Benedict POV
The silence in the office was suffocating.
Benedict looked from the flyer to his father, then to Yvonne. His gaze darted back and forth, confusion warping his features.
"Dad, what are you saying?" Benedict asked, his voice barely a whisper. "Yvonne would never..."
"Shut up, Benedict," William snapped. He did not look at his son. His lethal glare was fixed solely on Yvonne.
"Where is my grandson?" William asked. His voice was quiet now, which was far more terrifying than his shouting.
Yvonne let out a breathy, incredulous laugh. She walked around the desk, putting distance between herself and the CEO.
"Grandson? William, surely you do not believe the lies that woman told you," she scoffed. "She was a fling. A mistake Benedict made years ago."
"She was his wife in every way that mattered!" William roared. "And that boy was my blood!"
Yvonne crossed her arms. Her mask was slipping. The sweet fiancée was gone; the cornered animal was emerging.
"She’s a gold digger," Yvonne spat. "She came here last night screaming, making a scene. She was high on something! I did what I had to do to protect the hospital's reputation."
"You blocked a dying child from receiving care!"
"I followed protocol!" Yvonne yelled back. "The ER was at capacity! We can’t just let every hysterical woman off the street waltz in because she claims to know the CEO's son!"
Benedict picked up the flyer. His hands were trembling.
"She left me a note," he whispered. His eyes drifted to the trash can where he had tossed it earlier.
Yvonne's eyes darted to the trash can, then back to Benedict.
"She was harassing you, Ben. Just like she always does. I was trying to protect you."
"Protect me?" Benedict looked at her—really looked at her, as if seeing a stranger. "By letting my son die?"
"Oh, stop it!" Yvonne threw her hands up. "It was a snake bite! He was probably dead before she even got here. Why is everyone acting like I murdered him? He was a common patient!"
A common patient.
The words hung in the air.
I watched Benedict's face crumble. I saw the moment his heart broke. Not for me. Not yet. But for the realization of the monster he was sleeping with.
William stepped forward.
"I have launched a formal investigation," he announced. "The police are on their way to seize the security tapes. And you, Yvonne... you are suspended. Immediately."
Yvonne's face turned purple.
"You cannot do that! My family—"
"Your family is the only reason you aren’t in handcuffs yet!" William shouted. "Get out of my hospital."
Yvonne grabbed her purse. She looked at Benedict, expecting him to intervene. Expecting him to save her.
"Ben?" she whimpered, trying to summon crocodile tears.
Benedict did not look up from the flyer. He was transfixed on Jeremy's picture.
"Get out," Benedict whispered.
Yvonne straightened her spine. She smoothed her scrubs. She looked at them with pure, unadulterated hatred.
"Fine. But you will see. You will all see. She is not worth this. She never was."
She turned on her heel and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
I stayed in the shadows. I watched William sink into a chair, burying his face in his hands. I watched Benedict reach into the trash can and retrieve the crumpled note.
He smoothed it out on the desk, his tears falling onto my handwriting, blurring the ink.
Too late, I thought.
It is too late for tears.
