Chapter 19

The next morning, I got to work early, determined to stay focused. Despite the chaos, patients needed me. My profession was one of compassion and detail. Qualities that had taken a beating in recent weeks but still pulsed quietly within me.

But the hospital felt different that day. It felt heavier.

Mia was already there, pretending to organise files at the nurses’ station. Her eyes flicked to me and back to her papers with all the subtlety of a snake sizing up their prey.

I didn’t flinch. Instead, I offered a polite nod and kept walking.

One of my patients, a middle-aged woman recovering from pneumonia was due...