I Stopped Loving Him When He Let Me Bleed Out novel Chapter 267

Meanwhile, at Mercy International Hospital's inpatient ward.

Sienna had just finished her morning rounds when a panicked nurse ran up to her.

"Dr. Sterling, what are you still doing up here? It's an absolute disaster downstairs! Someone hung up a banner claiming you took bribes and butchered a surgery. The press is already here, and they're livestreaming the whole thing!"

Sienna walked to the window and peered down.

Bold black letters on a white sheet declared: *Mercy International's Dr. Sienna Sterling Murders Patients for Bribes.*

Joanna Langston's daughter was standing front and center, sobbing hysterically into the camera lenses.

Sienna remembered Joanna vividly—a gastric cancer patient. The surgery had been flawless, her recovery phenomenal, and she had been discharged two weeks ago.

The nurse was beside herself with anxiety.

"Dr. Sterling, this is a PR nightmare! If Director Hayes catches wind of this, he might just..."

Sienna felt a cold spike of dread. That was her biggest fear.

She absolutely could not allow the hospital's reputation to be tarnished, nor could she let Director Hayes regret hiring her.

"I'll go down and handle it," Sienna said, pivoting sharply and marching toward the elevators.

At the exact same time, up in the Director's Office.

Silas Hayes sat behind his expansive mahogany desk, reviewing the latest aircraft certification files for his newly launched aviation subsidiary, AeroJet.

Finn Fletcher sat directly across from him, having been invited in as the consulting pilot for the official flight certifications.

Finn meticulously flipped through the final page of the dossier and looked up.

"Mr. Hayes, the certification documentation is flawless on my end."

Silas nodded and was just about to reply.

When two sharp knocks echoed through the room. Caspar pushed the door open, his expression grim.

He glanced at Finn, visibly hesitating.

"Spit it out," Silas commanded, his tone completely level.

"Mr. Hayes, Dr. Sterling is in trouble. A patient's family is staging a protest in the lobby, accusing her of taking bribes and botching a procedure. The media is swarming the place."

The pen in Finn's hand froze.

Without uttering a single word, he stood up and strode straight toward the door.

"Finn, where exactly do you think you're going?" Silas's voice cut through the air from behind.

Just as Finn was about to tear through the crowd, he saw Sienna emerge from the main doors, her white coat billowing behind her.

Her posture was ramrod straight as she parted the sea of onlookers and walked right up to Nina.

"Ms. Langston, your mother's surgery was entirely documented. We maintained daily progress logs of her post-op recovery. By the time of discharge, her incision was healing perfectly, a fact you personally verified and signed off on. Would you like me to pull up the paperwork with your signature right now?"

Nina faltered, visibly rattled.

"I... I don't care about your stupid paperwork! My mother is suffering complications right now! You took a bribe under the table and nearly killed her!"

"First of all, I never took a single cent from you. If you are going to accuse me of taking bribes, you better produce the evidence right here, right now. Otherwise, this is criminal defamation, and I will be dialing the police immediately." Sienna didn't shout, but her crystalline voice carried absolute authority.

The sheer weight of her words brought the chaotic crowd to a dead halt.

Because Sienna was simply too calm. She radiated none of the guilty panic a guilty doctor would show.

Instead, it was Nina whose eyes began darting around nervously.

The man standing next to her, who had been aggressively filming the livestream, subtly took a step back.

Sienna smoothly turned to face the array of cameras, even reaching out to correct the angle of one particularly shaky lens.

"Joanna Langston's discharge paperwork was perfectly in order. I will be releasing those documents to the public shortly. As for the post-op infection, that developed after she was discharged. Nevertheless, I am more than happy to coordinate a board of specialists to evaluate her case, and I will personally cover the consultation fees out of pocket. However, if anyone is attempting to use this tragedy to peddle malicious, baseless rumors to destroy my reputation, I guarantee you I will pursue legal action to the absolute fullest extent of the law."