I set the coffee down. My hand didn’t shake anymore. “Before I sign anything, Preston, I’d like the board to see something.” I opened the folder and slid seven pages across the table. Preston’s smirk flickered. Chairman Whitaker adjusted his glasses, scanning the first page. His face went gray. “These are pharmacy logs,” I said quietly. “Dated across eighteen months. Every controlled substance signed out under my credentials on nights I wasn’t even in the building. I have the parking lot footage, the badge scans, and a sworn affidavit from Nurse Patel, who watched you forge my signature in the supply closet last March.” Preston laughed, but it came out cracked. “That’s absurd. Eleanor’s been unstable since her divorce—” “Save it.” I turned to the board. “I filed a report with the DEA three weeks ago. They contacted me yesterday. The reason Dr. Vale called this emergency meeting isn’t my performance. It’s because he received a target letter this morning. He’s trying to pin it on me before the subpoenas arrive.” The room went silent. Chairman Whitaker slowly closed the folder. “Preston. Step outside. Now.” Preston’s loafers didn’t gleam anymore as he stumbled backward, knocking his chair into the wall. “Eleanor, you ungrateful little—” Security was already at the door. I stood up, smoothed my bloodstained scrubs, and picked up my coffee. “By the way,” I added, “that child you told me to stop wasting time on in the ER this morning? She survived. I’m going back upstairs to check on her.” I walked out without looking back. Two months later, I was named Chief Nursing Officer. Preston took a plea deal. And every morning, I park in the spot that used to have his name on it.
Four years passed. I worked nights stocking shelves at a hardware store, and stopped watching track meets because every starting pistol sounded like a door […]
