Chapter 6 He Is After Me

• After the incident, whenever I recalled the look on Ian's face, I had a bad feeling about it.
• A couple of days later, an incident happened that confirmed my bad feeling.
• That noon, I wanted to invite Jude to lunch and bid farewell to him as I was preparing to leave Monreso. I called him a dozen times, but his cell phone could never be reached. Presuming that he had turned it off during surgery, I stopped trying to call him.
• Consequently, I went to the restaurant alone for lunch. As soon as I finished ordering my food and sat down, I overheard a husband and wife chatting nearby. The husband sounded agitated; I saw him holding today's newspaper in his hands. "Look at how such a sacred profession has been tainted by this bunch of people!"
• The wife chimed in, "That's right! He looks like a person of some worth, but he's just making money via unethical means! He's totally lacking in medical ethics. No wonder he became a department head at such a young age. He must have pulled some strings."
• Their conversation caught my attention. I stood up and pretended to scan the QR code with my phone to pay the bill, but while they weren't noticing, my gaze rested on the newspaper. It had an eye-catching headline that read, 'A Doctor Investigated for Receiving Bribes from Patient.' Right below the headline was a picture of Jude. Although his eyes were masked in the photo, I recognized him at a glance.
• Jude accepting bribes from a patient? How is that possible? He's a person of integrity and doesn't seem like someone who's motivated solely by profit! "No, I have to go and ask him about this."
• Instead of finishing my meal, I left the restaurant and hailed a cab to the hospital. I asked around at Jude's department, but he didn't show up for work today. The other doctors avoided answering my questions, so I had no idea where he could be.
• I decided to go to the hospital director's office to find out what had happened. "Sorry to bother you, Mr. Ziegler, but I want to ask what happened to Dr. Fulton. Why isn't he showing up for work today?"
• Graham was also feeling overwhelmed by this, as the relevant department leaders and Winter Medical Group's executives were all closely following the situation. It wasn't until he saw me that his furrowed brow finally relaxed.
• He explained the whole situation to me. "Here's what happened: the surgery a couple of days ago was a success thanks to both of you, but the child still had to be hospitalized for observation and recovery," he said. "The child's family gave Dr. Fulton an envelope containing money as a token of apology for their previous misunderstanding. Initially, he didn't want to accept it, but the child's family insisted. In the end, he pretended to accept the money, but then he promptly had the money delivered to our hospital's payment counter to cover the patient's medical expenses."
• His explanation made me heave a sigh of relief. Indeed, Jude wasn't the kind of person who was hungry for money. "What happened after that?" I asked further.
• "After that, someone made an anonymous phone call to the mayor, accusing Dr. Fulton of receiving bribes from patients—a serious violation of rules and a breach of discipline."
• "What?" I stood up upon hearing this. How can there be such a thing happening?
• Graham continued, "After getting information about this, I immediately spoke to Dr. Fulton in private, and he explained the situation to me. However, when the group's executives came to investigate and collect evidence, they found only surveillance footage of him accepting the money but no evidence of him paying for the patient."
• Listening to his explanation, I instantly realized that someone was framing Jude on purpose. "But didn't Dr. Fulton entrust someone to pay the money? Why not just have that person come forward as a witness?"
• I thought this could be an opening, but I saw Graham pinch his nose with a sigh. "Sigh! That's where the problem lies."
• "What do you mean? What's the problem?"
• "Dr. Fulton had a scheduled consultation that day, so he left the envelope in his office and rushed out after saying something."
• "What did he say?"
• "He was in a rush, so he simply told his colleagues that the money was given by a patient, and whoever wanted to go to the outpatient department could take the money to help the patient cover their medical expenses. However, the payment counter at the outpatient department didn't receive the money, and the envelope disappeared without a trace. No one admitted to taking it, and without any evidence, we can't unjustly accuse anyone."
• The situation might seem complicated to others, but my first reaction after I understood the whole story was to think of that jerk. Yes, it was none other than Ian.
• "Where is Dr. Fulton? I tried to call him, but I couldn't get through to him."
• Graham replied, "He's now suspended and under investigation. During the investigation, he's not allowed to have any contact with the outside world."
• Hearing that Jude was being detained, I got anxious. He's even denied the opportunity to prove his innocence! Someone must have arranged it this way on purpose. "Sorry for taking your time, Mr. Ziegler. I'll go talk to Mr. Winter and see if there's any room for negotiation."
• Graham was puzzled as to why I would want to talk to Ian about this, but he refrained from asking the question.
