Contents
Part Four — Chapter Seventeen
Overview
Theo plans to confront Alicia about lying but is stopped when Alicia is found with a suspected overdose and placed in a coma. Staff suspect ward dealing, and Diomedes is oddly unreachable. Alone with Alicia, Theo notices an injection mark and concludes she was deliberately given morphine—an attempted murder.
Summary
Theo arrives ready to confront Alicia about her claim of a masked intruder killing Gabriel. Before he can, Yuri informs him Alicia has taken an apparent overdose and is in critical condition. In intensive care, Alicia lies ventilated; the ER doctor reports respiratory failure likely from hydrocodone.
Yuri found Alicia on the floor with an empty pill bottle and loose tablets. Staff acknowledge illicit dealing on the wards, with Elif suspected. Attempts to contact Diomedes fail, though Yuri thinks he spotted him earlier rushing down a corridor, adding to the unease.
Indira laments the broader impact on patients while Theo blames himself, anticipating Christian will attribute the crisis to therapy-provoked emotions and self-medication. Christian, Yuri, and the ER doctor depart, leaving Theo alone at Alicia’s bedside.
While holding Alicia’s hand, Theo notices bruising and a pinpoint mark along a vein on her wrist. This physical evidence contradicts an oral overdose: Alicia appears to have been injected with a massive dose of morphine. Theo concludes the event wasn’t a suicide attempt but attempted murder, radically reframing the danger around Alicia.
Who Appears
- Theo FaberTherapist planning to confront Alicia; discovers injection mark and concludes the overdose was attempted murder.
- Alicia BerensonPatient found unresponsive; placed in an induced coma after suspected overdose; injection mark suggests foul play.
- YuriOrderly who discovered Alicia; reports empty pill bottle; thought he saw Diomedes earlier.
- Christian WestDoctor present in ICU; acknowledges ward drug dealing; likely to frame overdose as self-medication.
- IndiraColleague distressed by the incident; offers Theo time alone with Alicia.
- Emergency-room doctorReports respiratory failure and probable hydrocodone; assists in induced coma management.
- Professor DiomedesDirector unreachable by phone; possibly seen earlier, adding to the mystery.
- ElifPatient suspected of dealing drugs on the ward, a possible source of opioids.