Because of the “Audrey Bridge,” the Harrington family still had some people working in my hometown. They were there to keep the beer maintained and stuff
I had them watch the care facility where Marcus’s parents were staying. Not to help them or anything just in keep an eye on what was gon arcimd there.
Dylan didn’t really get why I wanted this, but he never said no to me. That’s just how he was.
At the hospital, Marcus pretty much stopped trying to talk to me. But Lily? She kept “bumping into me everywhere, trying to start drama
Like she’d mess with my files so I’d give the wrong prescription to some patient.
Or she’d corner me in the bathroom, tell me to back off from her brother, then walk out soaking wet. She’d tell the nurses I splashed water on her on purpose.
Lily couldn’t talk, but damn, she was a pro at playing victim. Most of the doctors and nurses who worked with her felt really sorry for her. They all adored her.
Her tricks were so obvious and pathetic, but somehow they always worked like a charm.
Too bad I wasn’t the same Elena from my past life anymore. Back then, I was so starved for love I’d take the blame for anything.
This time? I had backup copies of all my prescription files. And the bathroom was specially designed for the psych patients on this floor–it had security cameras but you could only get access to the footage if it was totally necessary.
Oh, and the biggest donor to this entire private hospital? The Harringtons.
“Dr. Harrington, you can’t just misuse your authority to pry into patients‘ privacy like this!”
The security room was full of every doctor and nurse who’d taken care of Lily. I was about to play that surveillance video–right in front of all of them
Lily stared at me like she’d seen a ghost, death–gripping Marcus’s sleeve until her knuckles went white. Tears were pouring down her face.
She never thought I’d actually go nuclear like this.
She definitely didn’t think I could just pull up security footage whenever I wanted without asking anybody.
Marcus took one look at Lily’s face and knew she’d been lying to him.
But he still jumped right to her side, trying to cover for her.
And going after me instead.
“Privacy?” I let out a scoff:
“Oh, Miss Ashford’s privacy may matter, but my reputation–and my patients‘ lives–matter more of course.”
“Do you have any clue what would’ve happened if I hadn’t caught her swapping those prescriptions? The shit she switched out could’ve actually
KILLED someone.”
Marcus just stood there for a second. He looked back at Lily, but he noticed her eyes darting away.
I gave them both the coldest look I could manage and pulled up the video of Lily’s little Oscar–worthy performance–splashing water all over herself in the bathroom, then waltzing out to pin it on me. I hit play for the whole room to see.
Lily was sobbing so hard she could barely catch her breath–like she might pass out the next second, like she was about to keel over. But Ethan grabbed her arm and kept her upright.
“Apologize.” I watched her with a cold stare:
“Right here, right now, in front of everyone. Say sorry to me and say sorry to that patient.”
-And don’t even think about faking it. I know ofan Janguage.
Marcus’s face fell, but he couldn’t get a single work out,
He never expected that sweet, quiet little girl he remembered could turn into someone this Fürthroat,
And after getting totally humiliated in front of everyone, Lily just got more and more unhinged, nothing like the sweet, caring sites he that
knew.
The guy was seriously messed up, caught between what he remembered and what was right in front of him.
Until one day, Lily ran out of Ethan’s office with her clothes all messy.
She was sobbing, saying she’d been sexually assaulted.
And what’s more, it was me–who was in the consulting room with them—who stirred things up.
The hallway quickly got crowded. Marcus was pissed–he was about to barge into that office and tear into me. But Ethan and I just walked out, cool as cucumbers.
Dylan’s phone call was still bouncing around in my head, and right then my phone buzzed with some medical report.
“Lily, you figured there’s no way they’d have cameras in a therapy room, right?”
“Well, hate to break it to you. The second I found out you were Ethan’s patient, I told him to wear a tiny camera every damn time during every treatment session.”
Lily went stiff as a board, staring at me like she couldn’t believe it, her eyes all cloudy and hard to read.
Looking down at the medical report, I couldn’t help but smirk:
“But you know what, Miss. Ashford? Even if there weren’t any cameras, there’s no such thing as getting away with murder.”
“You really thought getting a poor mental patient to kill your adoptive parents was genius?”
Chapter 9
