When his eyes slowly opened, Joshua no longer grimaced even though the pain was still there. His body seemed to be getting used to it and compromising with the discomfort.
The familiar face of a young nurse was the first thing his eyes caught. Joshua blinked several times, trying to adjust as the small light in the nurse's hand began to shine on his pupils.
"Mr. Joshua? Can you hear me? How does your body feel? Are any parts numb?"
Joshua felt a little dizzy as his last memory flashed through his mind... Alex had possessed him... then his consciousness had faded. His body now felt so weak, and his wrist, which had been fine before, now hurt.
What did that demon do to my body? his mind raced.
He turned sharply toward the sofa. There, Alex sat with one leg resting on his knee. When their eyes met, the spirit simply raised an eyebrow with a bored expression.
The nurse seemed to be scribbling on her clipboard, occasionally glancing at the heart monitor beside the bed. "The doctor was worried about your condition, especially since you were unconscious for two days."
She stopped writing, then adjusted Joshua's IV tube with a tactical movement. "You experienced Dissociative Rage. It's a kind of traumatic rage explosion that triggers uncontrollable motor reactions. That's what made you attack your grandfather's bodyguard yesterday, before your nervous system finally collapsed completely."
"I... attacked my grandfather's bodyguard?" Joshua's voice caught in his throat. His eyes darted back to Alex. Attacked? His grandfather's bodyguard was so muscular, and he was even a martial arts expert. Meanwhile, he didn't even dare to kill a cockroach, and now he was accused of physically assaulting the guard? Joshua glanced at Alex again with suspicion.
Alex just shrugged briefly, a slight smirk appearing on the corners of his now pale lips, a gesture that said, "You're welcome."
"We've taken care of you. Your blood pressure is stabilizing, but you need complete rest," the nurse said, tucking Joshua's blanket before stepping out, leaving Joshua alone with the woman who had been standing behind the nurse.
Joshua stiffly turned to the beautiful woman in the navy blue shirt. Her black hair was tied in a low ponytail. Her pair of gray eyes stared sharply at Joshua.
Joshua recognized the woman—they had met several times in court. Detective Rhea Ravello from the Criminal Investigation Division of the Polizia di Stato.
"Long time no see in court, Joshua." She greeted him formally after sitting down on a chair next to the bed. "But I didn't expect to see you again under these circumstances."
"What did you expect, Detective?" Joshua sighed. "To meet a failed lawyer like me?"
The woman placed the basket of fruit she was carrying on the nightstand before speaking again. "I was very shocked to hear about your accident, but fortunately you are getting better," her voice sounded concerned.
Joshua leaned back on the bed. For a woman as busy as Rhea, Joshua knew her visit couldn't possibly be just to check on him. He knew very well how talented the woman in front of him was, a former taekwondo athlete who excelled at solving difficult cases. For the past five years, Rhea had consecutively held the title of best detective, making her the darling and most valuable asset in her office. Joshua thought hard, trying to guess Rhea's real purpose for being here.
"Detective Rhea, what do you want to know? It seems like I have nothing to do with you."
Joshua felt something was off. Rhea, who was in the criminal division, shouldn't be here, because her accident case was procedurally handled by the traffic division. Joshua also thought it was impossible for Rhea to come because of her grandfather's asset embezzlement case—which he had secretly handed over to the prosecutor—because that was the jurisdiction of the corruption division. So, where was the problem now? Why was the criminal division getting involved?
Rhea cleared her throat as she folded her arms across her chest. "I knew you would say that. But from now on, we'll be dealing with each other."
Joshua narrowed his eyes, staring at Detective Rhea with a searching gaze. "What do you mean?"
"The accident you were in, specifically the black sedan that exploded that night... I'm taking the case. And you know what's interesting?" The woman paused for a moment, and from the smirk that appeared on Rhea's lips, Joshua could clearly see her interest. "That accident was no ordinary accident."
Rhea straightened her back and stared intently at Joshua. "So I hope you're willing to cooperate. You're my only valuable witness."
Rhea then took a business card out of her pocket and placed it on Joshua's blanket. "After you recover, I'll see you again, Joshua. Please tell me in detail about the accident, especially about the body you tried to pull out before the car exploded.
"His name was Alexander Greco. At least, that's the only name that came up in our intelligence reports."
"Alexander Greco." Joshua muttered the name.
Rhea took a photo out of her bag—a photo of Alex's burned-out car.
"There were traces of explosives in the car, planted near the gas tank. Someone wanted Alex dead without a trace. And what's even crazier..." Rhea lowered her voice, "...the illegal autopsy I performed shows he was shot dead right in the temple moments before the explosion."
Alex, who had been sitting casually, suddenly widened his eyes, his face hardening. He stood up and walked to the side of Joshua's bed, standing opposite the woman.
