Chapter 565: Charming Ian

"Finally," Ian remarked as soon as Aria and Preston entered his office. "I was about to come looking for you, Aria. I thought you were lost." He teased, and Aria rolled her eyes at his pathetic attempt.

Ian then glanced at the man beside her with a frown, not understanding what he was planning. But more or less, he had an inkling of the feelings he had for his friend and colleague. It was as evident as the bay in his eyes. 

Unlike Ian who had a skeptical gaze, Valerie smiled at her friend mischievously. She raised her brows playfully at him when their eyes met, exactly understanding what the man wanted. Preston too smiled back at her, his eyes rejoicing at the first step he had taken.

Aria had no idea about the silent conversation that was taking place between the man beside her and the only other lady in the room. She just wanted to escape from Ian's teasing. So, she tactically changed the topic of conversation.

"Miss Evans, we have something to discuss with you." Aria started only to be interrupted by a knock at the door. 

"Let me in too. You guys completely forgot me." Ivy barged in before she closed the door after her. She greeted Valerie and Preston with whom she had become quite acquainted before she nodded at Ian to go ahead.

"Linda's death is not as normal as it seems to be." Ian started, taking charge of the situation this time. He had completely shed his calm demeanor, and now he had become intimidating and fierce. The sudden shift did not bother Aria or Ivy, for they had been well accustomed to the way he behaved. However, that could not be said the same about Valerie.

She was visibly stunned by the shift in him, and for a moment, she stared at him in awe. This was the first time, she was meeting him. Yet, she did not know why she found him likable and attractive. The man had a certain charm to him that made Valerie give him special attention.

Valerie took a good look at the doctor. Standing tall and proud with a height she preferred, Ian sure was a charismatic man. Since the time she had begun working at the Intelligence, Valerie had met a lot of people. But none carried a torch to the man she was seeing before her, and for the first time, she felt her being attracted to someone of the opposite sex. The feeling was weird but she did not dislike it.

"Would you mind telling us all that you know, Doctor?" Preston took a step forward, his face now completely serious.

"She was admitted to the hospital early in the morning, and it was our colleague here who attended to her." Ian pointed at Stuart, who nodded at the two people he was meeting for the first time. "We do not know why but the patient asked to speak to Dr. West. It was completely unexpected that she asked for her when Dr. West does not even know her."

Now it was Aria's turn to nod, and she took over from there. "Yes. I haven't met her before. Heck, I had not even heard about her before for me to know about her."

Preston stifled a smile on seeing Aria's agitated expression and her choice of words. 'How cute!!' He thought to himself, staring at her a little longer than necessary.

"It was only when she mentioned my sister's name to Doctor Lee here that we found out how she knew it. But it was still suspicious that she approached me when she did not even know me before, and as far as I know, my sister never pulls me into trouble due to her work. Not many people know that I am her sister."

Valerie nodded at her, understanding what Aria was trying to convey. But she was still not sure how this was all related to Linda's death.

"We did not know what the patient wanted off me. So, Dr. Davis accompanied me, and barely a few moments after we left the ward, Linda's allergic reaction triggered."

Everything clicked. The puzzle in Valerie's mind settled, and she immediately discerned what had happened. "Doctor West, are you trying to say that Linda wanted to frame you for her death?"

'Smart.' Ivy thought to herself, not once butting in the conversation that did not belong to her. She just watched Ian and Aria handle it.

"Either the patient wanted to trap me or there must be somebody else who is behind it. Any which way, the first person who would be doubted would be me. I mean us." Aria pointed to herself and Ian. "For we were the last ones to leave the ward."

"Ivy, do you know the patient?" Valerie now shifted her gaze towards the girl, who had been silent since the conversation started.

"Yes, I do. Do you remember the scandal regarding the Good City Clinic, the one that brought this matter regarding organ trafficking issue to the public's eyes again after almost three years?"

"Yes, I do." How could Valerie forget that matter? It was from that day onwards that things started changing and their country started to face a lot of troubles, which kept occurring one by one.

"I was the one who captured the video regarding the head of the clinic involved in these matters," Ivy revealed to the people who did not know about it.

Valerie and Preston were visibly surprised to know about it. But to them, it was not that shocking for they had seen her skills in matters like these. She sure knew how to do her job, and every time, it had been splendid and explosive. 

Stuart was the only one who was shocked beyond belief. Although at the time this issue had popped up, he was not in the country, he still had heard about it and to think that Ivy had single-handedly divulged the crimes happening in that hospital made him look at her in a new light. He could not help but be proud of her even though he barely knew her.

"As admirable it is to learn about it, I still do not understand where this is going, Ivy."

"It was Linda who revealed about the Good City Clinic. Apparently, she had become a victim of their schemes, and she wanted to seek justice using the media for the police refused to hear her plants."

"I see." Valerie mused. "From your expression, I presume there is more to this."

"Yes, there is. We scheduled an interview with her the next day but she did not make it in time. She just disappeared suddenly, and after a lot of days, I found her in a cafe. But she ran away the moment she saw me for reasons I do not know. When we finally caught up with her, she was in some strange club. She was inhaling drugs due to which the police arrested her."

"That explains why she was in prison," Preston remarked from the side.

"I went to meet her to ask her why she had not made it to the interview. But all she did was cook up a story regarding her deceased sister being a victim of the organ trafficking mafia and her intention to provide justice for her, only to be threatened to give. I haven't spoken to her after this."

"Hmm. Aria," Valerie dropped the honorifics completely.  "How did Linda die? What triggered her allergic reaction?"

"Linda is allergic to aspirin, and her body has traces of aspirin and aspirin alone. We did not find anything else during tests."

"Were you informed of her allergy?"

"Yes, we were. We had a list of medicines she was allergic to."

"Then, who gave her aspirin? Did you do it by mistake or did she consume it herself to frame you?"

Aria was just about to speak about this matter when Stuart stepped forward. "I did. I gave her the medicine that triggered her allergy."

Valerie and Preston were at loss for words at Stuart's revelation, and they did not know what to make out of it. This was the first time in their career they were seeing the culprit accept his crimes without being forced to.

'Was that even possible?' They wondered. Why were all the criminals not this cooperative?

"I don't get it." Valerie finally admitted her defeat.

"I think you would like to see this video to get a clear picture of what might have happened, Miss Evans." Ian turned his computer towards her and played the video footage.

Valerie and Preston watched it carefully and finally, they understood what the problem was. Someone had brilliantly trapped the doctor over here, and it was now a difficult mission to get him out of it.