Bye-Bye Jerk, Hello Mr. Right by Rosie Steppe

Chapter 803

"The investigation cleared the hospital and Dr. Dale. She's back, but..." Lena hesitated before continuing. "She's been transferred to another hospital."

No wonder I hadn't seen her in the days I'd been here. "Because of the incident?".

"Even though they found no connection between her actions and the patient's death, the public doesn't care. All they see is someone died on her watch, so they blame her. The pressure was too much." She shook her head, her tone bitter. "Public opinion? It's a wrecking ball. It can destroy someone overnight."

Her words hit differently-I knew this wasn't just about Dr. Dale. Lena had dealt with her fair share of blame and accusations over the years too.

I reached for her hand, squeezing it gently. "I'm sorry you've had to deal with that."

Lena gave me a faint smile, but her eyes were sad. "Life's not fair, Rea. Everyone faces their own kind of injustice."

She wasn't wrong. Everyone thinks their pain is the worst, never realizing just how many ways the world can break you. What we've been through is just one tiny piece of it all.

***

ONUS

the funeral, rain drizzled like

lined up on both sides of the street. It wasn't surprising-Matthew Johnston had been

calm," Lena warned, her voice firm.

but we both knew emotions didn't come with an off

world wouldn't be overflowing with joy, anger,

I kept my head low-not just out of sadness but to avoid certain people. My

Lena muttered, steadying me with a hand

look up-too many people I wanted to avoid-but Lena didn't have

She scanned the crowd

1/2

make random comments, so my stomach tightened. "What is it?" I asked. Taking a breath, I finally lifted my head

There were plenty of people

I'd expect for someone like Matthew. His peers?

any.

handed the company to Jace, Matthew had pretty much withdrawn from public life. The few people he still kept close were older, like him. But this crowd? Their faces weren't filled with

I

eyes met mine. She knew everything about the Johnstons and my tangled- up history with them. "Do you think Wayne's up

into a power play, it was