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!"