Chapter 2

I didn't say anything.

I took off my white coat, folded it neatly, and laid it over the back of my chair. Then I picked up the car keys on my desk and turned to leave.

Gracie was standing beside one of the columns in the hospital lobby, sunglasses on, arms crossed.

Clearly, she had been waiting for me.

When she saw me walking over with a box in my arms, she removed her sunglasses. A knowing smile curved her lips.

"Dr. Reid, off work already? You sounded so firm when you turned me down yesterday. What happened? Now you can't even keep your job?"

She leaned a little closer and lowered her voice.

"From now on, no hospital in this country will dare hire you."

She looked at me, waiting to see fear on my face, waiting for me to beg.

I didn't. I simply looked at her in silence.

Her brows drew together, as if my reaction displeased her.

"But I can still give you one last option. Come work as my brother's private doctor. You'll be on call 24 hours a day. If you cure him, I guarantee you'll never have to worry about money again. How does that sound?"

I suddenly laughed.

"Gracie."

She froze.

"Do you really think the Fosters are the only wealthy family in the world?"

I didn't waste another word. I walked past her and out of the hospital.

She had no idea.

I wasn't just this hospital's deputy director or a well-known cardiologist in the city.

I was also the only adopted son of Cameron Reid, a nationally renowned physician and the head of Reid Medical Group.

I had only come to this public hospital to refine my skills and complete the assessment Cameron had set for me.

In the medical world, the Reids were the real authority.

Blacklisting me?

Ridiculous.

That night, while scrolling on my phone, I suddenly saw trending topics about me.

[Doctor Refuses Critical Patient]

[Riverside General Hospital Bribery Scandal]

[Cold-Blooded Doctor Under Fire]

A video was spreading wildly across the internet.

In it, Lionel sat in a wheelchair, his face pale and strained, one hand pressed against his chest.

Beside him, Gracie begged me to treat him. "Dr. Reid, please save my brother. We brought money…"

Then the camera cut to me, showing only one cold clip.

"I won't treat your brother. Take your card and leave."

Immediately after, an account claiming to be an insider posted an exposé.

[I work at Riverside General Hospital. Theo Reid isn't some good doctor at all. He takes bribes from patients in private. The Fosters didn't pay him enough, so he refused to treat the patient. The director found out what he'd done and fired him this morning.]

Almost every comment below was cursing me.

[What a monster! How can someone like this be a doctor?]

[Even corporate vultures have more of a conscience than this guy. He's heartless. Someone needs to look into him!]

[I heard he's been blacklisted everywhere. Serves him right. Scum like this should die!]

Lionel also made a post.

The attached photo showed a pale wrist hooked up to an IV, the skin faintly blue.

The caption read, [Maybe my life is already counting down, but I still believe there is light in this world. I don't blame Dr. Reid. I was just born unlucky.]

Countless people swarmed my account. My DMs were full of death threats, fake obituary edits, and people dragging my whole family into it.

I laughed coldly to myself. Anthony was clearly the one who had taken Gracie's bribe and fired me, yet she had turned around and accused me instead.

It was the same trick I had already experienced in my last life.

When Lionel's condition flared up, Gracie said it was because of me. Then she edited videos, fabricated lies, and posted them online, ruining my reputation completely.

I called Gracie. The phone rang several times before she picked up.

Gracie's contemptuous, smug voice came through the line.

"What's wrong? Can't take it anymore, Dr. Reid?"

I ignored that and said, "I'll treat your brother."