Page 92 of Doctor Hot Mess

A third man in plain clothes holding a folder steps forward.

“Dr. Bellinger?” the man in plainclothes asks, though it’s less a question and more confirmation.

“Yes,” I reply cautiously, my heart sinking. “What’s this about?”

“We’re here for Lila Bellinger,” he says, his voice steady, his words landing like a punch to the gut. “We have a warrant for her arrest.”

“What?” I choke out, my voice rising. “Arrest? For what?”

The man doesn’t flinch at my tone. He simply flips open the folder and hands me a piece of paper. “Lila Bellinger is being charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery and aiding and abetting multiple felonies.”

I stare at him, my brain scrambling to make sense of the words. “You’ve got to be kidding me. This is some kind of mistake.”

“It’s no mistake, sir,” he says evenly. “Is she here?”

Before I can answer, Lila appears in the hallway. Her face is pale, and her arms are wrapped around herself. Her eyes dart between me and the officers, wide with fear. “Jonah,” she says weakly, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's not a mistake."

“You knew,” I say, the realization crashing over me. “You knew this was coming, didn’t you? After the meeting yesterday—did they tell you this was a possibility?”

She doesn’t answer. Her silence is damning.

“You didn’t think to warn anyone? To warn me?” My voice rises, anger spilling over, fueled by the weight of the day and everything leading up to this moment. “Jesus, Lila, what the hell were you thinking?”

The plainclothes officer steps forward. “Miss Bellinger, we’re going to need you to come with us.” As he says this, he pulls a set of handcuff from behind his back and opens them with a metallic clink.

Lila doesn’t resist. She nods and turns around, placing her hands behind her back. Her shoulders slump as the officer closes the handcuffs around her wrists.

The sight of the cold metal snapping around her wrists makes my stomach churn. She glances back at me, her eyes glistening with tears, but I can’t bring myself to say anything.

As they read her rights aloud, my chest tightens. The words blur together—charges, evidence, statements. Conspiracy. Joey. Mark. The robbery. It all clicks into place, and the weight of it crushes me.

“How long have you known?” I demand, my voice trembling with frustration. “How long have you been keeping this from us?”

“I didn’t think it would come to this,” she says, her voice breaking. “I didn’t want to drag you into it.”

“Well, congratulations,” I snap as my anger boils over. “We’re all in it now.”

The officers lead her toward the door, and I feel utterly helpless. My anger doesn’t have a target anymore, just a swirling mix of frustration, fear, and betrayal.

Before she steps outside, Lila turns back to me. “Jonah, I’m sorry.”

But the words do nothing to ease the knot in my chest. I stand frozen as I watch them guide her out of my condo. Her small figure is dwarfed by the officers flanking her. The door clicks shut behind them, leaving me alone in the suffocating silence.

For the first time in years, I feel completely untethered—like everything I’ve been trying to hold together is finally unraveling, thread by thread.

7:39PM

The condo is impossiblyquiet after they leave. I stand frozen for a moment, staring at the door as if willing it to open again, as if Lila might walk back in and tell me this was all some sick joke.

But she won’t. The sound of her being read her rights is still echoing in my head.

Conspiracy to commit armed robbery. Aiding and abetting. Joey. Mark. The words play on a loop, each repetition hitting harder than the last.

I grab my phone, pacing the length of the living room. There’s no way I’m going to sleep tonight without answers. My fingers hover over my contacts, debating whether to call the attorney. But it’s late, and I know the wheels of the legal system don’t spin any faster just because I want them to.

Instead, I drop onto the couch and open my laptop. If there’s a connection to a Joey or Mark, then there has to be something I can find. Some detail that makes this all make sense.

I remember overhearing her on the phone at some point talking about Joey recently. Who is Joey?

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