Chapter 96
[ 544 words ]
Chapter 96:
“As you know, Nurse Corbett filed a formal complaint earlier this week regarding an alleged physical altercation in the women’s locker room,” Cromwell began, his words careful and measured. “We’ve conducted the initial HR intake interviews, but Nurse Corbett has now presented new medical evidence. She visited an external clinic and has provided a report indicating a moderate shoulder sprain and soft tissue damage. She claims this injury was sustained during the locker room incident.”
He paused, clearly hoping Caroline would produce some magical solution that would let him close this file without angering either the furious nurse in front of him or the terrifying colonel who could end his career.
Melanie sniffled loudly. “He’s right. I didn’t want to go to our own emergency department because everyone knows you have some powerful man protecting you,” she said, her voice trembling with practiced victimhood. “I went to a neutral clinic. The doctor there said I might have a torn rotator cuff. I could need surgery.”
Tammy nodded vigorously, her face twisted with righteous indignation. “It was horrible what you did to her. She can’t even lift her arm.”
Caroline did not react. She looked at the white sling. The corner of her mouth twitched, not quite a smirk, but close.
𝗠o𝘳𝘦 𝗇о𝗏𝘦𝗅𝘀 о𝗇 𝗴𝖺𝗅𝘯𝗼𝘃𝘦𝗹𝘴.со𝘮
“May I see the medical report?” Caroline asked, her voice perfectly calm.
Cromwell blinked. “I… well, yes, I suppose.” He slid the folder across the desk.
Caroline picked it up and scanned the document. It was from a small urgent care clinic in Arlington. The diagnosis was vague, the handwriting nearly illegible. No X-ray had been taken. Only a physical examination.
She closed the folder and set it back on the desk, then turned her head and looked directly at Melanie.
“You went to an urgent care clinic in Virginia instead of the Level 1 trauma center downstairs,” Caroline said, her tone entirely conversational. “The doctor performed a physical exam but ordered no imaging. No X-ray. No MRI. And the diagnosis is a ‘suspected sprain.’ Is that correct?”
Melanie’s face twitched. “The doctor said I didn’t need an X-ray. He said the physical exam was conclusive.”
“He said a physical exam was conclusive for a torn rotator cuff?” Caroline asked, raising an eyebrow. “That’s remarkable. Most orthopedic surgeons require an MRI to confirm that diagnosis. But I’m sure this urgent care physician was uniquely gifted.”
Tammy’s hand tightened on Melanie’s shoulder. Melanie’s jaw clenched.
“Stop trying to twist things,” Melanie snapped. “The report says I’m injured. That’s all that matters.”
“No,” Caroline said, her voice hardening. “That’s not all that matters.”
She turned back to Cromwell, who was watching the exchange with the expression of a man who desperately wanted to be anywhere else.
“Dr. Cromwell,” Caroline continued, “I am formally requesting that you pull the security footage from the hallway outside the women’s locker room on the day of the alleged assault. The camera in that corridor records continuously. If I slammed Nurse Corbett against a wall and injured her shoulder, as she claims, the footage will show it. The audio won’t pick up voices, but the physical altercation should be plainly visible.”
Cromwell’s eyes widened. He glanced at Melanie, whose face had gone a shade paler.
“That is a reasonable request,” Cromwell said slowly. “Security footage is retained for thirty days. I can have it pulled.”
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