CHAPTER 15

Amanda’s POV

The bright studio lights were blinding, so hot they made the thin layer of makeup on my face feel heavy and suffocating. I’d been in this chair for forty minutes, fielding questions that all sounded different but carried the same ugly undertone.

Doctor, what do you say to the allegations…?

How do you explain your connection to the Steward family…?

Has your performance at the hospital been compromised…?

Every one of them dug into the same wound. And every time I tried to answer, I could hear my voice tightening, my carefully constructed explanations sounding more like defenses.

This was exactly what I had tried to avoid from the beginning—my name in headlines for all the wrong reasons, my career reduced to rumor fodder. Every word I spoke felt like it was feeding them, giving them another angle to twist.

When the interview finally wrapped, the host thanked me in that polished, media-friendly way that meant nothing. Cameras stopped rolling, but I could still feel the lens on me, the weight of judgment that didn’t disappear just because the red light went off.

I stood, forcing a polite smile, and walked out through the side exit to avoid the reporters clustered near the main doors. The cool air outside was a relief, but it didn’t do much to slow the pounding in my chest.

I could feel it — the exhaustion creeping into my bones, the temptation to just stop. To walk away from the hospital, from the whispers, from the constant need to defend myself.

By the time I reached my car, I had made up my mind.

I slid into the driver’s seat, shut the door, and dug my phone out of my bag. My fingers hovered over the screen for a second before I hit call.

“Adam,” I said the second he answered. My voice cracked on his name.

“Amanda? You sound—”

“I can’t do this anymore,” I cut in. “I’m serious. I’m going to resign. I’ll… I’ll hand over my patients, make sure everything is in order, and then I’m leaving the city.”

There was a beat of silence, and then his voice came, sharp and grounded. “No. You’re not.”

“I’m done, Adam. I’m tired. This—this circus—”

“This isn’t you talking. This is exhaustion talking,” he said firmly. “You don’t run from a fight, Amanda. Not the Amanda I know.”

“This isn’t a fight I can win,” I said bitterly, leaning my forehead against the steering wheel. “They’ve already made up their minds. Every interview is just another chance for them to pick me apart. My patients see these stories, my colleagues see them. The board is watching me like I’m a liability. It’s only a matter of time before—”

“Before what?” His tone hardened. “Before you give them exactly what they want? Before you make it easy for whoever’s doing this to you?”

I blinked, lifting my head. “What are you talking about? Nobody’s ‘doing this to me.’ It’s just—old news. Someone dug it up, and it spread. That’s all.”

He let out a humorless laugh. “Amanda, people don’t just ‘dig up’ something like this out of nowhere, at the exact time you’re vulnerable, with a perfectly timed wave of stories and eyewitness accounts to match. That’s not random. That’s a setup.”

I shook my head, even though he couldn’t see me. “It doesn’t have to be—”

“It is,” he cut in. “And whoever it is, they’re counting on you to crumble. They want you out of that hospital. They want you out of the city. You walk away now, you’re handing them exactly what they came for.”

The silence between us was heavy. His words echoed in my head, unsettling and sharp.

A setup.

The thought twisted in my gut. My first instinct was to dismiss it, to tell myself he was just trying to motivate me. But then I remembered the restraining order. The way it had been filed so suddenly. The way Ryan had shown up with Levi at the hospital. The timing, the precision of it all.

Ryan knew the right people. He had the resources. And if he wanted to keep me away from Levi for good…

My throat tightened. “You think… Ryan?”

“I think you need to start considering that someone close to you doesn’t have your best interests in mind,” Adam said carefully. “I don’t know if it’s him. But I know you need to stay alert.”

I leaned back in the seat, staring at the dashboard. My pulse was uneven, my mind already replaying the last few weeks with fresh eyes. The drink in my office. The way I’d felt dizzy right before seeing Ryan and Levi. The sudden surge of patients asking for me by name. The perfectly timed rumors.

If this was a plot, it was meticulous. And it was personal.

“I don’t even know where to start,” I admitted.

“You start by staying,” Adam said firmly. “You keep showing up. You keep doing your job. You show them you’re not going anywhere until you decide it’s on your terms.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then you’re letting someone else write the end of your story. And you’ll regret it every day after.”

I closed my eyes, pressing my fingertips to my temple. He was right. As much as every part of me wanted to pack up and leave, there was something worse than staying — leaving and knowing someone had forced my hand.

“Alright,” I said finally. “I’ll stay. But if this blows up in my face—”

“Then we deal with it,” he said simply. “Together.”

The knot in my chest loosened just a little. “Thank you, Adam.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” he replied. “Just… watch your back.”

When the call ended, I sat there for a long moment, staring out at the quiet street. My reflection in the rearview mirror looked pale, drawn. Not the face of someone who was winning. But not the face of someone who’d given up, either.

If someone really had plotted this against me, then they’d made one crucial mistake — they’d assumed I’d fold.

They didn’t know I’d been in worse fights. They didn’t know I had no intention of letting them win.

I started the engine, the sound filling the silence in the car. If Ryan was behind this, I’d find out. And if he wasn’t… then I’d find out who was.

But either way, someone was going to regret thinking I was easy to break.