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.

and I arrived 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, and plenty of people showed up to pay their respects.

warned, her voice

emotions didn't

world wouldn't be overflowing with joy, anger,

just out of sadness but to avoid certain people. My history with the Johnstons, especially Jace,

steadying me with a hand on my arm

wanted to avoid-but Lena didn't have the

scanned

1/2

tightened. "What is it?" I asked. Taking a breath, I finally lifted

when I saw it too. There were plenty of people milling around,

of crowd I'd expect for someone like Matthew.

any.

life. The few people he still kept close were older, like

I

about the Johnstons and my tangled- up history with them. "Do you think Wayne's up

a funeral into a power play, it was

said, my voice low. "We