Chapter 4

Nelson stood frozen, his mouth hanging open as he struggled to process what I had just said. Rosina, however, didn't hesitate for a second. Her face turned crimson with fury.

"That's a lie!" she screamed. "My son would never do something like that!"

A nurse quickly stepped in, offering her support.

"Dr. Fairclough, don't waste your time with her. Let's get you out of here…"

But Rosina wasn't about to let it go. She grabbed my arm with a grip so tight it made me flinch.

"Hold it right there! You think you can just walk away? You owe my grandson an explanation!" she shouted, her voice dripping with venom.

Pain ripped through my abdomen, and a cold sweat broke out across my forehead. Something was horribly wrong.

I pushed her away, frantic to escape her grasp. She stumbled back into the wall, clutching her back. Then, of course, she turned on the theatrics, letting out a dramatic wail.

"Oh, my head! You hurt me!" she screamed, clutching her back but acting like she'd been hit in the head.

The nurse wasn't having it. "You hit your back, not your head! Stop making things up!"

But Rosina didn't care. "I don't care! Apologize to me, or you'll regret it!" she snarled.

She turned to Nelson, her voice shaking with righteous indignation. "Your mother is being mistreated, and you're just standing there? Do something!"

Nelson, still boiling over from earlier, saw his chance to lash out.

He stormed over, jabbing a finger in my face. "Apologize to my mother right now!"

The pain was unbearable, but I clenched my teeth and whispered to the nurse, "I… I can't… My stomach hurts. Please, just take me away…"

The nurse tried to guide me away from the scene, but Nelson wasn't about to let me go. He grabbed my arm with a force that made me wince.

"Where do you think you're going? You're not leaving until you apologize!" he growled.

The nurse stepped in between us, but Nelson shoved her aside like she was nothing.

"Nelson!" I snapped, barely able to speak through the pain. "Do you even know who I am?"

I tried to pull off my mask to show him, but before I could, Nelson yanked my wrist back, his voice low and dangerous. "I don't care who you are. If you don't apologize, I'll make sure you lose your job."

Rosina, already gleefully filming with her phone, couldn't hide her smug satisfaction.

"Make her bow! Make her apologize!" she ordered, her voice sharp with delight. "I'm recording all of this. The world will see what happens when you cross us!"

The crowd murmured in disgust, but no one did anything to help.

"These people are horrible…"

"Yeah, the old lady started all this drama."

But Rosina wasn't bothered by the stares. She just sneered. "Even the hospital director has to bow to my son. Who does this doctor think she is? She'll be out of a job before the sun sets."

Nelson shoved me down again, forcing me to bend in a way that made my body scream in protest. I refused to give in, my pride keeping me on the edge of defiance. But then, in a fit of rage, he kicked the back of my knee, sending me crashing to the floor with a sickening thud.

"Apologize!" he barked, pressing down on me. As I struggled, my hat and mask flew off, exposing my face to the crowd.

Pain shot through my head, and for a moment, everything went black.

A few men in the crowd, fed up with Nelson's behavior, stepped in to stop him.

"That's enough!"

"Are you serious? How can you treat her like this?"

"Someone needs to knock some sense into him!"

The scene quickly escalated, and in the confusion, Rosina used the moment to kick me several times.

"Security! Somebody call security!" the nurses shouted, rushing to intervene.

Two nurses helped me to my feet, but I could barely stand, my legs trembling beneath me.

Nelson, breaking free from the chaos, finally looked up and froze. When he saw my face, his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Anstey?" His voice cracked with shock.

Rosina's face drained of color, recognition dawning on her like a punch to the gut.

"It's… you?" she stammered, disbelief in her voice.

A nurse gasped, her eyes wide with horror. "Dr. Fairclough! You're bleeding!"

I looked down and saw blood soaking through my pants.

I couldn't breathe. My body was trembling as the pain intensified, and before I could process anything further, my legs gave way, and I collapsed into darkness.