Chapter Twenty-Three: The Room Where Wolves Smile

The boardroom smelled like polished wood and bloodless ambition.

Iris felt it the moment the doors slid open. Dozens of eyes turned. Some curious. Some judgmental. Some already convinced she didn’t belong there.

Nathaniel’s hand rested lightly on the small of her back, steady and warm. A silent promise.

“Stay close,” he murmured. “No matter what you hear.”

She nodded, even as her pulse thundered in her ears.

At the head of the table sat Dr. Richard Hale, immaculately dressed, his silver hair untouched by stress. To his right was Selena.

Perfect. Poised. Smiling.

Iris’s stomach dropped.

Selena’s eyes flicked to her, slow and deliberate, her lips curving in something that wasn’t a smile. It was victory rehearsed too many times.

“Let’s begin,” Richard said calmly. “Dr. Hale, thank you for honoring the summons.”

Nathaniel didn’t sit.

“I’m here under protest,” he said. “And with counsel.”

Murmurs rippled around the table.

“This trainee,” one board member said sharply, glancing at Iris, “has no business”

“She has every business,” Nathaniel cut in. “She’s the reason this circus exists.”

Selena leaned forward. “You mean the girl who seduced you?”

The word hit Iris like a slap.

Nathaniel’s jaw flexed. “Careful.”

“Oh, please,” Selena said softly. “She knew exactly what she was doing. Young. Pretty. Vulnerable. Men like you always fall.”

Iris felt the room closing in.

Before fear could silence her, she spoke.

“I never asked him for anything,” Iris said, voice shaking but clear. “Not favors. Not protection. Not love.”

Love.

The word echoed.

Selena’s smile twitched.

Richard cleared his throat. “This inquiry concerns professional misconduct. An inappropriate relationship between a senior cardiologist and a trainee.”

Nathaniel finally sat.

“Produce your evidence,” he said.

Selena slid a tablet across the table.

Photos.

Hospital corridors. Late nights. A blurred image of Nathaniel’s jacket around Iris’s shoulders. Another of him touching her face in the car park.

Nothing explicit.

But intimate enough to twist.

Gasps filled the room.

“That’s not proof,” Nathaniel said coldly. “That’s context without truth.”

Selena folded her hands. “There’s more.”

She stood.

And looked directly at Iris.

“You should tell them,” Selena said sweetly. “How he touches you. How he breathes when you’re near. How you melt when he looks at you like you’re already his.”

Iris’s face burned.

Nathaniel shot to his feet. “Enough!”

Richard raised a hand. “Sit down.”

Nathaniel didn’t.

“You will not shame her to protect your narrative,” he said. “This ends now.”

Richard’s eyes hardened. “Then let’s end it.”

He nodded to the secretary.

A new document appeared on the screen.

Immediate suspension. Pending criminal investigation.

Iris’s breath caught.

“This is retaliation,” she cried. “Because he refused an arranged engagement.”

Silence.

Selena laughed softly. “You see?” she said. “Delusional. Emotional. Exactly why she doesn’t belong here.”

Nathaniel turned to Iris, his expression unreadable.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.

“For what?” she whispered.

“For this.”

The doors burst open.

Security.

“This meeting is adjourned,” Richard announced calmly. “Escort Dr. Hale out.”

Hands reached for Nathaniel.

Iris stepped forward instinctively.

“Don’t touch him!”

Nathaniel looked back at her, eyes blazing with something fierce and dangerous.

“This is just the beginning,” he said. “Stay strong.”

As they dragged him toward the door, Selena leaned close to Iris, her voice a venomous whisper.

“You should’ve stayed invisible.”

The doors slammed shut.

And Iris realized something terrifying.

They hadn’t just taken Nathaniel.

They had declared war.