A Woman's Evil Intent

Diana was already at her apartment's doorstep, keys in hand, she stared at the doorknob mindlessly.

She never expected things to turn out the way they did. All the way here, she's been racking her brains about what exactly happened. She swore she followed all of the procedures.

'Did I really take it from the right patient? I swear I did.'

She inserted the key and twisted it, opening the door.

"Hey Di.. You're back early." Heather greeted Diana as she entered their apartment. Glancing at the clock, it's not even time for her scheduled clock-out.

"Yeah. Boss sent me home." Diana replied dejectedly.

"Huh? What happened?" Heather asked. "Are you feeling sick or something?"

Diana is a hard worker. She won't leave work early if she can help it.

"No. Though I might as well be. I made an Incident Report today. I jacked up several specimens. A coworker had to redo it." Diana slumped on the couch, feeling miserable.

"That doesn't sound like you would do, Di," Heather commented. Her brows knitted together in worry for her best friend. It is pretty rare for her to look like this because of school or work.

Diana is always careful when it comes to working at hand. She's probably the most meticulous person she knows. She wouldn't just do her job carelessly.

"Tell me. How did that happen?" Heather inquired.

Raising her head a little, she sighed and recounted the events.

"What if the specimens have been tampered with?" Heather asked about the possibility.

This got Diana's attention.

"Impossible. After I got the specimens from the patients, I took it to the laboratory right away."

"Did you take your eyes away from the specimens at one point?" Heather asked.

"Well, yeah. I took it to the back and placed it in the rack for processing. I left for a few minutes to pick up the lab order I photocopied and went back to the backroom right away." Diana recalled.

"During that time, was there anyone else in the processing room?" Heather asked questions, using her deductive skills.

"Of course, lab technicians go in and out of the room," Diana said, off-handedly.

"Think about it. Did someone else go in the room during the time you picked up the lab order?" Heather looked at her in the eye, as if commanding her to recall the events thoroughly.

Diana closed her eyes in thought.

Heather tapped her finger on the table when suddenly Diana opened her eyes, with a wild look.

"Clara Holt," Diana whispered.

"Hmm--based on your reaction. This person is also the coworker who redid the tests, am I right" Heather quipped. Diana nodded.

"I don't get it. I didn't do anything to her. She's the one who was in the room at that time and yes, she is the one who redid the tests. But it could just be a coincidence. There really is no reason for her to put me in trouble." Diana said cautiously, choosing to give a benefit of the doubt. After all, how was she to know that she had attracted people's evil intent?

"We could always check the security cameras if there are any in the room. We could also check if there are patients who had a similar result but are not an error." Heather pulled up her laptop. She started typing quickly as her screen was dark and full of codes that Diana wouldn't be able to understand.

"Now that you mention it. We did have a pregnant patient among the ones who had labs ordered today. If I'm not mistaken, the doctor ordered a urine sample at that time." Diana recalled. "The lab technician who took it was--"

"Her," Heather said, pointing at her laptop's screen. It showed video footage of Clara processing her specimens. Diana entered the processing room, placing the urine sample and other test tubes separate from the other specimens, and closer to the computer. As soon as Diana left the room, Clara looked towards the door and poured the contents of a specimen cup into the specimen cups that Diana placed on the counter. She then hurriedly closed the lids and threw away the specimen cup she emptied. She left the room just before Diana returned.

Diana was furious. She couldn't understand how a person can just damage another's reputation just like that. 'What did I ever do to her? Why would she target me? To my recollection, I don't have any conflict with her. She was even acting friendly with me at work.'

"There are a number of reasons why a coworker would do that. A number of reasons why a woman would do that too. I won't be surprised if your coworkers are envious of you. You've always been an achiever. Just as how many people admire you, there will be some who will envy what you have and who you are." Heather stated calmly, already making a copy of the video footage that she was able to hack. "I suggest you file a complaint with HR and have them launch an investigation. Whatever happens, we now have a copy of the evidence."

Diana sighed. "It was also my negligence for leaving the specimens without processing it first."

She was disappointed in herself for having fallen victim to such a scheme. If she only was more cautious, such a thing won't succeed in damaging her reputation.

Heather slammed the table. "Oh! Don't give me that crap! You were not the first one to leave the specimens for a minute to get a lab order. It just so happens that there was someone who was out to destroy you."

Diana felt her headache. "Still... Anyway, from now on I'll make sure to finish processing the orders just to avoid something like this."

"If I were you, I'd watch my back against this person. She clearly doesn't care that the Doctors might misdiagnose the patient all because of what she did." Heather warned.

Diana nodded, opening the Institute's website, she jotted down the HR's e-mail address on a piece of paper. Then she opened a new e-mail and filed a complaint.

She made sure to give them a full account of what happened. She did so honestly and in full detail.