Chapter 6

"You've got it all wrong. I wasn't following you. I'm the peacekeeping commander here." Samantha met his eyes, calm and unflinching.

But Kendrick just snorted. "Samantha, did you hit your head or something? This is a peacekeeping base, packed with the best of the best, handpicked from thousands across the country.

"I heard the commander is a major who even got a medal from the president himself. How could someone like you, a housewife, possibly be in charge here?

"You think everyone can be like Jenny, with a special UN-certified Doctors Without Borders license?"

The doubt in Kendrick's eyes made Samantha's blood run cold.

She'd kept her past from Kendrick because of confidentiality, but his contempt now made it crystal clear. Kendrick never gave a damn about everything she'd been through.

Samantha was done explaining herself to Kendrick. To him, she'd always just be that caged bird living under his protection.

She didn't give a damn about what Kendrick thought anymore. Samantha yanked her hand free and turned to leave.

As soon as Samantha left the base, she saw Jenny wearing a doctor's coat, giving medical checkups to a group of Novigradian refugees.

But the real issue was that Jenny was using the same medical instruments on each person, without disinfecting them at all.

Seeing this, Samantha reminded her. "Do you even know how dangerous this is? HIV, malaria, these high-risk infectious diseases can spread through blood. You're gambling with people's lives."

Jenny just scoffed, not taking it seriously at all. "Are you the doctor here, or am I? Look around, this place is broke.

"I'm already doing them a solid by giving free checkups. Who's got time to disinfect every single thing?

"If you're so obsessed with disinfecting, knock yourself out and do it yourself."

Jenny slammed the tray down in front of Samantha, and the syringes nearly shot out, one almost jabbing Samantha.

"If you're going to be this reckless, then we don't need your 'help' here. Just leave," Samantha said coldly.

As the peacekeeping commander, Samantha had the right to call the shots and kick people out if she needed to.

If things got out of hand, malaria could spread through the whole base, turning everything into a disaster.

"Who do you think you are, telling me to leave?" Jenny snapped back. She was so pissed off by Samantha's attitude that she stopped pretending altogether.

Jenny spat at Samantha, not holding back. "Wearing a uniform doesn't make you a real soldier. You were just following us around, weren't you? You've got some nerve."

Just then, another doctor walked over, drawn by the commotion. "What's going on here?" the doctor asked.

Judging by her attitude, she was probably Jenny's supervisor or something, because Jenny immediately dropped her tough act and put on a pitiful face.

"I was just giving the refugees their checkups, but this lady kept interfering and even stopped me from disinfecting the equipment, saying it was a waste of resources," Jenny complained, sounding all aggrieved.

That actually made the doctor look at Jenny a little differently. The doctor had always thought Jenny was just some rich kid who got in through connections, and never really liked her before.

But now, she shot a look of annoyance at Samantha, but when she noticed the military uniform, she dialed it back a notch. "Ma'am, this is a medical matter. Please don't meddle in our work."

Samantha was so furious at Jenny's shameless spin that she almost laughed out loud.

"Hello, Dr. Larsson. I'm Samantha Mathis, the commander of this peacekeeping base," Samantha said, her tone calm and steady.

"There are security cameras all around the base. I'm sure any misunderstanding can be cleared up," Samantha added.

Samantha reached out her hand to the doctor.

Jenny shot Samantha a look of disbelief, like she couldn't believe Samantha was trying to make herself look good.

But Rose actually stopped and thought about it for a moment, which was rare for her.

She'd never met the base commander herself, but Rose had heard rumors that the commander's last name was Mathis.

But right as she was about to recall the name, the ground rumbled violently beneath their feet.

"Earthquake! Everyone, get to open ground and stay safe," Samantha shouted, her voice slicing through the chaos.

Samantha sprang into action, guiding the panicked crowd to safety without missing a beat.

Not far away, Kendrick came searching for them, his face etched with worry. "Samantha. Jenny. Where are you two?"

Worry was written all over Kendrick's face.