Cop To Mafia

CHAPTER 3 – Reflection on the mirror

CHAPTER 3 – Reflection in the mirror

Cherry’s POV

“How are you feeling, Ms. Evie?” the doctor who had on a light blue surgical mask asked. I gulped hard and consciously started breathing heavily to check if I had gone to heaven or was still alive. Then, I blinked a few times and slowly looked at my lower body. I was dressed in a hospital gown with a blanket over me. My arm had a saline drip tube attached to it while a few other wires were attached to my chest. Those wires led to a bunch of weird machines and the beeping of those machines was the only noise that broke the silence between me and the medical staff.

Who is Evie? Is it a case of mistaken identity? Did they accidentally switch my details with a patient named Evie? I couldn’t point out their error and ask them such a harsh question. On top of that, there were no familiar faces in the room. Finally, I cleared my throat and opened my mouth to speak. But, my mouth and throat were dry, so I tapped my throat to show them that I needed to drink some water.

“Nurse, please give her a glass of water,” the doctor instructed the nurse, and she quickly approached me with it. Completely dehydrated, I gulped down and emptied the whole glass before handing it back to the nurse. I wiped my mouth with the back of my palm and started to contemplate how I should start the conversation.

“Can you speak, Ms. Evie?” the doctor asked, repeating the same dreaded name.

Cherry, if you keep your damn mouth shut, it will lead to a big mess! So, before something terrible happens, speak! My mind alerted me of the possible unfavorable outcome.

“Doctor, I am feeling good, but are you sure that you are checking on the correct patient?” I asked, arching my eyebrows at him in curiosity.

“Nurse, pass me the bed report.” The female nurse quickly handed over a file into the doctor’s hand.

“Ms. Evie Clerk, 23 years old, was admitted to this hospital due to sudden heart failure and immediately sent into surgery for a heart transplant.” My eyes widened with the description he was reading off the chart.

A heart transplant!

“But, I am not—” Before I could finish my sentence, two people barged into my hospital room.

“Evie, baby! How are you feeling now? Oh, we were so scared, my angel. Are you in any pain?” a middle-aged woman with brown hair asked worriedly as she kissed me all over my face. Standing next to her was a man who was looking at me carefully.

Oh no. This is going to be a f*****g serious thing now! Who the f**k is this Evie? The man looked familiar to me, compared to the woman who was kissing me crazily. My eyes fixated on the man standing close to my bed and holding my hand.

“I…I…” I stuttered. I was in absolute shock about what was happening around me. I wanted to scream out and declare that I was Cherry Wayne, a cop of Washington PD, but I was also confused about the new label of Evie Clerk.

“Doctor, how is she?” the man asked the doctor, his eyes narrowed in seriousness.

“Mr. Michael, according to the reports and tests that have been done by the hospital, she is completely fine. The heart transplant was successful even though it took more than eight hours. The heart we received belonged to a strong woman,” the doctor explained.

“Whose heart was it? I want to thank her family and reward them,” the man standing next to me said.

The doctor shook his head. “I am sorry, Mr. Clerk. I can’t reveal their identity. But, I will convey your message to them.”

“Do tell them that I am forever indebted to them,” the person called Mr. Clerk expressed, his voice laced with sincerity.

Nodding his head, the doctor shifted his attention to me. “I will. Now, Ms. Evie, you have to stay for another two days here while we monitor your new transplanted heart. We need to see if your body and blood system accept the heart with no complications.”

So, I have gone through heart transplant surgery. It makes sense that after the bullets penetrated my body they had to do surgery. But, still, I have to find out who this Evie is.

“If you need anything just press this bell near your bed and a nurse will come to your aid. I will come to check on you every six hours until you get discharged,” the doctor clarified, his voice both composed and comforting.

“What if I want to go to the bathroom?” I asked immediately.

“Just ring the bell and the nurse will come to help you to the bathroom,” he said with a smile. I knew he was smiling under his mask because the corners of his eyes started to wrinkle.

“Thank you, Doctor.” Mr. Clerk shook his hand and the doctor left the room. As soon as he went out, the middle-aged woman sat on my bed beside me and caressed my hair.

“I will comb your hair.” She stood up from the bed, opened her bag, and pulled out an expensive-looking comb. Is that a gold-plated comb or an actual gold comb?

Curious, I started scanning her appearance from top to bottom. Her outfit and her jewelry clearly displayed the luxurious life they were living. The man with blue eyes was still looking at me, his gaze drilling holes in my body. His calm nature and strong aura alerted me to be careful when I dealt with him.

“Can you tell me what happened to me?” I asked while the lady combed my hair.

“Evie, you are our only precious daughter. We were so worried and scared when you suddenly collapsed on the ground. When we hospitalized you, the doctors immediately ran a few tests and found out that your heart had failed, but it wasn’t something sudden. The doctor said that there should have been some symptoms that started to show a long time ago,” she explained before pushing a part of my hair in front, letting it fall onto my chest.

What the hell? When did I become a brunette? How could this be possible? I am a blonde and my hair is not this long. It was only long enough to touch the middle of my back. Where did I get this long brown hair?

Alarmed, I quickly reached out and let my fingers graze it. Things were getting serious. First, the doctor called me with a different name, then some strangers lunged themselves at me, and lastly, I found out that I was suddenly a long-haired brunette.

