Love's Redemption (Chris and Maddie)

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

On the day of the funeral, rain drizzled like the sky was crying.

at the Johnston residence to find cars lined up on both sides of the street. It wasn't surprising-Matthew Johnston had been a powerhouse in business,

Johnston, stay calm," Lena warned, her voice firm.

nodded, but we both knew emotions didn't

were, the world wouldn't be overflowing with joy, anger, heartbreak,

low-not just out of sadness but to avoid certain people. My history with the Johnstons, especially Jace, made things

muttered, steadying me with a hand

look up-too many people I wanted to avoid-but Lena

She scanned

1/2

wasn't one to make random comments, so my stomach tightened. "What is it?" I

were plenty of people

not the kind of crowd I'd expect for someone like

any.

public life. The few people he still kept close were older, like him. But this crowd? Their faces weren't filled with grief. If anything, they looked restless, even wary, like they weren't

right," I

met mine. She knew everything about the Johnstons and my tangled- up history

into

said, my voice low. "We need to stay