He Begged Me to Let Him Go, Now He’s Begging to Come Back Chapter 03

The next morning during rounds, I walked into chaos outside the ICU.

Linda was sitting on the floor, her hair disheveled, screaming at a young nurse.

“What kind of hospital are you running here?! My son just had surgery yesterday and now he has a fever! Are you giving him the wrong medication?”

The young nurse’s eyes were red. She stammered out an explanation. “Ms. Hayes, post-operative fever is completely normal. We’ve already started fever management…”

“Don’t give me that medical nonsense!” Linda jumped to her feet and shoved the nurse.

“Get your director! Get Emily Carter out here! She’s still angry about what happened years ago, isn’t she? She did something to my son during surgery!”

I walked through the crowd with Henry’s chart in my hand.

“Ms. Hayes, this is the intensive care unit. You need to keep your voice down.”

Linda’s head whipped toward me. Her eyes went red. She lunged.

“Emily! There you are! What did you do to my son?!”

She raised her hand as if to strike me.

The security guards got to her first.

Greg came running down the hall. He pulled Linda into his arms, turning his body to shield her, as if she were the victim.

“What’s going on?” He looked at Linda, then at me. His expression tightened with annoyance.

The nurse explained through tears.

Greg listened, then turned to me. “Emily, she’s just worried about her son. Can’t you take two minutes to explain things to her? Do we really have to do this in front of everyone?”

Same old Greg. Always taking his wife’s side and calling it mediating.

“Mr. Thornton.” I closed the chart. “During our pre-op consultation, I explained in detail that post-operative fever is a known complication, and infection is always a risk.”

“You signed the consent form acknowledging that. If your wife has concerns about our treatment plan, she is welcome to request a medical review.”

“But if she continues to disrupt patient care in this unit, I will have no choice but to call the police.”

Linda leaned around Greg’s shoulder, her teeth bared. “Call the police? Go ahead! You think I’m scared of you?”

“I saw my husband give you that check for seventy thousand dollars with my own eyes! You’re not some noble doctor, Emily. You’re a fraud who used my son’s life to squeeze money out of us!”

The hallway went silent.

Every eye turned to me.

The young nurse’s mouth fell open.

Greg’s face drained of color. He whipped his head toward Linda. “Shut up! Not another word from you!”

But Linda thought she had won. Her voice grew louder. “I’m lying? Emily, you shameless woman! You used your position as the surgeon to demand a bribe from a patient’s family!”

“I’m reporting you to the medical board! I will destroy your career!”

Greg grabbed Linda’s arm and tried to drag her away. He looked back at me, his eyes pleading, begging. “Emily, just go. Go do your work. I’ll handle this.”

He thought I would panic. He thought I would scramble to defend myself.

Instead, I just stood there and watched them perform.

Then I pulled out my phone and called the medical affairs office. “Dr. Miller? Could you come to the ICU, please. A patient’s family member is accusing me of accepting a bribe.”

The dial tone hung in the air, sharp and final.