Chapter 3

I didn't say anything. I took off my lab coat, folded it, placed it on the back of my chair, picked up my car keys from the desk, and turned to leave.

Joseph stood by a pillar in the middle of the hospital lobby, wearing sunglasses, one hand casually in his pocket. He was clearly waiting for me.

Seeing me walk over, hugging a cardboard box, he took off his sunglasses, a knowing smile playing on his lips.

"Dr. Harper, leaving work so early?"

"Yesterday, when you rejected me, you seemed pretty tough, didn't you? How is it that today you can't even keep your job?"

He leaned in a little, lowering his voice.

"Harper, starting today, no hospital in this country will dare to hire you."

He watched me, waiting to see a look of panic on my face, waiting for me to beg.

But I didn't. I just looked at him calmly.

He frowned, seemingly displeased with my reaction.

"However, I can offer you one last path."

"Come to my house, be Grace's private doctor, on call twenty-four hours a day."

"Cure her, and I guarantee you'll be set for life. What do you say?"

I suddenly chuckled. "Joseph."

He paused.

"Do you really think your family is the only one with money in this world?"

I didn't waste any more words, walking past him and out of the hospital.

He didn't know that I wasn't just the Vice Director of this hospital or a famous internist in this city.

I was also Mr. Allegri's only adopted daughter, the head of the Allegri Medical Group.

I came to this public hospital merely to hone my skills and complete the assessment Mr. Allegri had set for me.

In the entire national medical field, the Allegri family was the true power.

Blacklist me? Ridiculous.

That evening, as I was scrolling through my phone, a trending topic about me popped up:

Top Expert Refuses to Save Life, City Central Hospital's Dr. Harper Accused of Bribery, Cold-Blooded Demon with No Medical Ethics.

A video was going viral across the entire internet. It showed:

Grace sitting in a wheelchair, her face haggard and distressed, constantly clutching her chest.

Joseph was beside her, pleading with me to treat her: "Dr. Harper, please save my sister, we have money..."

Then the camera cut to me, showing only a cold image: "I'm not taking her. Take the card and leave."

Immediately after, an account claiming to be an "insider" broke the news:

"I'm an internal employee at City Central Hospital. This doctor is no good at all. She secretly demands money from patients!"

"The Sterling family didn't pay her enough, so she refused to treat the patient! The director found out about her misconduct and fired her this morning!"

The comment section below was almost entirely filled with insults directed at me.

"Viper! How can a woman like this even be a doctor?"

"Even capitalists have more conscience than her! This doctor has no heart! Demanding a thorough investigation!"

"Heard she got blacklisted across the internet, serves her right! Such scum should just die!"

Grace also posted a tweet. The accompanying photo showed a pale, almost bluish wrist with an IV drip.

The text read: "Perhaps my life is counting down, but I still believe there's light in this world. I don't blame Dr. Harper; it's just my bad luck."

Countless people swarmed my account. My DMs were full of curses, morphed death photos, and other hateful messages.

I scoffed internally. It was Director Davies who took Joseph's bribe to fire me, yet he turned around and smeared my name.

I'd experienced the same trick in my previous life.

Grace had an "episode," and he blamed it on me, then edited videos and fabricated lies to post online, ruining my reputation completely.

I called Joseph. It rang several times before he picked up.

His scornful and triumphant voice came through:

"What? Dr. Harper finally giving up?"

I didn't respond to that. I just said, "Joseph, I agree to treat Grace."