezed into slits by his swollen, obese flesh, making it hard to tell if they were open.
Charles lowered his gaze, carefully observing the bloodstain at the corner of the patient's mouth.
"You're not a vegetable, are you?"
Charles leaned in and whispered in the patient's ear.
"If you're not, move your finger."
But the patient didn't respond to Charles' command, instead breathing heavily, the sound almost drowning out the heart monitor.
"Get out."
"What?"
Charles frowned, trying to make out the words.
"Get out! Get out now!"
What did that mean? Did the patient not want anyone but his wife near him?
"But your wife asked us to take care of you and paid us. We can't just leave."
Charles straightened up and signaled Jeffrey to bring the patient's meal.
He then paced around the bed with interest, watching the immobile patient.
"I guess you're not sick; you're just too obese to move."
It was then that Charles noticed the patient's limbs were bound, but the fat had squeezed out from the bindings, hiding the chains.
"If I untie you, will you tell me everything?"
By this time, Jeffrey had brought the patient's meal, a disgusting mush of meat and water.
Charles took the bowl and stirred it with a spoon.
The patient clearly resisted the sight of the meal, struggling futilely.
"You don't want to eat, do you?"
Charles squinted, a barely noticeable smirk on his lips.
"What should we do? Your wife specifically instructed us to feed you every day, with extra meat. You're making it difficult for us."
Jeffrey and Gerald exchanged puzzled looks, not understanding why Charles was doing this.
"Unless you answer my question. You're not really sick, are you?"
Charles said as he brought the spoonful of meat mush closer to the patient's mouth.
The patient turned his head away, making muffled sounds of protest.
"My condition is simple: answer my question, and I can help you."
Charles' voice was soft, almost hypnotic.
"We're on the same side, trust me."
He leaned in and whispered something in the patient's ear that the others couldn't hear.
But seeing Charles so close to the giant patient, they feared the patient might be a monster and bite Charles' head off.
Fortunately, after hearing Charles' words, the patient stopped struggling.
Charles frowned and handed the bowl back to Jeffrey.
"What do you mean?" Jeffrey asked, holding the bowl.
"Bring a bowl of oatmeal, no extras."
Though puzzled, Jeffrey complied and left.
When he returned, he had a bowl of oatmeal made with milk.
Charles once again fed the patient with a spoon.
This time, the patient didn't resist.
He obediently drank it.
Everyone was shocked by this scene.
Why didn't the patient want to drink the meat mush?
But the wife had specifically instructed that the patient's meal must include meat every day!
After the patient finished the oatmeal, everyone left the room.
Before leaving, Charles glanced back at the patient.
Was it a trick of the light, or did he see tears in the patient's eyes?
After closing the door, Jeffrey quietly approached Charles.
"Charles, what did you say to him?"
Charles shook his head.
"I can't tell you yet."
Then he looked around and asked, "Where's Emily?"
Only then did everyone realize that Emily had disappeared after running downstairs!
"Emily!" Piper and Madeline shouted, opening room after room to search.
But only silence responded to them, an endless silence.
A sense of foreboding filled everyone's hearts.
They all ran downstairs, searching the same way on the first floor.
But still, there was no sign of Emily.
Finally, they found Charles standing in front of the open door, staring outside.
"Don't bother looking," Charles said coldly. "She ran away."
Piper covered her mouth and cried, collapsing at the door.
Outside was a pitch-black night, with rain pouring down, making a constant noise.
At that moment, everyone remembered John, who had jumped ship and escaped at the beginning.
They thought of the severed limbs and the blood floating on the water.
A gust of wind made everyone shiver.
The task was to take care of the bedridden patient for four days, but it never said what would happen if someone left midway.
No one dared to think about it.
Charles slammed the door shut, ensuring no wind could get in.
Then he turned to head back to the living room, but his gaze fell on the shoe cabinet by the door.
He thought of something and bent down to search through it.
But when he opened the cabinet, it was empty.
How could that be?
Jeffrey, worried that Charles hadn't returned, walked back.
"What are you looking for?"
Without looking up, Charles sighed and said, "Not a single pair of shoes. How can there be no shoes in a house with so many people living in it?"