The frosted glass sliding doors of the medical office hissed open automatically with a mechanical whirring sound.
A tall silhouette stepped past the threshold into the bright corridor, casting a long shadow across the polished tile floor.
Clara: Speak of the devil. Here comes our esteemed director now.
Maya: (Trembling violently) Oh no... please let's just leave. We shouldn't be in this wing.
Clara: Stand behind me, Maya. You are safe as long as I am breathing.
Firm, steady footsteps clicked rhythmically against the tile floor as a Caucasian American man dressed in a crisp white doctor's coat over an expensive suit and silk tie walked confidently into the room.
He was smiling warmly with a polished, practiced expression that completely mismatched the cold, dead look in his eyes.
Dr. Vance: Well, well. What seems to be the emergency in my private consultation suite today, ladies?
Clara: You know exactly what the emergency is, Marcus. Look at what your physical therapy staff did to her shoulder.
Dr. Vance: My staff follows strict institutional protocols approved by the board of directors and our legal counsel.
Clara: Since when does protocol involve choking a recovering patient until her collarbone turns black and purple?
Dr. Vance: (Sighing patronizingly) Patients under heavy sedative medication frequently hallucinate physical trauma during post-operative recovery.
Maya: I wasn't hallucinating! I remember every single word you said in that room last night!
Dr. Vance: You are overwrought and emotionally unstable, Miss Jenkins. Your medical trust fund requires stable behavior.
Clara: Do not threaten her with her own trust fund settlement, you corporate vulture.
Dr. Vance: I am protecting the integrity of this medical facility and its high-net-worth investors.
Clara: You are protecting your own skin from a federal grand jury indictment.
A sharp gasp of breath escaped Dr. Vance's lips as his polished smile twitched for a fraction of a second.
He adjusted his designer cuffs, trying desperately to regain his composure under Clara's unblinking, furious gaze.
What secret is Dr. Vance hiding behind those immaculate medical reports?