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• Liberty •

Once Liberty parked her car in the hospital's parking lot and turned off the engine, she then gazed up at the tall building, staring at it. 

It was twenty stories high, with brick walls and shatter-proof windows. A large yard with a thirty-foot fence was wrapped around it, and several trees settled around rotted picnic tables making the scene look like something out of a horror story. She shivered in her spot when she noticed an overcast of dark clouds rolling in.

It wasn't busy on the access road, but guards were lined up in several parts of the property, with cameras and security systems pointed in every direction.

When she stepped out of her car, she noticed a line of female patients walking from one part of the facility to another building between two fences. A strong beam of sunlight cast down on them.

"Hey!" a male voice boomed from behind her.

She turned around on her heel and spotted Vikram standing there with a light blue polo shirt and jeans. "You're here." 

"Yeah. The Uber just dropped me off," he replied, giving her a soft hug and kiss. Then he peeked in on Sarah and smiled at her.

"I was going to come to get you. I wanted to check this place out real quick." 

"It's okay, baby. I'm here now. So, what did you find out?" 

"Chase is guilty of something, other than admitting Luna into St. Matthew's." 

Vikram furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?" 

Liberty refilled Sarah's sippy cup with sugar-free cool-aid, then handed it to her and walked around the back of the car to talk to him. 

"I confronted him, and he threw his hat off his head. He stomped on it like someone lost a game in baseball. The wind blew the dirt off the ground and I was just driving away, staring at him through my mirror. I believe he hurt my sister physically."

Vikram groaned as he slammed his fist against a tree.

Liberty jumped, heart pounding.

"Sorry, baby. I feel like going on a Chase-Hunt and doing things to him that would make him regret he was ever born."

"Me too," she said, peering into the window, checking on Sarah, who was watching her favorite movie, Beauty and The Beast on Liberty's phone. "That's not all."

"Oh, God. What else?" he breathed heavily.

"I found pills."

"Pills?"

"Yeah. While Chase was downstairs with Sarah getting her a snack, I was in Luna's bedroom, and I stumbled upon a small tan box under the bed. I found several tiny pill bottles, all marked in her name."

"Luna was taking medication?"

Liberty nodded. "Not under her birth name, Luna Carlyle, but Luna Marquette. The medication I found was heavy sedatives. Benzodiazepine, and Valiums. Chase had been drugging Luna since they met."

"What!" Vikram yelled, causing a few onlookers to look their way.

"The earliest date for one bottle said five years ago. Chase wasn't giving her medication dated back then, but there were empty bottles with the date. Not long after that, he urged Luna and Sarah to move to New Orleans. I can distinctively remember an argument that broke out about him blaming her for holding him back from getting a job here."

"So he got his way by putting up a fight."

Liberty crossed her arms and paced back and forth. "Every time Luna called to tell me she didn't remember what time she fell asleep, Chase gave her a drug that made her pass out. I understand some people don't remember the exact time they fell asleep but not remembering the time frame was suspicious to me."

She stopped and took a breath, then continued. "I don't understand how we never saw these red flags."

"You are easier to detect people's behavior than I am. You're good at spotting anything suspicious," Vikram said, complimenting her. "He had everyone fooled, and now he has your parents."

"I don't know about that. There's still the video Chase probably had developed showing Luna speaking to the air at The Paris Room."

"Chase is a snake, and he continues to prove it."

"There's also someone who told me they've seen her talking to herself. But I think I know the source of Luna's delusions. Chase doused her down with pills repeatedly, so no wonder she might be seeing Sam again, or her new friend."

Vikram's eyebrows raised. "A new friend?"

"Luna made a new friend last year who sent her necklace with her name in Urdu. His name is Amir Khan." 

"He's the one who sent all the presents to them and not Mera's family?" 

Liberty nodded. "He's not invisible like Sam was, but she has made another friend. Someone real."

"She has never acted odd, except that day she and Chase drove off." 

She inhaled a breath and glanced at Sarah for a second. "I'm starting to make sense of things. I can't be certain until I see Luna. But I think she might need help, and we should try to have her moved to another facility."

"One in Houston?"

"Yeah," Liberty replied, trying to hold back a few tears from slipping through her eyes. "I just wish I knew what Chase's motive is, why he became so heartless."

"I think he was always that way. We just didn't see it."

She narrowed her eyes and sniffed, then met Vikram's stare. "We should go inside before her visiting hours are over." 

"Okay, baby. I'm here for you guys. You are my family."

"You are mine, too, Vik."

