Late into the evening, the lab was quiet—just the hum of machines and the soft clatter of Jillian's fingertips flipping through data sheets.
The simulation had yielded impressive results, and the team had gone home on a high.
But as she sat alone, sorting through the printed reports, something odd caught her attention. Nestled between the files was a name she hadn't expected to see: Ethan Hunter.
Her heart gave a subtle jolt. It wasn't an archived record. It was recent—updated labs, diagnostics, and hospital tags from just days ago. Her brows furrowed.
This wasn't a coincidence. She stared at the file for a long moment, tension rising in her chest.
Then she stood, her steps firm as she made her way to the head nurse's office. Someone had slipped it into her pile deliberately.
But who—and why now?
Jillian stared at the file in her hands, heart skipping a beat. Ethan's name. His vitals. His post-op notes. His photo.
It didn't belong here.
Her fingers tightened around the folder as she stormed out of the lab, heels clicking sharply down the polished corridor. She found Nurse Lina near the records desk, chatting with two interns.
"Lina," Jillian said, tone icy, "why was this file in my pile?"
Lina blinked, startled. "I—I don't know, Dr. Jillian. The files were sorted by admin. I didn't touch anything."
"Someone did," Jillian said sharply. "This is confidential, and it should never be here."
The interns exchanged glances. One of them quietly stepped away.
Lina stammered, "Maybe it was just a mix-up—"
"This wasn't a mistake," Jillian cut in. Her voice was low now, dangerous. "And if someone thinks they can sabotage my career by exploiting my past, they've underestimated me."
She turned and walked away, not waiting for a response—but the tension she left behind was like a crack in the floor, ready to split wider.
Later that evening, Jillian was finalizing patient charts when her phone buzzed with a strange message.
> "Impressive. VIP treatment for someone you just happened to know? Must be nice having connections."
She frowned.
Seconds later, another message arrived—this time with a photo. Grainy, but clear enough: her entering MyCorp's main building. The timestamp matched the day she'd been summoned to treat the anonymous patient… Ethan.
A chill crept down her spine.
She quickly checked the internal staff forum. A post had just gone live—anonymously submitted. Its title read:
"Protocol Breach: A Heart Doctor on Special Assignment?"
The content didn't name her, but the clues were all there. A senior doctor "seen leaving in a hurry," "called to a private facility without documentation," and "alleged connections to a powerful patient."
It was an attack.
Jillian stared at her screen, heart pounding. She hadn't told anyone about that emergency call except her supervisor.
Which meant… someone close had leaked it.
And they wanted her discredited.
Jillian sat alone in the break room, her fingers tapping lightly on the edge of her clipboard. Her face betrayed nothing, but her mind was running.
Who else touched that stack of files? She mentally retraced her steps, pinpointing who had access—technicians, junior researchers, even the administrative intern who always lingered too long.
She wouldn't make a scene. Not yet. Instead, she jotted quiet notes in her private log.
That evening, she approached Dr. Mei, a colleague she trusted. "I need your help," she said softly, passing her the file. "Someone's playing dirty, and I need to find out who—before they ruin me."
Meanwhile, Ethan sat in his high-rise office, the city sprawled beneath him. Charles stepped in with a file, pausing. "Sir… the hospital board received a complaint. Something about Dr. Jillian Smith and a VIP patient file being mishandled."
Ethan's fingers tightened around his pen. He didn't look up. "Delay the review. Have someone from legal ask for more clarity—stall without making it obvious."
Charles hesitated. "Should we inform the press team?"
"No." Ethan's tone was cool. "Handle it quietly."
When Charles left, Ethan turned to the window, eyes distant. Was someone targeting her because of me?
Or is she just caught in something deeper… He didn't know. All he knew was—she couldn't go down for this. Not while he was watching.
Charles sat at his desk, the weight of the situation pressing on him. The hospital scandal that had been brewing was starting to get out of hand.
With determination in his eyes, Charles reviewed the hospital's security footage. His eyes scanned the timestamps, looking for anything suspicious.
Charles (muttering to himself), "Not everyone has the access to Jillian's files… but who does?"
He fast-forwarded through footage of the research department, pausing when he saw something unusual.
A figure, wearing a nondescript coat, quickly entered the records room late in the evening, just after Jillian had left for the day. The figure moved swiftly, making sure no one was around.
A moment later, the same figure exited, carrying a file. The timestamps matched perfectly with the case file that had been planted in Jillian's pile the next morning.
Charles (narrowing his eyes), "Gotcha."
He zoomed in on the figure's face. It was one of the newer administrative assistants, someone who had been around the hospital for only a few months.
Charles didn't know much about her, but she had access to the hospital's databases and could easily have copied the file and planted it where it would be found.
He sighed, his suspicions confirmed.
Charles contacts Jillian's private line and tells her that he will send her the footage. Charles also tells her that he will confront the sabotage as instructed by Ethan.
The next day, Charles called the new administrative assistant to his office. Her nervous demeanor as she sat across from him told him everything he needed to know. She tried to play it cool, but the fear in her eyes was evident.
Charles (calmly, with authority), "I know what you've done. I have the footage. I know you planted the file in Dr. Jillian's research pile."
The assistant's face drained of color. She opened her mouth to protest, but Charles raised a hand to silence her.
Charles (firmly), "I'm not here to play games. I know who sent you, and I know why. You were trying to create a scandal that would discredit Dr. Jillian. And I'm assuming you were promised a reward for it."
The assistant stammered, clearly rattled. She couldn't meet his eyes.
Assistant (barely above a whisper), "I... I didn't mean to... but they said... they said it would be a quick fix, that Dr. Jillian would take the fall and that... I'd get a promotion."
Charles (leaning forward, voice low), "Who told you to do this?"
The assistant hesitated, looking like she might crack. The pressure was mounting.
Assistant (shakily), "Camilla Robbinson... she said it would be easy. She told me that Dr. Jillian wouldn't be able to fight back if the rumors spread."
Charles' heart sank. Camilla Robbinson. Of course, it had to be her. Camilla had been using subtle tactics to manipulate situations for years, but he never expected her to involve someone so easily manipulated.
Knowing that the situation was dire, Charles immediately took the evidence to the hospital director and arranged a meeting with Jillian. He had already made plans to get her the protection she needed, but the full extent of the conspiracy needed to be exposed.
Jillian's reputation could be tarnished if this went on any longer. But now, with the evidence Charles had gathered, he was ready to put an end to it.