Chapter Eighteen: The Price of Silence

Selena chose the place deliberately.

A quiet café across from the hospital. Glass walls. Clear sightlines. Somewhere public enough to feel safe, private enough to wound.

Iris arrived ten minutes early, her stomach knotted so tight she could barely breathe. She sat near the window, hands wrapped around a cup she hadn’t touched, watching doctors and nurses cross the street in white coats. Watching Nathaniel’s world continue without her.

Selena arrived precisely on time.

She wore soft colors today. Innocent. Fragile. The kind of woman people felt compelled to protect.

“I’m glad you came,” Selena said as she sat. “I was starting to think you’d choose chaos.”

Iris didn’t bother with pleasantries. “What do you want?”

Selena smiled faintly. “Straight to business. I like that about you.”

She signaled the waiter, ordered tea, then turned back to Iris as if they were old friends catching up.

“You made a generous offer yesterday,” Selena continued. “Walking away. Protecting him. Very noble.”

“You said you’d retract everything,” Iris replied. “You lied.”

Selena tilted her head. “I adjusted.”

“You destroyed my career.”

Selena’s smile sharpened. “Careers can be rebuilt. Reputations are harder.”

Iris leaned forward, lowering her voice. “You’re not doing this because you love him.”

Selena’s eyes flickered.

“You’re doing this because you can’t stand that he doesn’t need you,” Iris pressed. “That you never really had him.”

That landed.

Selena’s fingers tightened around her cup. “Careful.”

“Tell me the truth,” Iris said. “What are you hiding?”

Silence stretched between them.

Then Selena laughed softly. “You really are dangerous.”

She reached into her bag and slid her phone across the table.

“Watch,” she said.

Iris hesitated, then picked it up.

The video was grainy but clear enough.

Nathaniel. Younger. Sitting in a private room with several men in suits. Voices raised. Tension thick.

“You think this hospital exists without compromise?” one man snapped.

Nathaniel’s voice followed, cold and furious. “I saved your patient. I don’t owe you silence.”

Another man leaned in. “You owe us everything.”

The video cut off.

Iris’s chest tightened. “What is this?”

Selena leaned back, satisfied. “Old board footage. Buried. Off the record.”

“You’re blackmailing him,” Iris whispered.

Selena shrugged. “Influence requires leverage.”

Iris’s hands trembled. “If this gets out”

“It ruins him,” Selena finished calmly. “Not for what he did. For what he refused to do.”

Iris looked up, horror dawning. “He stood up to them.”

“He defied them,” Selena corrected. “And they never forget.”

Iris slid the phone back. “Then why are you still pushing him?”

“Because,” Selena said softly, “he was willing to burn his world for you.”

Her gaze sharpened. “And I needed to know how far you’d go for him.”

Iris’s throat burned. “What do you want now?”

Selena leaned forward, voice dropping. “I want you to disappear. Publicly. Permanently.”

“I already left.”

“Not enough,” Selena replied. “I want him to believe you used him. That you were ambitious. That you seduced him for access.”

Iris recoiled. “I won’t do that.”

Selena’s smile vanished. “Then I release the footage.”

Iris’s breath came shallow. “You’d destroy him just to win?”

Selena’s eyes were cold. “This isn’t about winning. It’s about ownership.”

Silence pressed down on Iris’s chest.

Then she spoke.

“I’ll do it.”

Selena blinked. “You will?”

“I’ll make him hate me,” Iris said quietly. “I’ll give him a reason to let go.”

Selena studied her for a long moment, then smiled slowly. “Good girl.”

Nathaniel felt it before he heard it.

The shift.

The way staff avoided his eyes. The sudden, uncomfortable politeness. The whispers that died when he walked past.

By the time he reached his office, his phone was vibrating nonstop.

Messages.

Links.

Screenshots.

Medical trainee accused of inappropriate relationship with supervising physician.

His chest tightened.

He opened the article.

Iris’s name stared back at him.

Allegations. Anonymous sources. Carefully worded implications. Enough truth twisted into poison.

His hands shook.

“Iris…” he whispered.

A knock sounded.

He didn’t answer.

The door opened anyway.

Iris stepped inside.

She looked different. Straighter. Colder. Like she’d armored herself from the inside out.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said hoarsely.

“I know,” she replied calmly. “But I wanted to see your face when you read it.”

Pain flared in his eyes. “Is it true?”

She met his gaze without flinching. “Believe what you want.”

“That’s not an answer.”

She walked closer, invading his space, her voice low and sharp. “You were convenient. Powerful. I learned a lot.”

His breath hitched. “Stop.”

“You liked feeling needed,” she continued. “I liked the access.”

Something in Nathaniel broke.

“Get out,” he said.

Iris smiled faintly. “Gladly.”

She turned to leave.

Her hand shook on the door handle.

Behind her, Nathaniel sank into his chair, devastated.

Outside, Iris pressed a hand to her mouth to keep from screaming.

Her phone buzzed.

Selena.

Well done.

Iris stared at the screen as tears slid silently down her face.

Because now… there was no going back.