By now, Murphy was completely in the mood for sex and had taken off his shirt entirely. Following this, Murphy gestured for Lily to kneel down and give him a blowjob. However, Lily was utterly shocked after seeing the "Marry" tattoo on Murphy's chest, and at that moment, several questions were running through her mind. Lily pulled away from Murphy and said, "Look, I have some work, I can't do all this with you right now." Saying this, Lily began straightening her clothes. Murphy was completely dumbfounded by Lily's sudden behavior and could not understand what had suddenly happened to her that made her behave this way. Lily fixed her clothes and walked out of Murphy's bedroom. Standing half-naked in the room, Murphy simply watched Lily leave.
As Lily descended the stairs, she sent a text message to both of her friends' phones: "I need to tell you both something. Meet me by the car quickly. Something is Urgent."
Meanwhile, George was also fully in the mood and felt that perhaps Claire was also ready to have sex with him. It was then that Claire noticed a photograph hanging on the wall in George's office. From the name written in the photograph, she realized that the picture was of George, Murphy, and the hospital staff, and standing with them was "Marry Thomas." Claire was a little confused seeing this—if Marry had written an article against this hospital, then why was she standing with the hospital staff and the owner in this photograph, clicking a photo so happily? Just then, Claire's phone rang. She saw that Lily had called her to urgently meet by the car. Immediately grabbing her purse, she said to George, "Mr. Peterson! Sorry, but I have to leave urgently. My friend messaged me, maybe she's not feeling well." Saying this, Claire rushed out of the office. George, who was making a drink for himself and Claire at that moment, was left standing and watching.
On the other side, Stephnie had also received the message sent by Lily and had arrived at the car, where Lily was already standing, waiting for both her friends.
"What happened, Lily? Why did you suddenly call me outside? Is everything alright, or did that Murphy misbehave with you?" Stephnie asked, looking at Lily.
"I texted both you and Claire. Let Claire arrive, then I'll tell you everything. Until then, start the car; we are leaving for the motel right now," Lily said, looking towards the mansion's door.
Stephnie unlocked and started the car, and by then, Claire also reached them. Lily signaled Claire to get into the car, and the three of them drove off towards their motel. For a little while, there was absolute silence in the car. Then, Stephnie questioned Lily, "Now that Claire is here, will you finally tell us what suddenly happened?"
As soon as Stephnie asked this, Lily narrated the entire incident to her two friends, from going into the bedroom with Murphy to coming out of it.
"Oh! Something is suspicious. Because I was also with George in his office, and there I also saw a picture of Marry where she was standing with the hospital staff, and with Murphy and George. The strange thing was that Marry looked quite happy in that photo. Even though Marry had written an article against this hospital, then what suddenly happened that Marry befriended Murphy and the hospital people and started supporting them?" Claire shared her observation.
The three girls were completely confused about what the hospital's mystery actually was, as new secrets were emerging with every passing moment. Thinking along these lines, the three girls reached their motel and began to step out of the car.
"By the way, Claire, what exactly were you doing alone with George in his office?" Lily asked teasingly, trying to lighten the tense mood.
"Exactly what you went to Murphy's bedroom for," Claire replied playfully, laughing.
"So, you've fallen for Murphy's father now? Come on, Claire — that man is twice your age!" Stephnie said, looking at Claire in disbelief.
"It's not what you think, Stephnie," Claire explained quickly. "Yes, it's true that George wanted to get physical with me — that's why he took me alone to his office. But I went there only to dig up some information from him."
Before anyone could say anything else, a voice suddenly came from behind, startling all three girls.
"Excuse me, ladies! Can we talk for a moment?" It was Fedrick, standing right behind them.
"Fedrick? What are you doing here outside our motel so late at night? Your shift should have already started — it's 11:05 p.m.," Stephnie asked, surprised to see him there.
"I needed to talk to you," Fedrick said in a low tone. "I took the night off because I think I can help you. The answers you're looking for — I have them. Maybe I can help you uncover the truth."
"What answers? And what kind of help are you talking about — and why would you want to help us?" Claire asked, puzzled.
Fedrick fell silent for a moment, his eyes scanning around cautiously before he spoke again. "Look, I can't tell you everything here. You'll have to come with me to my house — it's not far from here." He gestured with his hand toward a direction down the dimly lit road.
The girls exchanged uncertain glances. It was already 11:20 p.m., and none of them were sure if going with him that late was a good idea. But then Lily spoke up, breaking the hesitation.
"Fine, let's go to your place. You can tell us what answers you're talking about — and why you're so eager to help," she said firmly.
With that, the three women followed Fedrick on foot toward his house. After about ten minutes of walking through the quiet, dark road, they stopped in front of an old, worn-out house. The paint had turned almost black from years of rain and sunlight, and there were no other houses nearby. Only about five hundred meters away, a small restaurant stood under a flickering signboard that read "Clown's Treat Restaurant."
Fedrick explained that this was his home, and the restaurant belonged to his friend Marvick — who was currently out of town. "Marvick stays with me when he's here," he added casually as he unlocked the rusty door and gestured for them to come inside.
The moment the girls stepped in, a strong smell of alcohol hit them. They immediately understood that Fedrick was a habitual drinker.
"Please, have a seat," he said politely. "I'll get you some water and something to eat." With that, he disappeared into the kitchen.
While he was gone, Claire began walking around the small, dim living room, glancing curiously at the things on the shelves. Stephnie and Lily sank into the worn-out couch nearby.
Claire's eyes soon caught a stack of papers lying on a wooden shelf. She picked one up — it was a promotion letter signed by George Peterson himself. The letter stated that, in recognition of Fedrick's exceptional service and contributions to the hospital, he was being promoted from a regular peon to the position of Night Incharge.
