Chapter 2

He straightened his white coat, acting all official.

"Look, everyone wants money, but there are honest ways to get it. I'm only saying this because you're my friend. Your family has money. Trying to dodge a hospital bill isn't right."

I stared at him, stunned, anger flaring.

"You're a doctor. You should know better than to throw accusations around. The bill is right here, and you're saying I'm trying to get out of paying it?"

The second people heard I was "trying to dodge the bill," every patient nearby turned to stare.

I glared at George Webster.

We'd known each other for over twenty years. My mom had treated him like a second son.

When she got sick, we chose this hospital because George pushed for it.

But when she died three days ago, he didn't even show up.

And now this?

I couldn't have been more disappointed.

George gave me a helpless look, completely dodging the real issue and making me look like the problem.

"You've always been stubborn. Your mom used to put up with it, but she's gone now. It's time to grow up and stop doing whatever you want!

"I know you're grieving, but you can't take it out on the doctors. Your mom's attending physician has practiced medicine for over thirty years. He's highly respected."

Just like that, everyone turned on me.

"So he's just making trouble for no reason. Even his own friend says so. That tells you what kind of guy he is."

"Your mom died, and instead of planning her funeral, you're here causing trouble? We waited forever for these appointments. Just because your mom died doesn't mean everyone else should miss out on treatment!"

"This is ridiculous. No wonder doctor-patient relationships are so bad now. It's because of people like you!"

How had I never noticed how manipulative George was?

He'd already made everyone think I was the problem before they even knew what happened.

I slapped the test reports against his chest. "You think I'm causing trouble, right?

"Then read these out loud. Right here. In front of everyone."

George's face stiffened.

Something was definitely off.

As both a doctor and my closest friend, his first move should've been to check the records.

So why was he dodging me?

George lowered his voice and tried to pull me toward his office.

I shoved him off. "We can talk right here. I just want to know why my mom supposedly needed five CT scans in one day, eight bags of roxithromycin, and 220 pounds of IV fluids.

"She was hospitalized for two weeks after a heart attack, and I paid $180,000!

"Worst of all, she's been dead for three days, and you're still billing her for new treatments!

"If this hospital can't explain that, I'm reporting it."

I called the Health Department on the spot.

The patients who'd been trashing me froze.

"What?"

"Two hundred twenty pounds of IV fluid a day? That's more than some people weigh! They practically pumped her full like a water balloon. That's insane!"