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"Dr. Kim?" Liberty asked, holding Sarah's shaky hand at the front door.

"Yes. I'm Dr. Kim. I've been expecting you," said the thin Asian man with a heavy stare.

The three of them followed him to an elevator and stepped forward, then he pressed a button for the seventh floor. While Sarah stood obediently and casually looked around, Liberty was sure her niece wondered why they were there. 

When the door slid open, a nurse with white scrubs strolled toward the opening and whispered something into Dr. Kim's ear. Then he turned his attention back to Liberty and Vikram. 

"Guys, this is Nurse Smith. Would it be all right if Sarah went with her to the children's ward? We need to have a little chat." 

"There is a children's ward here?" Liberty inquired, disturbed by that information.

"Of course. Anyone who suffers from something should be treated the same." 

"But there are actual prisoners in this building. People from local prisons are in here for whatever crime they committed. How could little children be assigned to this location? Who could have authorized this?" 

"I understand your concerns, Ms. Carlyle. Not to toot my own horn, but they've been admitted here so I can treat them. Just like my older patients," he said, smirking.

"Whatever. Can we see Luna now?" 

"I have something to discuss with you first." 

He nodded to his staff to take Sarah, but Liberty stepped in front of the nurse, shielding her body. 

"Vikram is here. He can watch Sarah outside or in another room. There's no need to send her to a children's ward."

"As you wish, Liberty. But you and I need to talk before you leave the property." 

"As much as I want to be in the same room, I don't mind watching Sarah," Vikram said, reaching for Sarah's hand. "I'd rather her stay with me instead of going to another part of this hospital."

While passing by several rooms with small windows in the doors, Liberty gazed at the patients who peeked out and smiled at them. She shielded Sarah's eyes, gradually making their way to Dr. Kim's office.

Coming to the bench, Liberty lowered her waist and looked Sarah in the eyes. "Listen, princess. Aunty Lib needs to chat with this man for a moment. Can you sit with Uncle Vik and behave for me?" 

Sarah nodded. "Can we see Mommy?"

"We will soon. I promise you," Liberty told her, hugging her gently. "We didn't come all this way not to see mummy," she added, clarifying they will see her before leaving for the day.

After taking a seat in front of his desk, she watched as he sat in his chair, folding his hands over a file that read Luna's name on the front. "Liberty, I'm concerned over the mental state of your sister."

"This place drives her crazy." She crossed her arms, annoyed by his tone. 

"I'm talking about before coming here, Ms. Carlyle. She's had it tough since her late boyfriend died."

"Yeah, she has. But Luna has gotten better. Why is she here?"

"Chase Marquette is her Health Care Appointed Personnel. He can make decisions concerning her health."

"Just him? Did you know that I'm on her healthcare directive, too?" Liberty countered.

"I have viewed the paperwork, but it states that Chase has the authority. He was written first, and you were added later."

"He and I should make these decisions together. It's up to me to decide what I think is best for my sister. She only signed for him to exit the last hospital she was in. I was out of the country visiting our mum. So, I should get a say about her needs. This is not the place for her."

One of his fingers moved up and then stilled. "You think you know this institution and what it's about, but you are mistaken."

"I honestly don't give two shits what you're selling here. This place is horrible and inhumane. I watch the news."

Dr. Kim scoffed. "You think so?" 

"I know so."

"You could try to understand this facility without having a negative view of it. Whatever you've read or heard about is completely fabricated. And half of it has been proven false allegations. We have treated dozens of patients in the world who are much better. They lead brighter lives. Luna could be one of them." 

Liberty's jaw clenched. "Luna has her daughter who misses her every day." 

"And Luna misses her. But what I need to discuss with you might change her fate. May we move on?" Dr. Kim said, and Liberty nodded back, noticing his annoyed gaze sharpen. "First, I want to be clear that you understand some methods performed in our hospital are only to help each individual. When I show you what I need to, you will hear the whole story." 

"I'm sure it's bull, but let's hear it." 

"It's not, Ms. Carlyle. There are patients here who are delusional. Luna seems to have another friend, and this one pops up often." 

Liberty's hand closed into a fist. "Sure. Okay." 

"I know you believe this place is a prison, but it's not. We have guards here for everyone's protection. Patients use whatever method they can to break out, and we have precautions in place."

"What does this have to do with Luna and her new friend?" 

Dr. Kim scooted closer. "Your sister is disturbed, and she is held here for her safety and anyone else she comes into contact with. I know you don't want to believe that, but there is so much you don't know. She can easily become unstable." 

