All Chapters of The Cardiologist’s Forbidden Trainee: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The parking structure was too quiet.Iris froze beside her car, keys clenched tightly between her fingers. The single overhead light flickered, casting long, warped shadows across the concrete floor. Her breath came shallow as she turned slowly toward the sound.Footsteps.Measured. Unhurried.Her pulse roared in her ears.“Hello?” she called, hating how small her voice sounded.No answer.The footsteps stopped.Her instincts screamed. Iris took a step back, her heel bumping against the car door. Her phone slipped in her sweaty palm as she unlocked it, thumb hovering over Nathaniel’s name.A figure stepped out from between the parked cars.Not Selena.A man.Tall. Broad. Dressed casually, but his eyes were sharp, assessing her like she was a problem to be solved.“You walk fast,” he said lightly.Iris’s heart slammed. “I don’t know you.”He smiled. “That’s true. But I know you.”Fear slid cold down her spine. “Move away from my car.”“Relax,” he said, raising his hands slightly. “I’m

The word suspended echoed in Iris’s head long after the screen went dark.She stood frozen in the corridor while the hospital continued moving around her, footsteps rushing past, monitors beeping, lives being saved as if hers hadn’t just quietly unraveled.Nathaniel was already moving.“Everyone out,” he said sharply, his voice cutting through the nurses’ station like a blade. “Now.”A few people hesitated. One nurse looked at Selena for approval.Nathaniel slammed his hand on the counter. “I said out.”They scattered.Selena remained, perfectly calm, arms folded, lips curved in a faint, satisfied smile.“You’re overreacting,” she said. “It’s a temporary measure.”“You falsified a review,” Nathaniel snapped. “You bypassed protocol.”“I used influence,” she corrected. “The same influence your family benefits from every day.”Iris swallowed, her nails biting into her palm. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”Selena finally turned to her, eyes sharp and cold. “You did. You existed where you sh

Iris didn’t sleep.Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Nathaniel unclipping his badge. The quiet finality of the gesture haunted her more than any argument could have. That badge wasn’t just plastic and metal. It was his life’s work. His legacy. His family’s pride.And he was ready to lay it down for her.Her phone sat heavy in her palm, the last message still glowing on the screen.If he testifies, you lose him forever.The sender didn’t need to say more. Selena never wasted words when fear could do the work for her.By morning, Iris had made a decision that felt like swallowing glass.The hospital buzzed with tension when she arrived. News traveled fast. Too fast. Heads turned as she passed. Conversations dipped and rose again behind her back like waves.She spotted Nathaniel across the atrium, surrounded by administrators. He looked calm, composed, lethal in his stillness. But Iris saw the strain beneath it. The way his shoulders were tight. The way his jaw flexed when someone

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.”“Yo

The man didn’t rush her.That was what frightened Iris the most.He leaned casually against the brick wall at the mouth of the alley, blocking the narrow exit without touching her, without raising his voice. Like a hunter who knew his prey had nowhere to go.“You don’t look dangerous,” he said mildly. “That’s usually how it works.”Iris forced her spine straight. “If you’re here to threaten me, just say it.”He chuckled. “Threaten? No. I’m here to assess.”“Assess what?”“How much you know,” he replied. “And how quiet you’re willing to stay.”Her blood ran cold. “I don’t know anything.”He took a step closer. The space shrank instantly.“That’s not what the board thinks,” he said. “You were close to Dr. Hale. Very close.”Her heart hammered. “I already ruined that.”“Did you?” His eyes flicked to her trembling hands. “Because men like him don’t let go easily.”Fear clawed up her throat. “Leave me alone.”He smiled thinly. “You’ll want to listen first.”He reached into his jacket and p