Chapter 76.

"You…"

"Do you recognize the name, Dr. Phil?"

"What about the name?"

"I know her."

"And what does it matter whether you know this person?"

"She's my fourth ex."

Dr. Phil's eyes opened wider than I'd ever seen before. I was certain that even the famous one on TV would be given a run for his money if the two of them had a staring contest.

"The rumored doctor running her shady business through the dark web?"

"Yes."

"The one that performs all sorts of banned, inhumane experiments and clinical trials on human test subjects at the request of various doctors across the world; the very same one known to maintain strict confidentiality with regards to her clientele?"

"Yes, that very same psychotic doctor who not even Interpol can track down."

He lowered his eyes and rubbed his temples with his right hand before saying, "you're pulling my leg, right?"

"I'm not. Do you want me to prove I'm not trying to pull a fast one? I can tell you something that only someone who was extremely close to her would be privy to know."

"Haha. I'm not in the mood for jokes Mr. Genovese. You should really take your leave, I'm not interested in listening to any more of your nonsense."

"Promise me you will take care of Adele first."

"If you don't leave, I will need to have security forcibly escort you out."

"Do you really think I don't know about the request you put in to further research the bystander effect? You pushed things to the limits in the request you put in. Do I have to list the experiments and trials one by one? The first experiment in that twisted request of yours was-"

"Mr. Genovese, enough. Not another word!"

I felt a chill run down my back from the intense cold glare he directed at me.

"I understand, Mr. Genovese. I simply have to let her find her own happiness, is that correct?"

"Yes. That's all I'm asking of you."

"And I also have to ensure she is released from the mental asylum without her being aware of a single thing?"

"Yes, that too."

"Fine... but if you know so much about the things I did when I was younger, why did you choose me? Shouldn't you be far warier in trusting someone like me?"

"It's because I know the only reason you did it was because of the pressure to succeed and obtain results back then."

"That's all?"

"It's also because I knew I could trust you to keep your word if I had dirt on you."

"Haaah. The world isn't as beautiful and pristine as one may wish it were. At least you're smart enough to come prepared in the event I turned down your request. When you work in this field for long enough, you face a lot of criticism. You see countless deaths. You see untold hardships that mere common folk can't comprehend. Your heart turns away from the pure desire to save people into a disgusting black that only seeks power, results, money, and fame."

"After seeing the filth in the world, you inevitably lose that pure desire you once had to save lives. After you're accused of being a murderer, despite trying your hardest to save, your body turns cold. You're forced to kill off your emotions to get through your day to day life in such a stressful environment. Becoming a doctor was one of the more foolish decisions I made in my lifetime. I truly wish I could go back to that time of youthful innocence where I could care for another similar to the way you care for this young lady."

I patiently listened to the lonely senile old fart rambling about a bunch of shit I didn't care to listen to without interrupting him. I really wished he would cut to the chase because I was dead tired right now and extremely irritable. All I wanted was to go collapse on my bed at home.

"Haaaaah. To be young again. Fine, Mr. Genovese, I will do as you've requested. You can leave now."

When he finally finished reminiscing to himself out loud, and my ears were finally spared from the torture, I lowered my head in his direction in thanks before I exited the room.

I still had to pass by Adele's room to get to the ward's exit, so I stuck along the opposite wall while keeping my head low. When I reached the examination room she was presently in, a nurse pushing a stretcher exited the room right before hers. I stealthily ducked behind the stretcher as it passed her room to ensure she wouldn't notice me passing by.

I had to deal with the odd stare from the nurse, but it was a small sacrifice to be made in the name of the bigger picture I liked to call, 'get the hell out of here and get yo sleepy ass in bed *****. Aw hell naw, this ***** just censored my ass.'

My sense of naming really tended to deteriorate the sleepier I got. Please don't hold a sleep-deprived person accountable for the poor naming decisions made when he hasn't slept.

Anyway, my poor naming sense aside, just when I was certain I'd be able to avoid any stereotypical scenarios from playing out, I heard a certain damned senile old man call out to me from behind.

"Young man, are you leaving already?"

When I turned around and looked at him in the distance, I saw the smuggest smile I'd ever seen in my life.

I'd clearly just been shot in the back by friendly fire, it was nothing more than his form of petty revenge. This damn doctor... I swear, I'll definitely remember this.

He turned away with a cocky smile on his face and returned to his room, not bothering to watch the aftermath.

I froze in place a short distance away from the room Adele was in, but I was now on the side closer to the exit. I just needed to make a mad dash for the exit and I would be able to avoid Adele catching onto my attempt at a wordless farewell.

Unfortunately, luck was not on my side. Just as I was about to high tail it out of here, I heard her voice from behind, "Mister, are you really trying to leave without saying anything?"

When I turned around, I found her forehead peeking out from around the corner with her eyes locked onto my back.

"No... I just forgot something in the car. I'll be right back."

Pitifully, that was the best lie I could come up with off the top of my head on such short notice when mentally drained.

"Mister, your name-"

"Is irrelevant."

"Wha-"

"My name is irrelevant and not important. We're just strangers who happened to meet in a strange abandoned mansion out in the middle of a forest. After today, we will not meet again. I don't see any point in giving my name to random insignificant people who don't mean anything to me."

Ugh. I thought saying it like that would be enough to make her hate me. I thought it would be the most hurtful thing I could say to her, but in the end, it felt like it hurt me more to say it than it was hurtful for her to hear it. The words I spoke were definitely a double-edged sword.