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Chapter 3
The morning sunlight filtered through the blinds as Mia Jefferson stormed into my office, dragging Evan Sutherland behind her. She kicked the door open, and Evan followed, his face as pale as a ghost.
"Pay up!" Mia slammed her hand onto my desk, making the pen bounce.
I calmly set the medical chart aside and met her gaze. "Ms. Jefferson, we've already called off the engagement."
Before I could say anything else, Evan spoke up, his voice barely above a whisper. "Ryan... it's all my fault..." His doe-like eyes darted nervously toward Mia, looking like a terrified animal.
"Exactly," I replied, my tone cold. "It's your fault. Since you two are so in love, maybe you should be asking him for money."
Mia's face twisted with fury. "Ryan Hodgson! You think this will get a rise out of me? Dream on!" She yanked Evan by the arm and stormed out, her stilettos clicking loudly against the floor.
Less than half an hour later, chaos erupted in the nurse's station. By the time I made it to the hallway, Mia was on the floor, throwing a tantrum, while Evan egged her on.
"Dr. Hodgson called us useless!" Mia shrieked. "A doctor like him should be fired!"
Patients gathered, filming the scene on their phones. A water bottle hit my shoulder. I didn't flinch, standing still as the crowd shouted insults.
"Security footage has been retrieved. The police are on their way," I said evenly.
The crowd fell silent. Mia's face turned pale. She tried to pull Evan away, but they were immediately blocked by arriving officers.
At the police station, Mia was still trying to spin her lies. "Ryan bullied us first!" But when the officers played the surveillance video, her words caught in her throat. She shut down like a trapped animal.
Just as they were about to release them, a disheveled middle-aged woman burst in, panting. "Where's my son? He has HIV!"
Mia's head snapped up, her lips trembling. "Wh-what did you say, ma'am?"
Mrs. Sutherland wailed, "My son was diagnosed three years ago! Let him out now!"
Mia froze, the color draining from her face. Her purse fell to the floor with a thud.
Evan staggered out of the police station, his face as white as paper. He grabbed Mrs. Jefferson's wrist, his voice trembling. "Mom! Have you lost your mind? How could you make up such a lie?"
Mia's tense shoulders slumped, and her eyes welled up. "Evan, you scared me to death..."
"I'm fine," Evan assured her, thumping his chest, but his gaze never left me.
I turned and walked away, my white coat billowing in the night wind.
The motion-sensor light in the hallway flickered on as I approached. Evan was standing in front of the fire exit, a cigarette between his fingers, the ember glowing faintly in the dark.
"Dr. Hodgson," he exhaled a cloud of smoke, "you knew all along, didn't you?"
I tightened my grip on my keys. The two-year-old diagnosis flashed in my mind—HIV, the latency period long gone.
"Doctor-patient confidentiality," I replied evenly. "Your personal life is none of my business."
He crushed the cigarette against the wall, then lunged at me, shoving his smoke-filled breath into my face. "If you dare tell Mia..." He flashed his phone screen—recording, no doubt. "I'll make sure your license gets revoked."
I wrenched his fingers off me, and the security door slammed shut behind me. His furious shout echoed through the hallway: "She's mine in life, and she'll be mine in death!"
In the silence that followed, my fingers found the fire axe by the entryway. In my past life, it had been the last thing I saw before they locked me behind that very door, as flames consumed everything.
The next morning, a courier arrived with three large cardboard boxes. A scrap of Mia's lace nightgown peeked out from one of them, limp and lifeless like a dead snake.
The realtor called sooner than expected. "Mr. Hodgson, a lady has shown strong interest in your property..."
I gazed out the window at the morning sun and slipped a scalpel into my coat pocket. This time, I would be the one performing the operation.