She finished addressing the cameras and fixed a piercing stare on Nina.
"Now, where is this supposed evidence of my bribery? Let's see it."
The sharp, demanding cadence of Sienna's final words made Nina physically flinch.
Behind her, the murmuring crowd went completely dead.
Several people quietly tapped their screens, abruptly ending their livestreams.
Sienna glared down at the trembling woman.
"You have two choices. Either I call the cops right now, or you clean up this circus, clear the lobby, and come up to my office. Pull another stunt today, and I promise you won't walk away from it."
With that, she turned on her heel and strode back into the hospital.
Nina's legs gave out, and she nearly collapsed onto the pristine marble floor.
Standing safely on the periphery of the crowd, Finn watched Sienna. She looked radiant—an absolute force of nature.
She was blindingly bright, like staring directly into the sun.
He couldn't tear his eyes away. Inside his chest, his heart began to pound a fierce, erratic rhythm solely for her.
Up in Sienna's office.
Sienna glanced at the sleek wall clock.
It had been twenty minutes.
*Knock. Knock. Knock.*
Nina shuffled into the room, her head bowed, radiating pure cowardice.
"Take a seat," Sienna ordered, pointing to the chair across her desk.
Nina practically fell into the seat, terrified to even make eye contact.
"Um, Dr. Sterling, it was just a big misunderstanding. I took care of the crowd. I'm just an uneducated woman, please don't take it personally. I mean, since this didn't really affect you that much anyway, maybe you could just..."
"Who put you up to this?" Sienna had zero patience for the pathetic rambling.
Nina shuddered, frantically waving her hands in denial.
"No one! No one at all! I just had a lapse in judgment, I didn't—"
Sienna shoved her desk phone directly in front of Nina.
"Call whoever hired you and tell them to get up here. I don't have the patience for your sob story. I just waited twenty minutes for you to show up. This time, I am giving you exactly three minutes."
Nina sat paralyzed, her brain short-circuiting in absolute panic.
"One minute is already gone," Sienna casually reminded her.


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