Unexpected: Day 19

Word Count: 130,013

Summary of Events:

Hiding under the blankets the following morning, Hilton and Meinwen checked the news on Hilton's mobile, which revealed to them that Hilton's message had been received, and the authorities had decided to be more discreet on where it'd come from this time around. Following lunch, Hilton and Meinwen were taken to a torture chamber and strapped into chairs, from which they were expected to watch the woman torture Dr. Stiles. During the torture, Hilton actually asked the woman what Dr. Stiles had done to her, and she answered without stopping her torture, which helped to distract her from the fact that Hilton and Meinwen were both too reviled by her actions to watch. The following day Hilton and Meinwen were, again, brought to the torture chamber, where Hilton removed his mobile from its hiding place against his foot and, in the short time they had with Dr. Stiles before the woman arrived, questioned Dr. Stiles . . . 

Excerpt of the Day:

“Considering the allegations made against you yesterday, Dr. Stiles, I would like to take advantage of the moment to enquire after their veracity,” Hilton said, sounding rather like a criminal prosecutor.

“What?” Dr. Stiles asked, somewhat weakly.

“Your captor alleges that you had a child with her,” Hilton said, his voice a little louder, like he was speaking to someone hard of hearing. “Is that true?”

“Yes,” Dr. Stiles replied. “Unfortunately yes.”

“Why do you say it is unfortunate?” Hilton asked.

“Kalifa was just my masseuse,” Dr. Stiles replied. “I went to her for a good time, not responsibility. Had enough kids with my wife.”

“So what did you do when you found out that she was pregnant?” Hilton asked. “How did you know it was yours?”
“Al… Al had connections to the parlour, where she worked,” Dr. Stiles replied. “I don’t know what kind. He just had connections. And they told him she hadn’t been servicing anyone else.”

Dr. Stiles had called his brother Al in Cardiff. Mr. Stiles was involved? Meinwen looked at Hilton, but he was fixed on Dr. Stiles.

“So what did you do?” Hilton asked.

“Well, I wasn’t able to get confirmation soon enough as to whether it was mine or not,” Dr. Stiles replied. “Otherwise I would’ve made Kalifa get an abortion, even though she was practically ecstatic about the thing.”

Meinwen recoiled. Thing? But it was a baby! People didn’t even call their pet dogs or cats things!

“So I bought some vitamins,” Dr. Stiles said. “Some adult ones, and some baby ones, and I switched them into each other’s bottles. Al took me to Kalifa’s place and I gave her the baby vitamin bottle.”

“With the adult vitamins in it?” Hilton asked.

“Yeah,” Dr. Stiles replied. “And then I found a new masseuse.”

“Just nonchalantly like that!?” Meinwen cried, too horrified to keep silent. “How could you be such a monster!? That was a life!”

“Considering the way my wife reacted when our daughter told her I’d been gone overnight the entire week she’d been in Florida visiting her mother after her heart attack, that’s a chance I’m glad I didn’t take,” Dr. Stiles replied.

“How did your wife react?” Hilton asked.

“She divorced me, moved back to Florida with the kids,” Dr. Stiles replied. “She didn’t even bother to find out who I’d been sleeping with.”

“You committed murder to avoid a divorce!?” Meinwen asked.

“I didn’t actually do it,” Dr. Stiles replied, seemingly unbothered.

“But you knew it would happen!” Meinwen cried. “You knew it would be the result!”

“But I didn’t do it,” Dr. Stiles replied.

“That doesn’t matter!” Meinwen cried, sobs choking off her ability to say more.

“A court of law would convict you, and I’m sure you know it,” Hilton said, sounding livid. “I am ashamed to have wasted my life on even a microgram of concern for you. I see well and clearly why that woman calls you evil, not that she isn’t too, but you’re just sickening.”