Chương 7: The Healer.
Doctor Stone nodded. "But I have to warn you, this healer… he's not cheap. And he requires…discretion."
Anna and Cliff sat surprised in Doctor Stone's office. They had come for a session, following Anna's diagnosis.
Cliff frowned as Anna asked. "What do you mean doctor?"
Doctor Stone leaned forward, his voice dropping. "What I mean Anna, is that if you want this information, you have to pay for it."
Anna's eyes widened in shock. "You want me to pay you, to tell me about some quack healer?"
Doctor Stone shrugged. "Call it what you will, but this man… is the real deal. And if you want to come out, whole and quick from this diagnosis, it comes with a small price."
Cliff's face darkened immediately.
"We'll think about it, Doctor Stone." His mockery was evident. He took Anna's hand in his and they stood up. Doctor Stone slid his card on his desk toward Anna. "I just want to help. Call me when you think about it."
Anna hesitated for a moment, before picking the purple card up. "Okay." She said, and Cliff dragged her out of the office.
"Slow down, Cliff." Anna protested, as she struggled to keep up with his pace.
They stood outside the building, the wind ruffled Cliff's brown hair as he stood with his hands akimbo. He was mad.
"What kind of sick doctor did you bring me to Anna?" He was seething.
Anna was also surprised, but tried to calm herself.
She was about to speak when his phone rang. He answered it, and his face quickly turned to worry. He nodded before ending the call.
"Umm," he tried to relax his voice. Sigh. "Something came up at the studio. I have to go. Can you…"
"I can handle myself. Thank you for the ride."
She waved at Cliff, as he pulled out of the parking lot.
She looked around, and then at the card in her hands.
She wondered what kind of healer Doctor Stone referred to.
Should she meet him? Would she ever be that desperate? She walked towards the side of the building, where a mini park was located; and sat on a pink-coloured wooden bench, under a tree. She took a deep breath and began to ponder her options.
She wanted a solution, and fast. She kept glancing at the building, lost in thought.
Doctor Stone came out during lunch and was surprised to see Anna, sitting outside the building grounds.
The warm sun rays highlighted her beautiful features, through spots between leaves of the tree
His eyes gleamed with a knowing intensity, and he smirkef. So she didn't think he was bluffing after all.
Anna, who was lost in her thoughts, didn't see him walk up to her.
"Miss Anna?" He asked pleasantly.
Anna's head lifted, to see Doctor Liam Stone, standing in front of her.
"Doctor!" She said in an alarm.
"Are you carefully weighing your options?" He asked bemused.
She remained silent, and lowered her head.
He took a seat beside her. "I only want to help Anna, and trust me, he's not a quack." He said gently.
"Tell me about him." She asked politely.
"Ever heard of TAE?" She raised an eyebrow.
"You mean 'The Avidon Empire'? Of course, who doesn't know TAE?" She replied, rolling her eyes at him internally.
"I worked with the CEO of TAE for a few years." He said looking away, as if remembering something sad.
Doctor Stone got fired for misconduct from the company. Reminiscing about it all, he pressed hard into his index finger. He would have been head of Nexus– the health and natural resource research department, if he hadn't been so impatient in his plans.
Anna paused, and thought. It added up quickly. Earlier, he said that he worked with the healer for a few years. She sat up straight as the bulb lit in her head.
"You mean, the CEO of TAE, IS the healer?" Her eyes lit up in surprise.
He nodded. Anna was blown away. Was this really true?. Because, you have to be insane to randomly lie about the CEO of TAE!
Slhe was still curious, Not many people have seen the man before. So she asked again, cautiously.
"How do you know he's a healer?"
The doctor looked around for any eavesdropper, before continuing.
"While I worked there, there was an accident in Nexus, the health and natural resource department, and one of the board members, tripped and broke his head, before the entire staff of the third level. The CEO ordered, that he be taken to a special room. I was sent to access the man, as a practising doctor, but when I got to the room, he looked perfectly fine. He told me that the boss healed him."
Anna sat back, and forced herself not to scoff at the man. She kept her eyes on him, not knowing how to express her disappointment at his uncrafty story.
Maybe he was one of those doctors, who make up stories, to raise their patient's spirit's and steal from them.
Doctor Stone sensed her unbelief before adding.
"Of course I thought he was bluffing, until I suffered a deep cut on my wrist," he showed her the scar. "It happened at the time he inspected the various departments. I was so lucky that day. He called me aside, and healed me. Before my very eyes, my flesh closed up."
He pulled out his phone from his pocket, and opened a file. Only a handful of people, knew about this, and it was top secret in the company. Anyone who disclosed it, would surely pay with their lives. But he wanted Anna to understand the situation.
Anna was torn between her thoughts. She didn't believe him, but another part of her desperately wished he was telling the truth.
He opened the file in his phone, and a video popped up.
"I had to bribe the security agent, on duty on that day, with a huge price to get this video." He pressed play. "Watch this Anna," his voice low and persuasive. Then she leaned in to see.
The video looked like it was recorded on a surveillance camera. It showed a man, with an imposing structure. He was standing in a green, sleek room, with another man on the exam bed. Blood gushed out profusely from his head.
Anna recognized the logo behind the bed– TAE, the powerful cooperation that seemed to have its fingers in everyone's pie. She resolved that the man standing was Mr Truce Avidon, the CEO and her heart fluttered in her chest.
He was backing the camera in the video, but didn't cover up all the space. He placed his hands on the man's head, who was lying still, like a corpse, at the time. He began to hum a strange melody. Just then, she noticed a soft, pulsing light, emanated from his hands.
The man lying on the bed, gently opened his eyes in wonder, as his body began to glow with a gentle, white light. The man's head slowly closed up, and a look of peace washed over his face.
Anna's eyes widened with disbelief, breathing the words out,
"What man is this?"
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