登入After catching her boyfriend cheating, hospital president Emily DelaRosa learns her late father's contract forces a merger with rival Healing Grace and marriage to its heir, Seth Hernandez. Anonymous threats against her grandmother push her to reluctantly trust Seth's protection.
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Emily I stepped off the plane, the metallic roar of the engine fading into the backdrop of my exhaustion. None of it mattered. All I could think about was Tristan. I dragged my luggage through the arrival terminal with a faint smile playing on my lips. I hadn’t told him I was coming back two days early. It was supposed to be a surprise—a brief pause in my overwhelming schedule before I had to dive back into managing Gifted Hands Hospital. Twenty minutes later, I unlocked the front door to his house. “Baby!” I called out, dropping my bags near the foyer. Silence answered. But his car was in the driveway; he was home. I headed upstairs, my heels clicking softly against the hardwood. “Tristan?” As I reached the master bedroom, the door stood slightly ajar. I stopped. A phone was on speakerphone inside. “What do you mean I have a girlfriend? Of course I don’t,” Tristan’s voice echoed out. I froze, my blood running cold. “But I always see you with her,” a female voice replied through the speaker. “That was just my sister,” Tristan said smoothly. Sister? I almost choked. Tristan was an only child. I didn’t cry. I didn’t hesitate. I threw the door wide open. “Tristan.” He spun around, his phone slipping an inch in his grip as his face drained of color. “Emily? When… when did you get back?” “Sister?” I repeated, my voice dropping to a icy, dangerous whisper. “Babe, it was a joke!” He stumbled over his words, stepping toward me. “Whatever you heard, it was just a prank—” “Don’t touch me,” I said, stepping back with complete composure. “And don’t call me babe.” His shock instantly curdled into anger. “Fine!” he snapped, crossing his arms. “You heard right! I don’t want you anymore. You won't let me touch you—who does that? I’m your boyfriend, Emily!” “We agreed on that boundary two years ago,” I said, my chest tightening, though I refused to let my voice shake. “You signed off on it.” “Well, two years is too long,” he sneered. “I’m a man.” I looked at him—really looked at him—and felt the final thread of respect snap. “You’re not a man, Tristan. You’re a coward.” I lifted my chin, staring him down with pure disdain. “We’re done. And don’t bother reaching out when you realize what you threw away.” I turned on my heel and walked out before he could utter another word. By the time I reached my car, my phone buzzed with a text: For your information, I’ve been having sex behind your back for six months. Don’t flatter yourself. I won’t come begging. I blocked his number without blinking, put the car in drive, and headed straight to the one sanctuary I had left: my grandmother’s house in the countryside. When I arrived late that evening, Grandma was waiting on the porch. The moment she wrapped her arms around me, the wall I had built all afternoon finally cracked, and a single tear escaped. “Tell me,” she murmured softly. I told her everything over tea. “That boy was a fool,” she thundered, slamming her mug onto the table. “You protected your boundaries, and he lacked the character to honor them. Good riddance.” “I just need a few days to clear my head before returning to the hospital,” I said, rubbing my temples. Grandma leant back, her eyes twinkling with a sudden, dangerous mischief. “Well, you won’t be resting entirely. Seth Hernandez is in town with his medical team for a two-week outreach. And you are coming with me tomorrow.” My heart skipped a beat, instantly replaced by irritation. “Seth Hernandez? Absolutely not. I handle your medical care, Grandma.” She gave me a sharp, knowing smile. “You’re coming, Emily. End of discussion.”chapter hundred-twelveEmilyI read the message again before stepping out of the elevator.You're looking in the wrong place, Emily. The person who signed that note isn't the person you need to fear.The words were simple, but they left me with an uncomfortable feeling that settled beneath my ribs.Whoever had sent the message knew about the handwritten authorization. That meant either someone involved in our investigation was talking, or the sender had access to information that should have remained within a small circle.Neither possibility was reassuring.I forwarded the message to Daniel and the hospital's security team, then put my phone away.I wasn't going to let an anonymous stranger dictate where I looked.Seth was waiting in the living room when I arrived at the penthouse. He sat on the sofa with a blanket across his legs, looking thoroughly annoyed with the restrictions his doctor had placed on his recovery.His eyes lifted when I entered."You're late."I glanced at the cl
chapter hundred-elevenEmilyThe note arrived in my office twenty minutes later.I had expected a photocopy, perhaps another incomplete document that would give us more questions than answers. Instead, Daniel walked in carrying a sealed evidence envelope, his expression unusually serious.“The original,” he said, placing it on my desk. “The coordination supervisor signed the transfer record. Security has also made a digital copy.”I looked at the envelope.“Did anyone else see it?”“Only the supervisor and the records officer before it was sealed. I've asked them to document every person who handles it from now on.”“Good.”He opened the envelope carefully and slid the paper onto the desk.It was a small sheet, yellowed slightly at the edges, with a handwritten instruction beneath the reference number we had already identified.Proceed with temporary access. Inspection to be handled separately from routine maintenance.Below it was a signature.The writing was hurried, the letters pre
chapter hundred-tenEmilyBy eight the next morning, I was already in my office, staring at the documents Daniel had left on my desk.For days, we had been chasing fragments. A visitor pass with a questionable name. A camera inspection nobody could account for. An escort authorization with no escort identified. Now, the records showed that someone had bypassed the normal maintenance procedure and used the executive administration channel to make it happen.The question was no longer whether something unusual had occurred.It was who had made it possible.My phone rang.“Tell me you have something useful,” I said when Daniel answered.“I do. But I think you'll want to see it yourself.”“Daniel, I'm not in the mood for suspense.”“Then come to the administrative records room. I've found the original routing sheet.”I grabbed my notebook and left.Daniel was waiting beside a computer, three folders spread across the table. He looked as though he had barely slept.“You look terrible,” I t
chapter hundred-nineEmilyThe first thing Daniel said when he entered my office the following morning was, “We found a discrepancy.”I looked up from my laptop.“Good morning to you too. What discrepancy?”He placed a folder on my desk and pulled out two printed reports.“The original access log and the administrative summary don't match. The original system recorded the credential's exit at 8:03 p.m. The summary says 7:56 p.m.”I compared the timestamps.“Seven minutes.”“Yes. And the summary was generated the following morning.”I looked at him sharply.“Can we tell who generated it?”“The system records the account used to produce the summary, but the account belongs to the security office. Several employees could access it.”I sighed.“Of course they could.”Daniel ignored my sarcasm and continued.“The technical team checked the amendment history. The original access event wasn't deleted. The later summary simply contains a different exit time.”“Was the summary manually correct
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