Faye scrolled to a video where some self-proclaimed 'medical expert' was ranting about how expensive drugs are just a rip-off.

After watching it, the expressions of the townspeople around us completely changed.

The feeling of not being trusted made me deeply uncomfortable. Nonetheless, I also knew there was no reasoning with Faye. Besides, I had a line of patients still waiting, so I did not want to waste any more time.

"If you think they're all the same, then go buy it online yourself. I'm not treating you anymore. From now on, you're not welcome at my clinic. Don't come back."

I reached out to take the medication back. However, she clutched it tightly in her hands, looking righteous and indignant. "What's wrong? Feeling guilty and trying to destroy the evidence? Well, I'm not giving it back! I'm keeping it as proof!"

I was so angry at how shameless she was that my fists clenched involuntarily.

Just then, a patient behind her leaned forward and whispered, "Dr. Miller, it's almost my turn. My head's still killing me."

I stopped wasting words and physically pushed her toward the door. "Get out!"

In the end, Faye walked off with the medication without paying a single cent.

I thought that would be the end of it. However, the next day, when I rolled up the clinic's metal door, I stumbled back a step at the sight before me.

The clinic entrance was swarmed with people. It was so packed that I could barely see the street. Nearly everyone in town had shown up, young and old alike.

The way they looked at me had completely changed from the usual respect and warmth to anger and contempt.

"Give us our money back!" someone in the crowd shouted, and suddenly everyone erupted.

"Evan, return the money you overcharged us!"

"We trusted you so much, and you were secretly making dirty money off us!"

I stared at the crowd in shock, my mind going completely blank. "What are you all talking about? What money?"

Aaron pushed through the crowd, looking at me with an expression of pained disappointment. "Dr. Miller, how could you con your neighbors like this?"

He shoved a phone in my face.

On the screen was an article with a screaming headline.

[Exposing a Corrupt Rural Clinic: The Scammer in a White Coat Who Won't Even Spare a Five-Dollar Price Difference!]

The author listed below was none other than Faye.

The video had been maliciously edited, showing only the part where I took the 30 dollars and the final moment when I pushed her out. The accompanying text was designed to manipulate emotions, painting me as a greedy, unethical con artist with zero medical integrity.

The comment section below was an absolute circus.

[Doctors like him should have their license revoked and rot in prison!]

[He's so disgusting, preying on innocent rural folks.]

[Support the influencer for exposing him! Justice will always win!]

I was shaking with rage. "This is all lies! She edited it maliciously! In all my years running this clinic, when have I ever overcharged anyone? The treatments I provide and the medications I prescribe are all practically at cost. I only charge a small consultation fee! Sometimes when neighbors are struggling financially, I even cover the difference out of my own pocket!"

As I was speaking, Faye emerged from the back of the crowd. She was holding a selfie stick, livestreaming everything.

"See that, everyone? This is what a corrupt doctor looks like, still making excuses! If it were really a money-losing business as he claims, then why has his family kept this clinic open for so many years? He's not stupid, obviously; clearly, there's profit to be made, plus he gets everyone's gratitude and respect."

She added, saying, "The townspeople trusted him so much, and he has been playing them for fools this whole time... How hypocritical!"

The crowd's anger erupted completely.

Helen Reid, who regularly got free physical therapy at my clinic, shuffled forward with trembling hands and pointed at my nose.

She accused me, saying, "My back hurt last time, and you treated me for half a month before it got better. Were you deliberately using slow treatments so you could charge me more?"

I stood there dumbfounded. I had used the gentlest therapeutic approach specifically to avoid damaging her system long-term. She had grabbed my hands back then and thanked me over and over again.

Connor Barnes pushed through with his son, Isaac Barnes.

His face twisted in rage as he bellowed, "Isaac broke his leg last time, and he came here for treatment. You definitely overcharged him, too! Give us our money back right now, or I'll smash this dump of a clinic to pieces!"

I remembered clearly how Isaac's accident happened in the middle of the night. I had dragged myself out of bed to treat him as an emergency, worked until sunrise, and only charged 300 dollars for materials.

Then, there was the guy I had literally saved from death's door. He was now grinning like an idiot in front of Faye's livestream camera, pointing at me like I was some kind of joke.

He said, "Guys, this is the shady doctor who performed an illegal surgery on me! My wound still hurts, so it's definitely because his skills are terrible and left me with complications!"

To save him, I had rushed to clean and stitch the wound outside in an emergency situation. Unfortunately, the life-saving act had somehow become my 'crime' in his words.

My mom rushed out. Her frail body stood in front of me, trembling with rage. "Y…You can't be this heartless! You know exactly what kind of person Evan is! For you people, he gave up jobs at major hospitals and came back to this small town. How can you treat him like this?"

Yet, no one listened to her.

All they had in their eyes was anger and greed, whipped up by the mob.

Just then, a vehicle marked 'Health Inspection' pulled up at the corner. Several uniformed officials stepped out, their expressions stern.

"We received reports from the public accusing you of practicing medicine illegally and raising drug prices unfairly. You need to shut down this clinic immediately and cooperate with our investigation."

In the livestream, the comments exploded instantly.

[The authorities are here! That proves it!]

