Next Man, Better Plan novel Chapter 151

She still had an IV in her arm, but ignoring the backflow of blood into the tube, she rushed forward and grabbed Quennel's sleeve.

"I'm yours now, and I can never have children again. If you abandon me, aren't you just sentencing me to death?"

Victoria looked utterly pitiful, her face streaked with tears as she swayed unsteadily.

Noticing her bare feet, Quennel scolded her, "You're still sick, get back in bed! You need to rest and recover, you can't get a chill!"

Victoria was stubborn. "But you're leaving me! What good is this body to me now?"

He had never expected the usually gentle woman to have such a defiant side.

With a sigh, Quennel led Victoria back and ordered her to lie down on the bed.

Stephanie, watching from the side, couldn't help but laugh.

What was she even doing here? Did she have nothing better to do than watch them bicker and flirt?

Those two deserved each other.

Taking advantage of their distraction, Stephanie turned and left.

But she didn't leave the hospital. Instead, she went to the doctor's office.

Stephanie found Victoria's attending physician and got straight to the point. "How much did Victoria pay you?"

The middle-aged male doctor, with strong brows, a square jaw, and glasses, had a face that somehow made people uncomfortable.

He put on an air of righteous indignation. "What are you talking about? I don't understand. What bribe?"

Stephanie scoffed. "Cut the act. You can fool a simpleton like Quennel, but not me. If you won't talk, I'll find someone who will."

"What are you going to do?"

"Call the medical board. Have them investigate what kind of under-the-table benefits you've been accepting from patients."

At that, he finally panicked. "No, no, please! We can talk about this."

Stephanie knew from the start that someone who could be so easily bought was a spineless opportunist, terrified of being investigated.

Losing his job was a far greater loss than any bribe. There was no reason for him to risk his entire future for a stranger like Victoria.

"I won't make things difficult for you. This is a personal matter between me and Victoria. Just tell me the truth, and I can look the other way."

Realizing Stephanie wouldn't back down, the doctor stopped beating around the bush.

"Victoria was never pregnant."

"She came to me half a month ago and asked me to fake a pregnancy test for her."

It was all an act, staged by Victoria herself.

Quennel released the doctor and staggered back a few steps, his hands clenched into tight fists.

Only now did he realize just how spectacularly wrong he had been.

All this time, he'd been played for a fool, a puppet in Victoria's hands.

The pregnancy was fake, the miscarriage was fake, and maybe... that night was fake, too.

No wonder Stephanie had looked at him with such mockery in her eyes earlier.

He really had been unbelievably stupid.

"Is she gone?" As the words left his lips, Quennel bolted out of the office like a madman.

Wait, Ironhold Investment Group?

Why was Stephanie going to Ironhold Investment Group?

Was she close with Jonathan?

That night at the police station, she had left in his car, too.