• After saying goodbye to him, I hurried to Winter Medical Group headquarters.
• Taking the elevator to the top floor, I came to the door to the president's office. Just when I hesitated to knock on the door, I heard something from inside the room. I held my breath, trying my best not to let the sound of my breathing interfere with my hearing.
• I heard an affectedly sweet voice say, "Ian, my godfather wants you to visit his place at the end of this month. He wants to have a good drink with you and also set the date for our wedding."
• Huh? Set the date for our wedding? Did I hear that right? Don't tell me this guy is getting married?
• I recalled our marriage back then. It was merely a result of family pressure, and he had reluctantly agreed to it. After our wedding, he ignored me—his legal wife—and spent his days fooling around with other women.
• "Sure. Tell your godfather that once I'm done here, I'll bring some good wine and drink with him to our hearts' content."
• I could tell from the man's tone of voice that he was only feigning affection for the lady. Knowing his true nature, I found it hard to believe that such words could come from his mouth.
• "It's settled, then! Don't go back on it, or my godfather won't let you get away with this."
• "Alright, alright, don't worry. I've promised to marry you. Am I the kind of person who goes back on his word?"
• Damn it! He's full of sweet talk!
• Ian's words irritated me so much that I gnashed my teeth in anger. As my head was closer to the door, I accidentally bumped it against the door with a thud.
• "Who's there?"
• Crap!
• Just when I was about to make a quick escape, the door suddenly opened.
• A voluptuous woman stood at the door. As my gaze traveled up, I was startled to see a face full of plastic beauty before me. Isn't she Eileen Keyes, the winner of the beauty pageant competition three years ago? I can't believe that Ian still hasn't gotten tired of her and is even going to marry her after three years! This really subverts my understanding of him!
• Seeing that I was silent for a while, Eileen asked, "Who are you? And what business do you have here?"
• "I am—"
• Before I could finish, Ian appeared behind Eileen, saying, "Well, if it isn't Miss Robyn Landon! Please come in!" All of a sudden, he behaved like a gentleman without making that disgusting face.
• However, I didn't want to step into his office, even if there was someone else present. "No, I'm not going in. Let's just talk here at the door."
• Ian's face darkened when he saw that I still wouldn't give him an out.
• "I'm here for what happened to Dr. Fulton—"
• "Yeah, right. Why isn't he following you around like a stalker today? It's him who recommended you to be my secretary." The man started to change the subject, even shooting glances at me while Eileen wasn't noticing.
• "Secretary?" Eileen darted a glance at me. She asked, "Ian, are you changing secretaries again?"
• "Just a passing fancy. The previous secretaries were incompetent, and my company never keeps idlers," replied Ian. He sounded serious, but the truth was either he had gotten tired of them or they had gotten pregnant.
• "Is that so?" Eileen was skeptical; I could sense the hostility in her eyes.
• To dispel her doubts, Ian tried to send her away. "Eileen, wait for me in the car, okay? There's something that I need to talk to Miss Landon about. Once I'm done, I'll join you for some shopping."
• Eileen wasn't convinced, though. "Why do you need to talk in private? Can't I stay and listen as well?"
• Unable to order her around, Ian wore an affectionate expression and even wrapped his arms around her waist. "Good girl, just go downstairs and wait for me. I'll take you to pick your wedding gown later. How about that?"
• This trick probably had always worked like a charm on Eileen, who beamed with joy at once. She turned around, threw her arms around Ian's neck, and kissed him passionately, leaving lipstick on his face. "You're so sweet, Ian! I'll wait for you in the car." Overjoyed, she wiggled her hips, flaunting her gorgeous figure as she left the president's office with her bag in hand.
• After she had left, Ian shot me a roguish look and sauntered over to his desk. Then, he took a black package out of a drawer and tossed it toward me. "Here, change into it. We need to have an in-depth conversation about Dr. Fulton's situation," he said, reverting to his true self again.
• I looked at the package on the floor. Although I had no idea what it contained, I knew it wasn't anything good. I hesitated for a long time, unable to figure out what this guy was up to.
• "What are you waiting for? Pick it up and change into it! If you don't change into it, there's nothing to talk about."
• I stared at the package on the floor, then at the man, who looked all smug and confident.
• He pouted his lips, signaling me to pick it up.
• I reluctantly picked up the package. The moment I opened it, I turned red in the face. The package contained a few lace strings tied together to form a garment. If I were to wear this, it would be like a few strings hanging on my body, barely covering anything!