Chapter 4
Claire tugged at Adam's sleeve.
"Adam, don't trouble others on my account. Maybe Summer cares about you so much that she doesn't want me on the flight," Claire said.
With a few words, she made the medical accident sound like it was all about a woman's jealousy.
The child's mother took it personally, snatched a brochure off the wall, and threw it right at me.
"If my daughter ends up disabled, I'll make sure you never get to have kids," she yelled.
I didn't even try to dodge.
The sharp corner of the brochure grazed my forehead.
Blood started dripping down from the edge of my brow.
Adam finally frowned.
"That's enough," he said.
I thought he'd at least have someone help me with my wound.
Instead, he walked up to me and took the logbook from my arms.
"I'll hold onto this for now, so you don't write anything crazy in it later," he said.
I reached out and held onto the other side of the logbook.
"The flight logbook can't leave the person responsible," I said.
He leaned in, his voice low enough for only me to hear. "Summer, don't forget who helped you cover up what happened to your dad back then."
I let go.
He thought I was scared.
Claire thought I was scared, too.
But Lisa was the only one who noticed that, before I let go, I slipped a thin sheet of paper from the back cover into my sleeve.
The surgery lasted three hours.
They couldn't save the child's leg.
When the doctor came out, the child's mother fainted on the spot.
The hallway erupted into chaos.
Claire clung to Adam, crying even harder than the family members.
"It's all my fault. If I hadn't wanted to stay with you a bit longer, none of this would've happened," Claire choked out.
Adam gently rubbed her back.
"It's not your fault. The system messed up," he said.
Standing a few steps away, I couldn't help but let out a short laugh when I heard that.
Adam looked up.
"What are you laughing at?" he asked.
"I'm impressed by how smoothly you handle these situations," I replied.
His face darkened.
Claire quickly wiped away her tears.
"Summer, I know you look down on me. I'm not like you. I can't land the co-pilot spot because of who I know. I'm just a regular nurse. When something goes wrong, nobody even listens to me," she said.
As soon as she said that, the doctors and nurses around us started giving me strange looks.
Someone whispered, "So she only got her job because of connections."
"No wonder she never owns up when something happens," another person muttered.
Lisa tried to speak up for me, but I grabbed her wrist to stop her.
Her eyes were rimmed red with anxiety.
"Dr. Hughes, why don't you explain?" she asked.
I asked her, "Do you think they'd believe me if I explained now?"
She glanced around.
No one even bothered to notice the bubble tea Claire was holding, and nobody questioned why Adam changed the reason for the delay.
All their eyes were locked on me.
Because I wasn't crying, begging, or acting helpless.
So, I ended up looking like the one everyone expected to take the fall.
Adam handed the logbook to the hospital administrator.
"I recommend suspending Summer's flight duty clearance for now. She was emotionally unstable during the flight and refused to assist the captain in regaining the schedule," he said.
The administrator asked, "Do you have any proof?"
Claire immediately pulled out her phone.
"I got it on video," Claire said.
She tapped her phone and started the video.
On screen, the child's mom asked, "Can you fly the plane?" I answered, "I can't take over, that's not allowed."
None of the earlier stuff, the delay, the bubble tea, Adam smashing his headset, showed up in the video.
When the video ended, the administrator's gaze turned icy.
"Dr. Hughes, go ahead and write up your suspension notice," he said.
Lisa rushed forward.
"This video is doctored," she said.
Claire bit her lip.
"I was so scared, my hands were shaking, so I couldn't record everything. How can you accuse me?" she shot back.
Lisa was so mad she couldn't even get a word out.
When the child's mother woke up and heard the word "suspension," she staggered over, her legs still weak.
"Suspension? That's not enough. I'm suing her," she shouted.
Adam jumped in right away.
"The hospital will cooperate with the family in holding her accountable," he said.
I looked at him.
"Are you going to help them, too?" I asked.
He avoided my eyes.
"I'm sticking to the facts," he said.
The word 'facts' sounded filthy coming from him.
The administrator pushed the paper toward me.
"Just sign it. Admit you didn't do enough during the flight, and we'll deal with the rest later," he said.
Lisa frantically shook her head.
"Don't sign it," Lisa said.
Adam moved in closer.
"Sign it. We'll talk about this at home," Adam said.
Claire lowered her voice and added, "Summer, just think of it as helping Adam out. He's struggled for five years to keep this route going. Don't let a moment of anger ruin everything he's worked for."
I picked up the pen.
Everyone let out a sigh of relief.
I pressed the pen to the paper and wrote three words.
I refuse.