Chapter 97
[ 509 words ]
Chapter 97:
“Furthermore,” Caroline continued, driving the point home, “I would ask you to examine Nurse Corbett’s shoulder yourself. Right now. The sling can be removed temporarily. If the injury is as severe as she claims, the swelling and bruising should be evident. A genuine shoulder sprain of that severity would present with visible inflammation.”
Melanie’s breathing quickened. Her good hand, her left, gripped the armrest of her chair. She did not move to remove the sling.
“I’m not taking it off,” Melanie blurted out. “The doctor said I have to keep it immobilized. You’re not a physician, Caroline. You don’t get to examine me.”
“I’m not asking to examine you,” Caroline replied smoothly. “I’m asking Dr. Cromwell to do it. He is a physician. Or if you prefer, we can walk down to the emergency department together and have the attending on duty perform a formal evaluation. Right now. If your injury is genuine, you have nothing to fear from a second opinion at your own hospital.”
The silence in the room was absolute. Tammy had stopped breathing.
Melanie’s eyes darted wildly between Caroline and Cromwell. Her mouth opened, but no words came out. The performance was crumbling.
Cromwell stared at Melanie. The political instincts that had kept him employed for twenty years were screaming at him. He saw the hesitation. He saw the fear. And he remembered exactly what Jarrod Romero had promised to do to him if Caroline Thompson was ever harmed by this hospital’s bureaucracy.
“I think,” Cromwell said slowly, clasping his hands on the desk, “that Nurse Thompson’s requests are entirely reasonable. Melanie, I am going to ask you to remove the sling so I can examine your shoulder. And I am going to have security pull that hallway footage. If your complaint is found to be fraudulent, there will be consequences.”
Melanie’s face crumpled. The tears that came this time were real, not of pain, but of pure, incandescent rage at being cornered.
аddі𝗰tі𝘷𝖾 𝘴𝘁o𝘳𝗂е𝗌 𝘰ո 𝗴𝘢𝗅𝗇𝗈𝘷𝖾𝗹ѕ.𝗰o𝘮
“This isn’t fair,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “You’re all protecting her. Everyone’s protecting her.”
“No one is protecting me,” Caroline said quietly. “You just built your case on a lie, and you weren’t good enough to make it stick. That’s not my fault.”
She straightened up from the chair and looked at Cromwell.
“Are we finished here?” she asked.
Cromwell nodded, almost eagerly. “Yes. Yes, I believe we are. I’ll have my office contact you if we need anything further. But I suspect this matter will be resolved shortly.”
Caroline turned and walked toward the door. She did not look back at Melanie, who was now openly crying in the chair, her carefully constructed scheme collapsing around her.
As Caroline reached the door, Cromwell cleared his throat.
“Miss Thompson,” he called out, his voice carrying a nervous, almost pleading edge. “Please send my regards to the Colonel.”
Caroline paused with her hand on the brass handle. She didn’t turn around.
“I will,” she said.
She opened the door and walked out into the quiet hallway. The door clicked shut behind her, muffling the sound of Melanie’s hysterical sobs and Tammy’s frantic attempts to salvage the situation.
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