A Shift in Shadows
Kevin was so scared on seeing granny in the state she was in. He was confused and scared at the same time. He didn’t know what to do. He decided to help granny and rush her to the emergency ward and just as he moved close to her to lift her up, an evil thought came to his mind.
“What if her dying is the only way to keep my secret from getting exposed?”, he had thought, having a change of mind towards saving granny’s life. When he eventually made up his mind, he let go of granny’s hand and rushed to lock the restroom door from behind; to prevent anyone from walking onto the scene. Having done that, he slowly walked back to where granny was lying in the pool of blood and smiled sheepishly.
“Ke….. Vin, ple….. ase he…lp”, granny said weakly, when she noticed Kevin wasn’t making any attempt to save her life.
“Help you? So, you can send me to prison? No, I am not stupid enough to do that”, Kevin said, laughing hysterically. This laughter of his got granny scared, making her wonder in her weak state, how Kevin could have changed within few seconds.
“I think it is best for you to just die. At least, you are old enough to die now. You do not have to worry about your dear Ellie. I will make sure to take good care of her. You can die peacefully now, having assured you Ellie will be taken care of. Thank you for all the care and support you have given me and Carla. Goodbye”, Kevin said, bending beside where granny was lying, and whispering into her ear, smiling. Just as he was about to stand up, granny held his hand, with the little strength left in her. She looked into Kevin’s eyes and right in front of her, she was seeing another person entirely. The swift change in Kevin’s attitude, surprised granny, making her wondered which version of him was the real. The look on his face was ruthless and fierce, capturing the coldness and lack of empathy in his demeanor. He yanked off granny’s hands away from him, brushing away his hand as if there were dirt on it.
He rested on the wall very close to where granny was lying lifeless, enjoying seeing her in pains and agony, with a smile of pleasure and satisfaction on his face. Granny struggled to keep herself alive and when she realized there was no hope for her, she decided to give up and laid weakly on the floor, waiting for the cold hands of death to take her away. While her soul was gradually leaving her body, she looked at Kevin’s face, which was hardened into a mask of unfeeling stone. His eyes, once warm and inviting, were now icy, as if they could slice through steel. His forehead furrows had intensified, evoking a calculating, cold appearance as though he was calculating every possibility and ruling them all out with the same ruthless accuracy.
As her last breath escaped from her mouth, all she could think of was, if Ellie would be save with Kevin around her. The last thing she saw before giving up a ghost was Kevin’s face, a face that had discarded all pretense of compassion, revealing the true, ruthless nature within.
When he had confirmed that she had stopped breathing, he thought of how to dispose her body, without getting caught. He was very calm and no one would have thought he had just murdered someone. He thought over and over again, on what to do and then, a plan struck his mind. He reached for Carlos’ contact card which he had kept in his back pocket and dialed his line, using granny’s phone. At first, he didn’t pick, but after calling him repeatedly, he finally picked.
“Hello, who is this?”, he cautiously asked.
“This is Kevin, Mr. Wordsworth. I need your help. I just created a mess and I know you are the only one who can help me out”, Kevin said, calmly.
“What did you do?”, Carlos asked.
“I killed someone. I need your help to dispose off her body”, he said with no empathy, nor guilt in him. On hearing what he had said, Carlos wondered how calm he was, despite the situation he was in. This calmness and composure of his, made Carlos fall in love with him the more.
“Who did you kill?”, Carlos asked, getting up from his seat, while walking to the window side.
“My granny”, he responded blatantly.
“Your granny? May I know why you killed her?”, Carlos asked, surprised by Kevin’s change in attitude towards his family. He remembered how he had stood his grounds the night before not to ever betray his family but there he was the following day, committing all kinds of atrocities against his family.
“I never intended to killed her; it was just a mistake. She found out about the deal we made and she was hellbent on informing the police about it. While trying to stop her from going to the police station, she slipped, hitting her head on the washing hand basin, which led to her death”, he non-nonchalantly explained.
“Why didn’t you save her when the accident happened? I am sure she didn’t die immediately. Why didn’t you try to save her life?”, Carlos asked, getting interested in knowing who the real Kevin is.
“Because I believe money should always come first. While family might be erratic and untrustworthy, money offers chances, security, and freedom. If you have enough money, you can achieve your goals, make your life comfortable, and solve practically any difficulty. I think no family is worth giving up money for. If I had saved her, she would have reported me to the police, making me uncertain of my future”, Kevin responded.
“I am falling in love with the new you but why do you think I will help you?”, Carlos asked.
“Because I know you will”, Kevin responded with confidence. This got Carlos smiling at how confident he sounded while he said it.
“Where are you?”, Carlos asked.
“At the hospital’s female restroom. Your hospital to be precise”, Kevin responded.
“The hospital? Is anyone aware of the incident yet?”, Carlos asked, trying to figure out, how to go about cleaning Kevin’s mess.
“Nobody yet but maybe the person in the CCTV room”, Kevin said, watching as the CCTV blinked.Text © 2024 NôvelDrama.Org.
“Don’t worry. That will be taken care of. Just stay still and make sure you lock the door from behind”, Carlos said, hanging up.
Carlos instructed his secretary to take care of the situation at hand, while Kevin on the other hand, waited patiently, for help to come. While waiting, a female patient who wanted to use the restroom tried opening the door but the door wouldn’t budge. She tried opening it several times, which almost made Kevin’s heart jumped out of his chest. Thinking it was faulty, she walked away, which brought relief to Kevin’s mind. He started getting impatient as the help Carlos had promised, wasn’t coming forth. Some minutes later, he heard someone trying to open the door with a key from outside and he was scared of getting found out. He hid in a corner upon hearing the person come in and silently prayed for him to be safe. He peeped to see who had entered and the person didn’t seem like a female, as he was wearing a well-tailored trouser, with an exquisite shoe.
“You can come out now”, Ben, who had caught a glimpse of Kevin, where he was hiding, said. Hearing his voice, Kevin became relaxed, knowing it was Carlos’ secretary.
“You can go now. I will take care of this. Just pretend as if this never happened”, Ben said, motioning for Kevin to get out and which he did. Ben cleaned up Kevin’s traces, making it look like an accident that occurred from a fall. He also didn’t forget to wipe off all the CCTV footage of Kevin and granny, entering the toilet together. When he was done, he intentionally left the bathroom door opened, waiting for someone to stumble on granny’s corpse.
Kevin on the other hand, headed to Ellie’s room and pretended as if nothing had happened.
“Where is granny?”, that was the first question Ellie asked, upon sighting Kevin.
“Granny? What do you mean by that? Thought she was here with you. I left her here with you, remember?”, Kevin asked with a shaky voice, wondering if he had been exposed.
“She left here not long after you went downstairs. She told me she was going in search of you, as she needed to ask you something. Didn’t you two meet up?”, Ellie asked, innocently.
“No, I didn’t see her”, Kevin lied, avoiding Ellie’s gaze.
“Seems like you missed each other. She will come back if she doesn’t see you”, Ellie said, not suspecting anything.
“Yes, she will”, Kevin said, smiling.
He and Ellie spoke for a while, with Kevin’s mind not at rest. While in the middle of their conversation, a nurse rushed in and stood right in front of them. The presence of the nurse made Kevin feel uneasy, while Ellie wondered what was going on.
“I am sorry to say this, but your granny is dead”, the nurse declared, making Ellie’s body stiff and her face turned pale.