The click of the lock was loud in the sudden silence of the hospital room.
Graham turned the deadbolt, sealing them inside. The sound made Gerry flinch.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Gerry asked, his voice suddenly nervous. "Why are you locking the door?"
Graham didn't answer right away. He walked over to the window and pulled the blinds shut, casting the room in a dim, shadowy light. Then he pulled a chair over to the side of the bed and sat down, crossing his long legs.
The friendly, professional demeanor was gone. In its place was a cold, calculating intensity that made the temperature in the room drop ten degrees.
"Let's talk about your arm, Mr. Brady," Graham said, his voice low and even.
Gerry swallowed hard, his earlier bravado evaporating. "Look, man, I don't know who you are, but-"
"I'm the man who just married Jaimie Stuart this morning," Graham interrupted. He pulled his phone from his pocket, tapped the screen, and held it up for Gerry to see.
It was the photo of the marriage certificate.
Gerry stared at it, his eyes widening in shock. "What? You... you married her? Today?"
"That's right," Graham said, pocketing the phone. "Which means that the woman you were just trying to extort is now my wife. And the man you were slandering to my face is my father-in-law."
The color completely drained from Gerry's face. He looked like he was going to be sick. "This is... you can't..."
"I can," Graham said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "And I have. Now, let's review the facts."
He opened the chart and flipped a page. "You were intoxicated and high when you confronted Jaimie's father. You initiated the physical assault. The injury to your arm, while unfortunate, is a direct result of your own aggressive actions. In legal terms, that's called assumption of risk."
"You're a doctor!" Gerry sputtered. "You can't use my medical stuff against me! That's... that's a HIPAA violation!"
"I'm not disclosing your information to the public, Mr. Brady," Graham said, his voice dangerously soft. "I'm simply using it to prepare my wife's legal defense. As her husband, and as your attending physician, I have every right to review the circumstances of your injury. And if you pursue this frivolous lawsuit, I will be compelled to testify under oath about your blood alcohol level, your drug use, and the security footage that proves you are lying."
Gerry was breathing hard, his chest heaving. The trap was closing around him, and he could see no way out.
"Furthermore," Graham continued, leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees, "your demand for fifty thousand dollars, coupled with your threat to ruin her father's career, constitutes extortion. And filing a lawsuit based on a false narrative is perjury. Both are felonies in this state."
He stood up, towering over the bed. He looked down at Gerry with an expression of absolute disdain.
"So, here is what is going to happen," Graham said, his voice barely above a whisper. "You are going to drop this ridiculous lawsuit. You are going to tell your lawyer that you've changed your mind. You are going to pack up your things, and you are going to leave East City. And you are never going to contact Jaimie or her family again."
"Or what?" Gerry asked, his voice cracking.
Graham smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. It was a cold, terrifying thing. "Or I will ensure every piece of evidence, from the restaurant's security footage to your own medical records, is presented in court. A good lawyer can build a very strong case for perjury and extortion with what we have. Do you want to risk that?"
He picked up the chart and tucked it under his arm. He walked to the door and unlocked it.
"Get well soon, Mr. Brady," he said, his voice shifting back to the professional, detached tone of a doctor. "I'll check on you tomorrow."
He stepped out into the hallway and closed the door quietly behind him.
Jaimie was standing a few feet away, her arms wrapped around herself. She looked up at him, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and disbelief.
"Is it done?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
"It's done," Graham said. "He won't bother you again."
She wanted to ask how. She wanted to know exactly what he had said, what leverage he had used. But looking at his face, the hard, unyielding mask, she knew she wouldn't get an answer.
He started walking down the hall, expecting her to follow. She fell into step beside him, her mind racing.
She should have been relieved. Gerry was gone. The lawsuit was over. Her father was safe.
But as they walked out of the hospital into the bright afternoon sun, all she could feel was a deep, chilling sense of dread. The man walking beside her had just dismantled a blackmailer in less than ten minutes, using nothing but his words and his position.
He was powerful. He was ruthless. And he owned her.