“Evie, baby, are you listening to me? Why aren’t you talking to me? At least talk to your Dad,” the lady said, her eyebrows scrunched up in worry.

As soon as she said that, I understood that the two people in front of me were the so-called Evie’s parents.

What is happening here? Am I in a different world? I have heard about parallel worlds, but do they exist? Did I time travel?

“Evie, are you listening to me?” The man called Mr. Clerk suddenly shook my shoulder. Snapping out of my daze, I looked up at him with surprise.

“What are you thinking about so much, Evie?” he asked, his eyebrows arched at me.

“Michael, just give her some time. She just woke up and is still recovering from her surgery. She could still be in shock,” the lady retorted with concern.

Oh yes, lady, you are absolutely right. I am in shock and confused about what is happening.

“I am hungry,” I blurted out to change the topic.

“Of course, sweetheart, you should be hungry. You haven’t eaten anything since yesterday,” she replied, before running her comb through my hair for the last time. I looked at the brunette's hair and sighed.

Getting up to prepare the food, she continued, “Come, I will feed you.”

“I think I would rather the nurse helped me than you,” I retorted when I saw her preparing herself to feed me.

“Evie, why are you being so rude to your mom? You are totally different today! What has happened to you after the surgery?” the man, who had taken a seat on the sofa, stood up and confronted me in a rude tone.

Who the hell does he think he is? How can he talk to me like that?

Annoyed at his behavior, I started to mentally curse him, gritting my teeth in silence.

“Michael, it’s okay. Just relax,” the lady said, calming her husband down.

Exhaling sharply, I looked at the lady apologetically. “I am sorry. I didn’t mean to be insensitive to you. The reason I said that is because, since they have plugged in so many machines on my body to monitor me, it’s better to use their support in these matters.” The man’s body jolted back in surprise at my words.

“What did you say, Evie? Did you just apologize to Mom?” the man asked, his eyes still wide with disbelief.

Shrugging my shoulders, I nodded my head. “Yes, I said that I was sorry. What’s the big deal? Saying sorry costs nothing to me.”

“I wonder if your new transplant could be giving positive triggers to you.” The man scoffed and shook his head.

Pushing his words aside, I observed him carefully. His hawk-like eyes and average-sized, tall figure indicated that he was a regular visitor of the gym. His navy blue suit and grey pants portrayed how wealthy he was. The silver Armani watch engraved with diamonds was the exact model I desired to purchase for my dad one day, but I knew that the salary I was receiving from the police department wasn’t enough. It looked like only a billionaire, smuggler or member of the mafia could afford it.

Billionaires or mafia? The thought suddenly hit the core of my mind at lightning speed.

Shit! F**k! The person who was standing in front of me was none other than the famous billionaire, businessman, and mafia king, Michael Clerk!

He was the ultimate, most wanted mafia king by every police department, but none of them could prove his crimes. That was why he was still roaming free.

So that meant that Evie Clerk was Michael Clerk’s daughter!

What the f**k, Cherry? You should call Chief and let him know immediately.

But, with the wires and tubes attached to my body, I couldn’t even walk to the bathroom. My eyes scanned the room and soon landed on a landline telephone in the corner of the hospital room. That meant I could make a call immediately after the two of them leave the room.

“Can you please call the nurse? I am hungry and I need to go to the bathroom as well,” I said politely.

The lady pressed the bell and after a few seconds, a nurse appeared in the room with a smile.

“Do you need any help, Ms. Evie?” she asked with a kind smile.

“Yes, I need to go to the bathroom. I am also hungry,” I replied.

“Mr. and Mrs. Clerk, I would appreciate it if you could stay outside until I take Ms. Evie to the bathroom,” she asked with a respectful tone.

“Of course, we will.” The couple nodded at me and walked out of the room.

This is your chance, Cherry!

“Ms. Evie, you have to go to the bathroom with some of the machines still attached. Let’s slowly go, okay?” the nurse instructed and began gently pulling me out of bed.

With all my might, I slowly got down from bed. My feet were numb after lying on the bed for hours. My upper body felt cramped, so I stretched my back a little, but then a small shot of pain was fired from my chest.

“Ow!” I held my chest in agony and the nurse quickly checked on me.

“Are you okay, Ms. Evie?” she asked in a serious tone. When the pain subsided, I nodded.

“Okay then. Move slowly. Okay, I will leave these machines here. You take your time, Ms. Evie. I’ll wait outside. If you need anything, just call me.” She smiled and left me alone in the bathroom.

I sat on the commode to urinate and soon my tummy growled with hunger.

Forget about eating, Cherry! You have to inform the chief at once!

With a new pump of determination, I quickly gathered myself and reached for the washbasin. Washing my hands, I looked up at the clean mirror.

But, I was startled by the reflection in the mirror.

It’s not me! Why is there someone else in the mirror? Am I hallucinating? Oh no, is that a ghost?

After all, I had seen enough horror movies where another person appears in the mirror.

I wiped my eyes roughly and checked again. The person in the reflection also had saline and oxygen tubes attached, but it was not me.

I squeezed my cheeks and facial muscles to feel them. Yes, I could feel them strongly. When I touched my hair, it was brown, not blond. I looked at my hands and realized that my nails were not painted. In fact, I remember vividly that I had applied a coat of peach-colored nail polish on my nails.

“Noooooo!” I screamed.