Alex's eyes flashed sharply at Rhea. "What a rotten detective, daring to perform an illegal autopsy on my body. This woman..." Alex sighed roughly. "She's troublesome with her useless instincts. Next time, avoid her, Joshua," said Alex, staring intently at Rhea.
Joshua glanced at Alex from the corner of his eye, smiling faintly, somewhat amused to see the spirit upset.
"You performed an illegal autopsy?" Joshua's voice tightened, he couldn't believe Rhea would do something this dirty. "That's fatal... you know your career will be threatened."
"I've thought about the consequences." Rhea's eyes flashed sharply, her breathing sounded rough. "This man is no ordinary person," Rhea continued, drawing Joshua's attention back to her.
Rhea sighed, her eyes staring intently at the photo of the burnt car for a moment, before turning to Joshua.
"Administratively, this man has no civil records, no medical history, not even his fingerprints are registered in any database in the world."
Joshua frowned. "How is it possible for someone... to be completely unregistered?"
"That's the problem." Rhea took out another photo—this time a close-up of a circle tattoo with a thin line dividing it in the middle. Joshua sighed heavily to himself. His throbbing head seemed to grow heavier at Rhea's persistence. Was this woman obsessed with Alex's case? Joshua wondered.
"The man has a very specific tattoo on his neck, and unfortunately, I haven't found any clues from it yet. I have a hunch he's connected to gangsters or a criminal organization," Rhea continued, staring at the photo for a long time.
Joshua glanced at Alex hesitantly before returning his gaze to Rhea. "But your hunch could be wrong, right?"
"You think I'm talking without any basis?" The woman looked up and laughed bitterly. Her face hardened, and the determined look in her eyes dimmed.
Rhea's gaze fell on her own hands, which were beginning to tremble. "Five years ago, I found someone who had died a tragic death."
She took a deep breath, trying to steady her heaving chest. "He had the same tattoo as Alexander Greco."
Rhea clenched her fingers tightly on her thigh until her knuckles turned white, as if holding back long-buried anger. "I gave up investigating this a year ago. I thought I had reached a dead end. But your accident made me want to pursue the case again. This time, I won't stop."
Joshua's eyes reflexively glanced at Alex's neck, fixated on the tattoo there, wondering if there really was something far more cruel behind all this?
"What are you really looking for?" Joshua's voice lowered.
"The person who caused all this... I don't care about the consequences... I will handle this case until I find the cause of death five years ago." Rhea's face looked even more sad. "He... was someone precious to me."
After that, Rhea slowly stood up from her seat, then gave Joshua a faint smile—a smile that left a flash of sadness that Joshua's eyes had caught. Who exactly died five years ago that she was this determined? Joshua wondered to himself.
At a glance, Joshua glanced at the tattoo on Alex's neck again with mounting curiosity. As if sensing the gaze, Alex unconsciously touched his own neck, then clicked his tongue in annoyance at Joshua.
"Come to my office if you're curious about my story. I'll tell you more. Joshua, I'll be waiting for you." His chin lifted, pointing to the business card he had placed there. "Call me." He said with a glint of hope in his eyes, then turned and left the room.
Joshua stared at his back until he completely disappeared behind the door. Slowly, he reached for the business card, staring at it silently for a moment.
To be honest, there was a part of him that wanted to work with someone as great as Rhea. However, remembering how Alex seemed to dislike her so much, Joshua doubted whether that wish would ever come true.
"How disgusting, now you're starting to be fooled by her? Focus on our goal, don't pay attention to her." Alex sneered, his face looking very annoyed.
Joshua sighed weakly as he put the business card on the nightstand. He had expected that Alex, with his bad personality, would flatly reject the idea.
"Alex... who are you really? Are you a criminal, or something?" Joshua asked, turning his head and looking directly into those dark eyes. However, Alex just stood there silently. His expression turned gloomy and darkened.
"Yes, it seems so... considering your strange and tragic death," Joshua answered his own question after a long silence from the man. Joshua's expression immediately changed to one of discomfort. "Um... I mean, I'm not judging you. You must have had a reason for doing something, which is why the perpetrator decided to kill you."
"What kind of reason did they have to kill me like this? I'm also very curious as to why they killed me," Alex said gloomily. He then walked to the window and stared straight at the gray sky outside. "Keep your curiosity about my identity to yourself, Joshua. I'll tell you after I recover."
"Don't you think it would be good if we worked with Rhea? It seems like she wants to find out about the deaths in the past. Wouldn't it be easier to do it together?" Joshua tried to persuade him.
Alex turned around and slowly walked back to the side of the bed. "No. A slave of the state will only hinder our progress. Don't even think about working with her," Alex's voice dropped lower and colder.
"Why?" Joshua raised his voice. "Do you think we'll succeed if it's just the two of us? We can't—"
"Who said it would just be the two of us?" Alex cut Joshua off.