"What is that supposed to mean?" 

"If she doesn't get the help she needs, she could cause injury to herself and others. Her mind isn't in the right place." 

"Really?" 

Liberty glanced down and turned her gaze at the cabinet on the floor, viewing several medicine bottles with syringes lying beside them. Then she brought her gaze back to his, snarling under her breath. "Shooting people up with God knows what isn't okay. Whatever you're rambling about will not make me change my mind about freeing Luna." 

"If you bring her home, it won't help. She needs to stay at St. Matthew's." 

Liberty's heart rate picked up. "Why? So you can treat her?"

"Sometimes these delusions stay within the mind of individuals and sometimes they fade. But Luna is far from having her mind freed from anything she sees inside her head. We can continue to help her, but she should stay in this environment until she shows progress."

"You're making it sound like she can't do anything on her own. She didn't choose this hospital. It was chosen for her," she spat.

"True, but by her legal health care appointed person." 

She shook her head, slowing the anger whirling inside her like a hurricane. "I am one of them. This decision was not up to me. You people are horrible." 

"We're only trying to help her." He leaned back, sliding his hands into his lap. "We're trying to study the source of her illness. She imagined her late boyfriend for two years until she was diagnosed and treated for her mental health." 

"The little voices inside her head will not tell her to do something stupid, Dr. Kim." 

"We've tested her, and in one of her therapy sessions, she screamed out a man's name, professing how she will go after Mr. Marquette." 

Liberty leaned forward with her eyes lining up with his. "What are you going on about?" 

Dr. Kim held a hand up, warding off a staff member behind them. "Luna has proven to show signs of being extremely dangerous. She almost slit an artery in her throat because I was trying to have a decent conversation with her. That showed she is unstable." 

"You try getting admitted into a place you didn't choose. I don't blame her for feeling vulnerable here." 

"Luna could have bled out and died if she nicked the right artery." 

"But she didn't," Liberty seethed. 

"That's only because she had her imaginary friend there, Ms. Carlyle. Whoever he is had calmed her down." 

"And how do you know that?" 

Liberty watched as Dr. Kim pointed to his computer screen showing her sister strapped to a bed, mumbling in her sleep. There wasn't audio to the tape, but there was a clear vision of her face. 

"That video was taken shortly after she was brought in. This is one of the many security-controlled rooms we have in the building. This is inside the Red Security Ward."

"Red Security Ward?"

"This ward is monitored for various reasons."

Liberty patted down her hair and flipped it to the side. "Go on."

She felt like going Lara Croft on him, but she held back.

"One of our biggest concerns when bringing in a new patient is finding out whom they are speaking with," he began. "We take this process seriously, and we go through several rounds of testing to figure out the causes for delusions." 

Liberty figured he was lying since he reacted the way he did after she brought up taking Luna to a different facility, possibly closer to her home in Texas. Other doctors have never acted this way about Luna's care, and she wasn't caring to hear anything else he had to say. Nevertheless, he continued his speech.

"Luna has been continuously talking to someone who isn't near her. She could do something outrageous by that little voice inside her head." 

"If she is talking to someone, it's because she has this place, and she needs someone to talk to." 

"You think so?" He punched a button on the keyboard, and the sound came on as she heard Luna utter a name. 

Who was Faisal?

Luna's body was sticky and sweaty as she was thrashing around in her bed. The audio wasn't clear to make out what was said, but it was clear that Luna was worried about a man.

Then the video shifted to Dr. Kim and his staff warding her off from harming herself. 

Liberty gasped. 

Luna mouthed a thank you to the air, then calmed down a little.

"No one was near her and she was ushered to bring her hand down," Dr. Kim continued. "This is Sergeant Decker. He is her appointed guard and has monitored her everywhere since that incident."

"She could be monitored by the tooth fairy. I don't care. This place is nuts."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Dr. Kim said.

"Can I see my sister now?" Liberty asked.

"All right. You will have a thirty-minute visit, considering I held you up," the doctor told her, staring her way.

Liberty hopped up and paced to the door, then took Sarah's hand as Vikram stood to his feet.

Before walking off, Dr. Kim stopped her by pulling her arm. "Just remember, Luna might seem stable, but she isn't mentally." 

"Luna isn't that unstable. She needs an escape when the world around her is in flames. All those videos show that there are people who need help, and this facility is the wrong one for them. It's wrong for Luna." 

One thin eyebrow raised. "Delusional people can be unpredictable." 

"So can non-delusional people." 

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