The Cold Surgeon's Contract Bride novel Chapter 147

The purpose of the retreat?

I glanced at Ferris, not knowing whether to laugh or scream.

As brilliant as he was, he had undoubtedly pieced together exactly what happened based on our conversation. But his heart was entirely devoted to protecting Zoey, so he didn't hesitate to use the fragile alliance between our departments to silence me.

Of course. The goal of the retreat was to forge a tighter bond between Neurosurgery and Anesthesiology. What did a crushed ankle matter in the face of that?

Protecting his little fling's reputation was infinitely more important than getting justice for his wife.

I clenched my fists as a suffocating wave of despair seized my chest. Then, I heard Leon fire back, "That's exactly where you're wrong, Dr. Sterling. It's precisely because we value the unity of our departments that we can't let Dr. Zeller face these accusations without proof. Right?"

Ferris's expression darkened into something truly lethal.

At that exact moment, the ski coach and the resort manager burst into the room. After assessing Zoey's and my injuries, the manager launched into a frantic apology. When asked about the cameras, he looked deeply embarrassed. "I am so sorry, Doctors. I just had our security team check the feeds, but because of the extreme drop in temperature, the outdoor cameras froze up. So..."

"Nothing was caught on tape?" Leon asked sharply.

The manager nodded apologetically and immediately tried to do damage control. "But since both of you were injured at our resort, management has agreed to comp all your drinks for tonight's dinner. How does that sound?"

No footage meant no proof.

And without proof, the whole incident would just be swept under the rug amidst endless finger-pointing.

Five minutes later, it was just Leon and me left in the cramped medical room. He stared down at my swollen, bruised ankle and sighed. "That was a seventy-seven-degree incline. If I hadn't grabbed you when I did, you would've broken a lot more than just your foot."

"The race isn't over yet. Why don't you head back out, Dr. Lennox?"

Leon rolled his eyes at me in exasperation. "My teammate is stuck in a medical station, and you want me to abandon you to sprint for first place? Are you trying to get me canceled by the whole hospital?"

I was too embarrassed to say another word.

Knowing how much tension was currently brewing between him and Ferris, the last thing I wanted was to burden him. But he was so fiercely protective that his witty comeback left me completely speechless.

The IV was still dripping into my arm. Whether it was the painkillers kicking in, or the sheer exhaustion of my near-death experience, my eyelids grew incredibly heavy, and I drifted into a deep sleep.