Chapter 2

I pressed Enter. The mouse arrow froze on the words "Sent Successfully."

This was the first time in eight years I hadn't compromised.

The email attachments contained all the evidence I'd collected of Fernandez's embezzlement and illegal kickbacks.

This was enough to get him taken away by the anti-corruption department for investigation on his first day back at work.

Taking a deep breath, I suppressed my rage at being betrayed and walked toward my general practice office.

I wanted to see with my own eyes how pathetic he'd look when suspended for investigation.

I pushed open the office door. The person inside wasn't Fernandez.

My desk had been completely cleared out.

The medical textbooks that used to sit on my desk were thrown in the trash.

The matching couple's cups I'd bought were also shattered into pieces, soaking in dirty water.

Ivanka sat in my office chair.

She wore the white coat I'd stayed up all night embroidering Fernandez's name on.

She was leisurely applying lipstick using my makeup mirror.

"What are you doing? Who gave you permission to touch my personal belongings!" I strode forward and demanded sharply.

Ivanka turned her head, looked me up and down, and sneered with contempt.

"Dr. Nadal, do you still think you're the star physician here?"

"You're involved in serious misconduct. This office no longer belongs to you."

I stood there frozen, not yet understanding what she meant.

Familiar footsteps came from outside the door. Fernandez walked in with a cold expression.

He threw a disciplinary document stamped with an official seal right in my face.

The paper scraped across my cheek, stinging sharply.

I looked down at the document on the floor. The bold text was striking.

"Suspension Notice Regarding Nadal's Suspected Theft of Patient Privacy and Tampering with Department Financial Data."

"Fernandez, have you lost your mind?" I stared at him intensely.

His eyes held none of their former affection, only coldness and disgust.

"Nadal, the evidence is irrefutable. You still have the nerve to question me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, several colleagues who'd been on good terms with me crowded through the door.

Leading them was Barbara, the senior financial supervisor I'd mentored personally.

Barbara's eyes flickered away for a moment, then she pointed at me and accused loudly.

"Director Fernandez, I saw with my own eyes that Dr. Nadal used your computer to download patient information and modified last month's supply accounts!"

"When she gave them to me to sign, I thought you'd authorized it. Who knew she had such evil intentions!"

My head buzzed.

Over these eight years, to help Fernandez get promoted to Associate Chief Physician, I'd been the one covering up all his messy accounts.

When Barbara's elderly relative got sick, I'd paid her medical expenses out of my own pocket.

Now, to curry favor with the soon-to-be-promoted Fernandez, she directly came forward to give false testimony against me.

Ivanka stood up at this moment and intimately took Fernandez's arm.

She squeezed out two tears from the corners of her eyes, putting on a sympathetic act.

"Nadal, I know you're jealous that Fernandez got promoted quickly, but you can't sell patient privacy for money."

"Fernandez is a sentimental person. If you just kneel down and apologize now, he'll definitely protect you in front of the director."

She kept saying "Fernandez, Fernandez" in a way that made me sick.

"I sold privacy? These accounts were clearly..."

I pulled out my phone to retrieve the original backup from the cloud to refute them.

Fernandez didn't give me a chance to speak.

He directly called the security guards at the door.

"Security! Drag this emotionally unstable rule-breaker out. Don't let her make a scene here!"

Two security guards rushed in and clamped down on both my arms.

My phone was knocked to the ground, the screen shattered to pieces.

I struggled to raise my head and met Fernandez's condescending gaze.

"Nadal, don't blame me for being ruthless."

"Starting today, I'll make you notorious throughout Chicago's entire medical system."

The security guards roughly dragged me out of the office. The hallway was full of doctors and patients giving me strange looks.

But I didn't expect that an even greater crisis was waiting for me outside the outpatient building.