ANMELDENThe moment Anna's eyes met Jason's, the irritation at his interruption vanished. Her lips parted soundlessly, her body frozen in place. He wore a dark grey suit, the lighter shirt beneath it drawing attention to his eyes. Her lips parted again. “Jason—” The name came out before she could stop it.What was she supposed to address him as now—Jason, Jason Knight or Mr. Knight? The first one didn't seem right, not here, not anymore. But before she could twist herself further into knots, Jason spoke. “I need to speak with you.” His gaze shifted past her to Sierra. Anna didn't need to turn to know she looked terrified. “In private.” Anna nodded, not trusting her voice yet and turned to Sierra. She took her hand and squeezed reassuringly. “I'll be right back, Sierra. Okay?” She gave a strained smile, which Sierra returned with one of hers. By the time she turned back, Jason was already walking to the back of the conference room. She hurried after him, offering Pierce an ‘I’m okay’ smile
Anna kept pace beside Pierce, her steps steady despite the tight coil in her chest. The corridor felt longer than it should have. “Who initiated the investigation?” Pierce had been updating her on the chaos unfolding in the hospital. Apparently, someone had pushed for an investigation after the intern video exploded online. The earlier hospital clip had been an intentional act of sabotage, he had said. But she already knew that. Why else was she on suspension? “I heard the investigation didn’t come from the board,” Pierce said. “It came from someone… connected to you.”Anna stopped dead in her tracks. Pierce took a few more steps before realizing she wasn’t beside him anymore.“Someone connected to me?” She repeated slowly, her forehead creasing. Leah had said she wouldn't sit back anymore. She had started that petition online. “A lady?” She asked. Pierce shook his head. “I've no idea. No one does, except maybe the director and the board.” He gestured for her to keep up. Anna fel
Anna barely made it to the entrance before the dizziness hit again, forcing her hand against the wall for balance.Leah noticed immediately, her eyes narrowing as she stepped closer. “Yeah… no. We’re not ignoring that anymore.”Leah placed a hand on her back as Anna exhaled, pressing her lips together as a strange, unsettling thought crept in. She shook her head, forcing herself upright. “I'm fine. Let's—”“You're not stepping into that mess until I'm sure you won't be fainting in public,” Leah cut in, giving her a look. “Wait here. I'll bring the car around.”Anna smiled her thanks but followed anyway as Leah stepped out. She stopped right outside the entrance, a hand pressed to her chest. She couldn't shake off the nagging feeling that something was off. But she couldn't dwell on it. Not yet. Right now, she needed to get to the hospital before things escalated beyond control. Leah's car pulled to a stop in front of her and she slid in. The moment they pulled away, Leah glanced a
Jason sat behind his desk, the morning light cutting through the blinds in sharp lines across the polished surface. It had been a day since he'd initiated the quiet investigation, and had managed to keep the investigators focused and discreet overnight.His phone lay face down, notifications muted, but the investigator’s updates had already arrived on his tablet. USB logs, device checks, two flashed exports of the hospital clip from the nurse station—one from Dr. Mitchell, the other from an intern. His brows furrowed at the lack of anything incriminating in Dr. Mitchell's ersonal office computer. One of them had gone too far—and just yesterday, Jason would've been willing to place his cards on the attending. Now, he wasn’t so sure.There was still the issue of the burner email and Dr. Mitchell's name on it, but anyone would've easily framed that. Just like she'd mentioned yesterday. But still, not the intern. She had no motive to sabotage Anna. Except if the intern was more affect
Anna's brows furrowed as she watched the interns speak, her body reacting before her mind could. Her stomach knotted, shoulders stiffening. Emotions shot through her, too fast to grasp. Only one thought surfaced: They shouldn't be doing that. She shifted uncomfortably on the floor, feeling the heat raise to her face at their praise. Leah let out a low whistle, her gaze shifting from the screen to her. “They must really adore you,” she whispered, almost reverently, nudging Anna slightly. Anna's lips stretched tightly, then snapped back. They were making her out to be a saint—she wasn't. She straightened as Sierra began to speak, her eyes locked on the screen unblinkingly. For the slightest moment, her lips tugged as her own words were echoed back to her. Until Sierra said the words that erased that fleeting smile. “And that's what she gave me… room to grow. To learn.” Anna tensed, realizing where she was taking this. She wanted to scream for her to stop. She could see the pain,
Jason walked around the desk, sank into the seat and pressed play. Silence settled over the office, thick and expectant. The young doctors introduced themselves—the interns Anna had mentioned—before launching into their experience. Apparently they were on night duty and had sneaked off to an empty nurses station to record the video. Jason's eyes scanned their faces, reading the tension in their expressions, the restless energy in their movements. They were chaotic—talking over each other, rambling—which made it clear this was impulsive. Anna had made them feel comfortable enough to ask questions, to admit when they didn't know. And to keep going anyway. “She took us under her wing.” “Chief is selfless. She takes on shifts when others have emergencies.” “Remember when she'd pull a thirty-six-hour shift without breaking a sweat?” Jason's gaze zeroed in on the young doctor—Sierra, she'd introduced horse as—the one from the viral clip as others kept talking. She had been quiet sin
Jason stiffened as his gaze locked onto Anna standing in the middle of his office. Her scent already hung in the air—the sterile bite of antiseptic softened by jasmine and a faint trace of lavender he knew too well. Dark glossy tendrils framed her delicate face, and the hand that rose to tuck them
The room was graveyard quiet, all eyes trained on them. Anna could feel the prickling gazes down her back but paid them no heed, her eyes fixed on Jason's back. Cole shook his head. “This is not the time nor the place, Anna. You should…” Jason turned around then, and everything faded into the bac
Anna's gaze snapped to the blonde woman, her brows furrowing. Darling? Did they know each other? Her eyes returned to Jason to find him still looking at her. Her lips twitched and she took a step forward; the woman had to be a colleague or one of those women who flirted with powerful men, hopin
Jason and Cole didn’t make it back until Jason was being called to the stage. Whatever had happened between them had drawn a visible line—Cole was rigid, unreadable, his easy smile gone; Jason tightly controlled in a way Anna had never seen before.Anna watched as he walked up to the podium with th