[Justice served! He needs to be punished severely!]

Looking at the chaos in front of me, I felt the world spinning around me. After taking several deep breaths, I yanked open my drawer and pulled out all my procurement receipts and billing records from the past few years.

"You want evidence? Here's your evidence! These are all my purchasing invoices and billing records! See for yourselves! Not only did I not overcharge you a single penny, but I've also sunk over 30,000 dollars of my mother's retirement savings into this clinic!"

Everyone froze at the sight of the mountain of receipts and ledgers piled on the desk.

However, Faye immediately jumped in again, screeching her rebuttal. "How do we know you didn't just make up these ledgers yourself? Receipts can be forged, too! You're the only one who knows the actual amounts, aren't you?"

I glared at her with bloodshot eyes. "Why don't you go ask around outside or check with the county hospital? All of these receipts have the pharmaceutical companies' official stamps. How could they be fake? Go and verify them yourself!"

I thought that presenting hard evidence would finally shut them up. Instead, Faye let out a cold laugh and dropped another bombshell.

"So what if your fees are a little lower than elsewhere? Does that give you the right to use it as a cover to sexually harass female patients in this town?"

Faye's words hit like a thunderbolt, and the scene fell silent for just a moment. Then, she pulled Cindy Murphy out of the crowd.

Cindy's eyes darted around, refusing to meet mine.

She said in a voice barely above a whisper, "W…When he treated my back injury last time, he used the massage as an excuse t...to touch me inappropriately..."

The crowd erupted in an uproar.

Aaron seized the opportunity to step forward, pointing at me accusingly. "And who knows if the amounts on these receipts are even real? I heard you've been colluding with employees at the pharmaceutical company, inflating purchase prices and pocketing kickbacks!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a strange man pushed through the crowd.

He claimed to be an employee from the pharmaceutical company, saying, "I can testify! The amounts on his invoices are all fake! He's been working with our manager to scam people this whole time!"

The lead investigator's face turned ashen as he looked at me, his tone severe. "If this is true, you've committed commercial fraud, which carries jail time!"

It was ridiculous. I saved lives and somehow ended up a criminal.

Pointing to the surveillance camera in the corner of the clinic, I said carefully and deliberately, "Whether or not I sexually harassed anyone, the surveillance footage can prove my innocence. As for this so-called pharmaceutical employee, I don't even know him! The company I get my medications from isn't the one they're claiming! You can check my call records and bank transfers."

The investigation team immediately assigned people to verify the information.

Seeing one scheme fail, Faye immediately concocted another. "Don't let him distract you. His most serious crime is practicing medicine illegally!"

She pointed dramatically at Ryan Dawson, her voice dripping with righteousness. "Ryan's hand was ruined because of his botched surgery!"

Hearing that, Ryan immediately clutched his arm and started wailing. "That's right! It was him! He performed an illegal surgery on me in this unlicensed clinic! My wound still hurts every single day. He must have left me with permanent damage!"

The lead investigator's expression had turned completely grim. "If the allegations of illegal practice and causing bodily harm are true, your medical license will be revoked immediately!"

I opened my mouth, wanting to say something.

Suddenly, Faye rushed over to my mom, her eyes full of contempt. "Like mother, like son! She's trash, so, of course, the kid she's raised is trash too!"

My mom was already worked up. After being cursed at, her vision went black, and she collapsed backward.

"Mom!" I rushed over like a madman and caught her, pressing on her pressure point and calling out desperately.

After what felt like forever, my mom slowly regained consciousness, her breathing weak. I knew I had to get her to the hospital immediately. So, I hoisted her onto my back and tried to push through the crowd.

However, Faye led the townspeople to form a human wall, blocking my path completely. She held up her phone with a twisted smile.

She shouted, "Think you can play the victim and run? Not a chance! Return the money you scammed from us first!"

"Yeah! Give us our money back!"

Another yelled, "Don't even think about leaving without a refund!"

The cold, greedy faces before me completely ignored my mom, whose life was hanging by a thread on my back.

In that moment, my lifelong belief in the Hippocratic Oath was completely shattered.

I carefully set my mom down in a chair, then went inside and dragged out a wooden chest. When I opened the chest, it was filled with cash our family had received over the decades from villagers who came for treatment.

It was supposed to be my mom's retirement fund.

I grabbed a fistful of bills and hurled them at the crowd. "You want money, is that it?"

I took another handful. "Fine!"

Then, I took another. "Here's every cent I've collected over the years... Take it all back!"

The bills floated down like falling snow. The faces that had been filled with righteous anger just moments ago were instantly replaced with wild excitement and greed.

They scrambled madly to grab the money from the ground, revealing their ugliest sides.

I walked over to the clinic's sign, the one my dad had hand-carved, and my mom had protected her entire life. Then, I stepped onto a stool and, using every ounce of strength I had, tore it down.

In front of everyone, I smashed it onto the ground.

The sound of the sign shattering was sharp and piercing.

Facing the mob still scrambling for money outside, I used the last bit of strength I had to announce loudly, "The clinic is permanently closed. I'm taking my mother and leaving this place. From this day forward, your sicknesses, your health, your very lives have nothing to do with me anymore!"