Then, I left the group chat.

That same night, Sean blew up my phone. He demanded to know what I meant by that message and tried to force me to apologize to Georgina.

I blocked his number and did not give him another thought. What I did not expect was to find Sean and Georgina waiting outside the hospital for me the next morning.

The moment he saw me, Sean hurled a stack of photos at my face, the sharp edges striking my forehead.

"Jillian! Have you no shame? No wonder you were so eager to break up with me yesterday. Gina saw right through you, and once you realized you couldn't squeeze any more money out of me, you ran straight to the next guy!"

Georgina stood to the side with her arms crossed, watching with open satisfaction. "A man pushing 50, and you don't even mind. The things you'll do for money… Truly shameless."

The corner of one of the photos sliced across my forehead, and a sharp sting followed instantly. I glanced down at the pictures scattered on the ground.

They were from last night, when Dad came to pick me up. Georgina had been the only one who followed me outside, so she was definitely the one who took them.

I did not bother hiding my anger. I stared Georgina down, ice in my voice. "Shouldn't a fraud buster do a little research into someone's personal connections before making accusations? Sean, the man in those photos is my father!"

I thought that knowing the truth would at least make Sean feel some guilt. Instead, he let out a cold laugh. Georgina had already done too thorough a job brainwashing him for him to believe a single word out of my mouth.

"Gina already looked into it. That man is the richest person in the city! Claiming connections to powerful people is exactly the kind of thing fake socialites like you do!"

Georgina clung to his arm and sighed about how pitiful he was, how close he had come to being deceived by someone like me. Then she turned her attention to my phone, her tone dripping with suggestion.

"Sean, a fake socialite like her usually keeps several targets on the hook at once. Check her phone. I bet she's got contact info for a whole lineup of sugar daddies saved in there."

Sean grabbed my wrist and ripped the phone out of my hand. He scrolled furiously through my contacts, then shoved the screen in my face, pointing at two entries labeled 'Dear Elliot' and 'Dear Fabian.'

Before I could tell him those were my actual brothers, he was already glaring at me, his eyes filled with hatred and fury.

"So it's true! Gina's right! You act all innocent in front of me, but you're nothing but a whore who uses the whole 'fake socialite' act to lure men in! Jillian Norris! Every cent I spent on you this past year, I want it all back. Now!"

All the anger drained out of me with that last sentence. I laughed, sharp and mocking.

So that was what this was really about. Money. If we were keeping score, I had spent far more on Sean over the course of our relationship than he had ever spent on me.

I snatched my phone back and met his gaze, cold and unflinching. "You want money? You're not getting a single cent. But if you want to settle accounts on who actually took advantage of whom in this relationship, I'm more than happy to do the math."

I walked away without looking back, his enraged shouting fading behind me.

After I finished my surgery, the hospital director called me into his office and showed me a post that had gone viral.

[Expose: Dr. Norris at a public hospital is actually a heartless fake socialite! She plays the role of a caring doctor in front of her patients, but behind closed doors, she's juggling three or four men at once. She's been passed around like a toy!

[Patients at this hospital better watch out. If she's being nice to you, it might be because she's got her eye on your wallet!]

The post had already been pushed to the top of the trending charts. The comments section was an avalanche of abuse and death threats, and someone had even edited my photo into a funeral portrait and posted it in the replies.

The hospital director's expression was grave.

"Jillian, I need you to take a leave of absence."

My nails dug into my palms. I tried to defend myself. "Dr. Crane, that post is fabricated. And right now is a critical period for my career advancement..."

The director, Howard Crane, sighed. "You think I don't know it's fake? The hospital switchboard has been flooded with calls since this morning. People are demanding an explanation. As for your evaluation, it will have to wait another five years."

Tears stung at the corners of my eyes. I had already waited five years for that evaluation. How much longer could I possibly wait?

It was not hard to guess who was behind the post. This was Georgina's style through and through. She wanted to make sure I never recovered from this.

I swallowed the bitterness and forced myself to accept it, then walked out of the office.

A patient's family member was waiting right outside, face twisted with rage. She raised her hand and slapped me across the face.

"A doctor with your kind of personal life has no business being in this hospital! Someone just told me the only reason you've been so attentive to my father is that you're after his retirement savings!

"And here I actually believed you genuinely cared about the elderly. I had no idea your intentions were this disgusting!"

The family members who had once been tearfully grateful to me now stared at me with nothing but contempt and revulsion.

Through the crowd, the two people responsible for all of it walked toward me hand in hand. Sean and Georgina wore matching sneers. Sean spoke first, his voice cold.

"Gina tried to warn you. She said it was for your own good, but you refused to listen. Now, you're reaping what you sowed. You deserve every bit of this."

Georgina looked at me with eyes full of triumph and raised her voice for the crowd, her tone dripping with righteous authority. "People like her get what's coming to them! Don't worry, everyone. I'll make sure she's held accountable! I'll help get this gold digger thrown out of this hospital for good. And permanently blacklisted!"

Thunderous applause erupted around her.

Sean lifted his chin and looked down at me. "Gina already reached out to those three other sugar daddies on your phone and told them everything. They all said they're coming here in person to confront you. We've formed a victims' coalition and hired a lawyer. Just sit tight and wait for the legal papers."

I almost thought I had misheard. They had contacted my father, my eldest brother, Elliot, and my second brother, Fabian, and told them to come here to sue me?

Georgina saw the shock on my face and took it for fear. She kept pouring fuel on the fire. "Let me tell you something. I've handled countless cases like yours. These rich men are the worst when it comes to making someone's life a living hell.

"When they're done with you, they'll tear your reputation to shreds and toss you into some private estate to be used as entertainment. You'll rot in there for the rest of your life! They're on their way. Just you wait!"

I curved my lips into a slow, knowing smile. "Sure. When they get here, make sure none of you run."

Less than five minutes later, a middle-aged man walked into the hospital flanked by two younger men. Over a dozen bodyguards cleared the way ahead of them, and the air around them was anything but friendly.

Georgina put on her most ingratiating smile and rushed forward to greet the man at the front.

"You must be Mr. Norris? The fake socialite is right here! We've already taught her a little lesson ahead of your arrival! The rest is up to you, of course. After all, you guys are the real victims here!"

The man stopped. He raised his hand and slapped Georgina hard across the face, his voice laced with ice. "So you're the one who's been slandering my daughter?"