Claire frowned. It didn't make sense. How could an ordinary peon suddenly be promoted to such a high position unless he had done something major — something that greatly benefited the hospital?
Just then, Fedrick returned from the kitchen, carrying a tray with glasses of water and some snacks. He placed them neatly on the table and sat down in a chair next to them.
"Let's skip all these formalities, Mr. Fedrick," Stephnie said firmly, looking him straight in the eye. "Just tell us how exactly you can help us — and what's in it for you?"
By now, Claire had also come over and sat down beside her two friends on the couch.
"I know you're here to find out about Marry Thomas," Fedrick began. "So I'll tell you everything I know about her. Marry Thomas was a journalist. About five or six years ago, she wrote an online article accusing our hospital of being involved in human organ trafficking. When that article started spreading and damaging the hospital's reputation, our managing director, Mr. Murphy Peterson, went to meet her at her office."
Fedrick paused briefly, picked up his glass of water, took a sip, and continued, "When Mr. Peterson met her, Marry clarified her intentions. She told him she had written that article only because she wanted to meet him. When Mr. Peterson asked her why she wanted to meet him, she demanded fifty thousand dollars. At that time, he said nothing and returned to the hospital. But a few days later, Marry came to the hospital herself and demanded an answer. Mr. Peterson didn't want a false article to ruin the hospital's reputation, so he gave her the fifty thousand dollars. After that, she published a public apology letter — and then disappeared. No one knows where she went after that."
"But I saw Murphy had Marry's name tattooed on his chest," Lily said immediately, confronting Fedrick.
"Yes," Fedrick nodded. "Because when Marry stayed here with us for a few days, our MD, Mr. Peterson, started liking her. But he didn't know she was a manipulative woman. She trapped him in love, took money from him, and then vanished. After that, our MD was in deep depression for quite some time — he stopped meeting people altogether. But with time, his pain healed, and he slowly returned to managing the hospital again. When he and Marry were in love, he got her name tattooed on his chest — because he truly wanted to marry her."
The three girls sat silently, completely confused. Everything they had believed about Marry Thomas was now upside down. Until this moment, they thought Marry was a brave journalist — a woman who stood against injustice and corruption. But according to Fedrick's story, she was a fraud — a woman who used love to deceive and extort money.
After hearing everything, the girls stood up to leave. But just as they were heading toward the door, Fedrick suddenly asked, "Did you three also hear that scream from the hospital last night?"
"Yes!" Stephnie's eyes widened. "Whose scream was that?"
"Oh, that," Fedrick said with a dismissive smile. "Yesterday, a few of the hospital staff were watching a horror movie in the staff room. The announcement speaker was accidentally left on, and the sound of the movie got broadcast through the hospital intercom — that's what you must have heard."
The three women exchanged glances. They knew Fedrick was deliberately trying to mislead them. Without saying another word, they stepped out of his house and started walking back toward their motel.
"Stephnie," Claire said quietly as they walked under the dim streetlights, "this mystery is getting more and more complicated. Every person we've met so far seems to be hiding something. Every story points in a different direction. Something terrible happened in that hospital — something truly horrifying — but it's still buried beneath lies."
"You're absolutely right," Stephnie replied, her voice tense. "And honestly, I've never trusted that Fedrick. From the very beginning, he hasn't seemed like a good man to me. Every time we try to dig deeper into this hospital's secrets, he keeps stepping in and trying to block our way."
At that moment, Lily was completely silent, lost somewhere in her thoughts. Seeing her like that, Claire smiled faintly and asked, "What happened, Miss Beautiful? Where have you drifted off to?"
"Nothing," Lily replied softly. "I was just thinking… Marry already got those fifty thousand dollars, right? Then why did she pretend to be in love with Murphy? And if she really was doing it for money, why didn't she just marry him? If she had married Murphy and then divorced him, she could've demanded a massive alimony — money that Murphy would've been legally bound to pay."
"You're right," Claire said, nodding. "But you remember, don't you? When Murphy's wife filed for divorce, she didn't get any money… and then she died. I think whatever's happening inside that hospital — all those haunted things — the real reason behind it is Murphy Peterson. And Fedrick is misleading us just to protect his boss. You know, Fedrick was just a peon once — but five years ago, he suddenly got promoted to Night Incharge. That's why I think he's staying loyal to Murphy."
Talking about all this, the three girls finally reached their motel room. The clock now showed 1:30 a.m.
Stephnie turned to Claire. "Do you really believe what Fedrick said — that the scream we heard was just a sound from a movie?"
Before Claire could answer, Lily spoke up. "Actually, yesterday when I asked a few locals about it, none of them mentioned anything paranormal. No one told me they heard any screams either."
Claire felt herself growing more and more confused. What exactly was the mystery behind this hospital? And that scream she'd heard last night — was it really from a person in pain, or was it truly the sound from some movie, as Fedrick claimed?
As they discussed everything, Lily and Stephnie eventually drifted off to sleep, exhausted from the long day. But sleep was far from Claire's eyes. She kept thinking about how, even after meeting George, she still hadn't asked him a single question about her father.
Pacing slowly around the room, Claire stopped near the window and looked outside — her gaze instinctively drawn toward the third floor of the hospital.
Suddenly, her breath caught in her throat. For a brief moment, Claire felt as though her heart had stopped beating. The same scream echoed through the night — the same one she'd heard the night before.
But strangely, this time, neither Stephnie nor Lily woke up, even though the sound was loud enough to shake the walls.
Then Claire's eyes fixed on the third-floor window of that locked room — and she froze. There, in the dim light, stood a dark, human-shaped female shadow. For a moment, the shadow and Claire stared at each other — and then, in an instant, the figure vanished.
Claire's trembling hand went to her wristwatch. The time was exactly 3:03 a.m.