Doug Swallow was a Pharmacology student at Ivy University. He didn’t even want to study that subject, or anything else, but his father had pushed him into college, so he wouldn’t spend all his time listening to David Bowie and obsessing over the latest news about the British royal family.
Doug chose that field in particular because his mother, despite abandoning the family when he was young, had once studied Pharmacology herself, and her old textbooks had piqued Doug’s curiosity during moments of boredom, which helped him develop a slight interest in the topic. And with his sister managing the family’s pharmacy, Doug knew that completing his studies would secure him a job there.
Doug had always been a smart person, so it wasn’t hard for him to stay at the same academic level as his classmates, despite not having the passion for his future profession necessary to study intensely. It wasn’t so bad not having something deeper driving him like the others had, since he could hide that emptiness easily.
But sometimes he saw the graduates crying with happiness for having achieved their goals, and he wondered if he could ever love something so much. He stayed because he wanted to have something practical in his life to fill that void… and when he studied, if only for a second, he could feel his mother's presence.
One day, Doug met a beautiful girl named Dahlia Hawthorne, a literature student. She looked like an angel, and could immediately see that emptiness Doug was hiding from everyone else. However, she didn’t judge him. She was gentle and understanding, and her soft voice and compassionate ear made it much easier to take off his mask.
They quickly started dating, and despite studying different fields, it became a habit to meet in the library with their books, notes, and coffee. Dahlia seemed to be more interested in Doug’s advanced poison research than he was, as her questions were endless and made him have to retrace his steps in his books again and again.
That was fun at first, but Dahlia was too interested in his research… she seemed to be obsessed.
First, that quirk of hers was just strange. Then, it became overwhelming when Dahlia insisted on accompanying Doug to the university lab as some kind of date.
Finally, it became alarming, because that same day a rare type of poison only available in that lab was stolen… and in a courthouse where Dahlia was ‘researching for her paper on Senryu poetry’, an attorney was poisoned.
“Dahlia… Did you steal a drug sample from the lab last night?” Doug said over the phone.
The response: Hurried footsteps mixed with dismissive words.
“Please don't lie to me.”
Then, quiet crying.
“I… what? No. Listen, I don’t want to see you anymore. Not after this.”
After their breakup, Dahlia began dating an art student named Phoenix Wright and, shortly after, another sample of poison was stolen from the lab. It was then that Doug decided he had to warn Phoenix of Dahlia’s possible involvement in the incident at the courthouse…
However, he thought that Phoenix—the oblivious, lovestruck guy—wouldn’t believe a word he would say. After all, Dahlia seemed like an innocent angel, and Doug had no proof of anything…
He went to the back of the Pharmacology Department, the place where he had agreed to meet Phoenix. Under the rain, Doug took a breath, with his hand in his pocket, mentally preparing himself to convince him… or preparing to be punched in the face for speaking ill of the girl Phoenix loved so much.
His face tightened as he heard footsteps in the puddles of water, and his eyes met Phoenix’s. They greeted each other distantly, since they didn’t have the slightest bit of trust having spoken very rarely before this. The tension could be cut with the handle of the white umbrella Doug had, so he decided to get to the point quickly: He explained why he suspected Dahlia might have stolen poison from the lab to kill, but, weirdly, Phoenix’s expression never changed with surprise at his words.
“… I'm telling you for your sake. If you continue to see her, it’s going to be bad news,” Doug said gravely.
He couldn’t even blink before Phoenix replied with the same urgency and seriousness.
“Your suspicions are right! Dahlia poisoned Mr. Armando…” Phoenix said with hatred in his voice that didn’t match the pink sweater he was wearing, or his usual attitude, at all.
“Wait, you really believe me?”
“… And she wants to kill us both, Doug! I’m so, so sorry I didn’t believe you before… But listen!”
Doug’s face turned pale as a sheet as the threads of his mind tangled with confusion. He couldn’t believe it; his ex-girlfriend was after them? And why was Phoenix apologizing for not having believed him before, if this was the first time Doug had told him about his suspicions?
Phoenix took a step towards him and put his hand on his shoulder, making Doug recoil instinctively. Phoenix looked him in the eyes with determination.
“I know I never got to meet you, but we have to run away! It’s the only way for you to survive… until… until my lawyer can prove what happened!”
“What?! What are you…”
Phoenix grabbed Doug by the arm and dragged him away. Doug stumbled, barely able to process what was happening as Phoenix yanked him to a safe place through the rain.
Phoenix was the only one who realized that Dahlia had been watching them the whole time.