Joshua fell silent for a moment, seeing that Alex's gaze had darkened.
"Then what? There's someone else? Who is it? A detective? A lawyer or one of your gangster friends?" Joshua asked hesitantly.
"I'm not a gangster!" Alex groaned in annoyance. "You'll meet this person soon after you recover. He's someone I trust very much, he's my partner."
Joshua leaned toward Alex, curious to know how great this person was compared to Rhea, after the man had rejected Rhea outright. "Tell me who it is?"
Alex raised his hand, pointing to the television, which was broadcasting the news.
Joshua blinked in confusion, not understanding why Alex was pointing at the news that had been a hot topic of conversation for the past two months.
"...Elena Vane, the fugitive in the pharmaceutical sabotage case, has finally been arrested after two months on the run. Elena Vane, who is suspected of being the mastermind behind the scandal that claimed many lives, is now being held in a high-security detention facility..." The news anchor's voice rang clearly in Joshua's ears. But he still didn't understand why Alex was showing him this.
"You know Elena Vane, right?" Alex spoke without looking at Joshua, his gaze fixed on the television.
Joshua nodded. "Who doesn't know that devil woman? Until now, no lawyer has been willing to defend her."
Alex turned his gaze to Joshua. "You will defend her. Take the case."
"W-what? Elena Vane's case?!" Joshua's mouth opened involuntarily. "Why should I do that?" Joshua felt like his head was about to explode. "Are you crazy? You're joking, right?!"
"I'm not joking. Get her out of prison immediately. She's the one who will help us." Alex ordered in a heavy tone.
Joshua's lips immediately tightened. He stared at Alex blankly, then rubbed his temples hard with his palms.
"So Elena Vane has been your partner all this time?" Joshua's head was spinning. "Are you guys really a gang of criminals?"
"Listen to me, Joshua, your perception of Elena is completely wrong." Alex emphasized every word.
"So are those of the public. Elena is just a victim." He continued, rising from his seat and pacing anxiously beside the bed. "Joshua, believe me, Elena is innocent."
Joshua now felt that the spirit beside him might have been disturbed by the bomb explosion.
"You're completely insane! I won't cooperate with a criminal!" Joshua snapped, his fingers pointing at the television screen with trembling hands. "She took people's lives with her own creation! And you want me to defend her in court?" Joshua shook his head violently, his chest heaving as he turned away. "Never!"
Alex stared at Joshua with a hardened jaw. His eyes darkened, locking Joshua's gaze with intimidating pressure. "Take the case, and you'll see that he's innocent," he hissed lowly, Alex leaning closer to Joshua. "It wasn't Elena Vane who created the drug. She was just the scapegoat for the people above her."
"You're so sure of what you're saying? How can you know that when all the data collected by the investigators points to her? Don't make baseless statements to persuade me! You don't know anything, Alex!"
Alex snorted cynically. "It's you lawyers who don't know anything! And you know what? All the drugs Elena concocted, she learned from me. I know Elena's formula very well." Alex clenched his fists, his jaw tightening as flashes of past memories hit him.
"The drug that killed many people wasn't her creation. I tested it myself when I heard she had been caught. From the beginning, I intended to free her."
Alex laughed grimly, a dry sound that contained not a hint of humor. "But before I could do that, someone killed me first."
"I really can't stand you anymore! You're driving me crazy!" Joshua yelled, his hands clenching the bed sheets until they were wrinkled. His eyes began to redden with rage, while the muscles in his temples twitched faintly in time with his rapid heartbeat.
"At her first hearing, Elena lost badly without any defense, she even admitted her guilt. And you..." Joshua paused, his chest rising and falling rapidly. "You want me to ruin my already destroyed career just to defend her?"
Joshua uttered those words in one rushed breath.
Alex's lips curled in contempt. "That's why you're still a weak lawyer," he said in a flat, piercing tone. He folded his arms across his chest and looked down at Joshua. "You jump to conclusions based on what you see, without wanting to look deeper into the root of the problem. No wonder people know you as a loser."
The veins in Joshua's neck were now bulging prominently. "Yes, I am a loser... and I regret being saved by you and coming back to life." He said emphatically.
Joshua slowly rose from his bed. His fingers gripped the IV pole tremulously, using it for support as his weak legs began to move toward the door. Alex followed behind him; the frustration on the man's face grew more apparent as he watched how pitifully Joshua walked.
"Don't follow me," Joshua muttered, his voice hoarse and trembling. "I'd rather die again than become a criminal's puppet like you."
Alex froze, his steps slowly coming to a halt, letting the frail figure disappear behind the door. There was no anger on his face, only a cold, unreadable gaze.
"Stubborn," Alex whispered. "We'll see... how long you can run from your own destiny, Joshua."