"Head Nurse Simmons, have Logistics set up a private office for her. Right next to mine."
I stared at Nathaniel. "Excuse me?"
Nora squealed and threw her arms around his neck, planting a loud kiss on his cheek. "Really? You're the best!"
The bright red lipstick smear on his face hit me like a slap.
My nails dug into my palms. "She left a surgical sponge inside a patient, and you're giving her a promotion?"
Nathaniel's gaze turned cold. "Are you certain?"
A junior nurse stepped forward, voice trembling. "Yes, Director. Head Nurse Simmons led the search for hours yesterday. It has to be inside the patient. We need to order a CT scan immediately and inform the family—"
Her voice withered under his darkening expression.
Panic flickered in Nora's eyes, but she masked it with a pout, clinging to his arm. "If we tell him, he'll file a complaint. He seems fine. Rachel, just pretend you don't know." She looked up at Nathaniel with wide eyes. "Right?"
His jaw tightened. "Nora is right. This funding round is critical. We cannot volunteer that information. Rachel, keep your mouth shut."
A chill swept through me. They intended to bury this.
Emboldened, Nora smirked and slammed her shoulder into mine as she passed. "Get moving on my office."
Exhausted from the sleepless night, I lost my balance and hit the floor.
Nathaniel didn't glance back. He simply walked away.
My heart turned to ice.
Fine. If they wanted to play with fire, I wouldn't burn with them.
I drafted my resignation and changed out of my scrubs.
The emergency line shrieked through the nurses' station.
"What kind of butchers are you running?" Mrs. Harrington's voice was shrill enough to hear outside the receiver. "My son is in agony! The scan shows a foreign object! Director Fleming, is this your standard of care?"
"I want the name of whoever did this. I will sue you for everything you have!"
Through the glass partition, I watched Nathaniel hunch over his desk, unable to meet the speakerphone's fury.
Ten minutes later, the break room door slammed open.
Nora let the tears flow. "Nathaniel, what do we do? I didn't mean to! You have to fix this!"
"How the hell should I know?" he roared.
She wailed louder.
I approached and slapped my resignation onto the table. "Sign it."
He stared at the document. "You're quitting?"
Nora's screech cut the air. "You're running away? Coward! You're the Head Nurse—this is your responsibility too!"
I laughed, dry and humorless. "My job was to assist, not slap the phone out of your hand while you scrolled social media during surgery. If you want to drag someone down, try to be less obvious."
She choked on her words.
Nathaniel slammed his fist against the wall. "Enough. Both of you."
His gaze turned icy. "Head Nurse Simmons, Nora is a novice. You should have supervised her better. The hospital's reputation is at stake. We don't have the luxury of pointing fingers."
If I went down, I was taking everyone with me.
I scoffed, my gaze hardening. "Fine. I'll resign. I'll take the blame and leave. Is that acceptable, Director Fleming?"
Nathaniel's expression darkened instantly. Before he could respond, his desk phone rang. He snatched it up, listening intently. I couldn't hear the voice on the other end, but his eyes darted toward me, cold and calculating.
Without a word, he hung up and tore my resignation letter to shreds.
"You—"
"Rachel." His voice cut through mine, ice-cold. "Go tell the patient's mother that you left the gauze inside her son."
A chill ran down my spine. "What?"
He wasn't just asking me to resign. He was asking me to destroy my career to save Nora.
"This isn't just my decision." He extended the phone toward me. "Speak to your mother."
I took the device, my hand trembling. Mom's voice filtered through, sharp and demanding.
"Rachel, Nathaniel told me the situation. Nora cannot be implicated in this."
Her words were nails driving me into the floorboards.
"You're older. Stronger. You can handle a setback like this. Even if you lose your license, the family will support you. But Nora is different. We spoiled her—she's fragile. If she gets a mark like this on her record, she'll never recover."
My grip tightened until my knuckles went white.
"Be a good daughter." Her tone was final.
Fragile? Nora?
Before I could respond, the break room door burst open with a deafening crash.
"Where is the butcher who hurt my son?!" Mrs. Harrington stormed in, eyes wild with fury. "Director Fleming, give me a name!"
Nathaniel didn't hesitate. Didn't even blink.
He raised a finger and pointed directly at me.
"It was her."
Smack!
My head snapped to the side, cheek burning like a brand. Before I could draw breath, Mrs. Harrington lunged. She seized a fistful of my hair and yanked, throwing me to the floor.
"So it was you! You butchered my son!" she screamed. "I'll sue you for everything! You forced my boy onto the operating table a second time! You murderer!"
Her expensive heels slammed into my ribs. I curled into a ball, trying to shield my head, but the blows kept coming.
"Incompetent trash!"
Pain radiated through my body, but the cold seeping from the tiled floor into my heart was far worse. I looked up through the chaos, searching for my husband.
Nathaniel stood there, watching. He met my gaze for a fleeting second—eyes void of emotion—then turned his back on me. He placed a protective arm around Nora and escorted her out.
As they left, Nora glanced back. She didn't look scared.
She looked smug.
Ten minutes later, security finally pulled Mrs. Harrington off me. She spat in my direction, face twisted with hate.
"Just you wait. I'll see you in court. I'll make sure you never work in this city again!"
It was late when I finally dragged my battered body to the surveillance room.
Every OR was equipped with cameras. Usually, for routine surgeries, they weren't strictly monitored. But yesterday, knowing Nora was scrubbing in, I had explicitly ordered the staff to keep the recording running.
I needed insurance. Now, it was my only lifeline.
My ribs ached as I sat down. I pulled up the log for yesterday's surgery and clicked the file.
The media player opened.
My breath hitched.
