Chapter 92
[ 534 words ]
Chapter 92:
Melanie was holding a plastic medical tray. Her eyes were locked onto the gold foil logo on the white paper bag. Her face was completely pale. Her neck was wrapped in a thick bandage, a dramatic white collar of gauze that seemed entirely out of proportion to any injury she might have sustained. Just two days ago, Melanie had loudly complained in the break room about wanting a pastry from that exact bakery, and Julian had completely ignored her.
A toxic, burning jealousy clawed at Melanie’s chest. Her fingers gripped the edges of the plastic tray so hard her knuckles turned pure white.
Tammy leaned close to Melanie’s ear. “Look at her,” Tammy whispered, her voice dripping with venom. “She acts so innocent, but she’s a total slut. She’s sleeping with that military guy, and now she’s trying to hook Dr. Croft.”
The words acted like gasoline on a fire. Melanie’s jaw locked. A dark, vicious light ignited in her eyes.
At the nurses’ station, Caroline let out a tired sigh. To avoid a scene, she grabbed the paper bag and the coffee.
She pulled out her standard hospital phone and typed a fast, incredibly distant text message to Julian: Thank you for the coffee. Much appreciated.
She hit send and picked up her clipboard.
Caroline turned her head slightly. Her cold gray eyes locked directly onto Melanie down the hall. Her gaze flicked to the thick bandage around Melanie’s neck, assessing it with clinical detachment. So this was how Melanie intended to make the complaint stick. The visible injury. The performance of a victim.
𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘴.𝘤𝘰𝘮
Melanie flinched under the scrutiny. She quickly spun around and dragged Tammy into a patient room, disappearing from sight.
Brenna noticed the look and shivered. “You need to watch your back, Caroline. I heard Melanie filed some kind of complaint against you this morning. Human Resources was buzzing about it before you got here. And that bandage, she’s been telling everyone you grabbed her by the throat.”
Caroline took a sip of the freezing iced espresso. The cold liquid slid down her throat.
“Let her try,” Caroline said flatly.
She turned and walked down the corridor toward the ICU.
Inside the supply closet, Melanie slammed the plastic tray onto a metal shelf. The noise echoed loudly.
“Did you see the way she looked at me?” Melanie hissed, her chest heaving with rage. “Like I was nothing. Like my complaint was nothing.”
Tammy looked nervous. “She didn’t even react to the bandage. Maybe we should rethink this. She’s not backing down like we thought she would.”
Melanie reached up and adjusted the thick gauze around her neck, her fingers trembling with fury. She had already filed the complaint. She had already worn the bandage through three department meetings, telling anyone who would listen that Caroline Thompson had choked her in the locker room. But it wasn’t having the effect she wanted. Dr. Cromwell had been dismissive. The senior nurses had exchanged glances she couldn’t read. And now the target of her scheme had walked past her like she was insignificant.
“I am not going to let that bitch humiliate me anymore,” Melanie whispered, her voice shaking. “I filed the paperwork. Now I just need to make sure the investigation finds something. Anything.”
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