Chapter 20

Mia tried to keep her cool, but her hands were already sweaty.

She had no way out, so she decided to go all in.

Looking straight at Louis, Mia said firmly, "I know you—you're Dr. Brown's husband, Louis. But the facts are right here. Are you still gonna lie with a straight face?"

Louis's eyes were calm but sharp. He said slowly, "You need proof to back up your words. Since these family members are accusing Anna, why don't we get to the bottom of this right now?"

"Louis, stop being stubborn! These family members testified in person. Do you think they're lying?" Mia's tone was aggressive. "We have both testimonial and physical evidence. Are you still gonna defend Anna at this point?"

Louis heard this and a knowing smile crept onto his face. "Do you dare to verify it?"

Mia was taken aback for a moment, then sneered, "What's there to verify? These people who reported Dr. Brown are real. How could it be fake?"

Louis chuckled to himself, thinking, 'She really won't give up until she's completely defeated.'

He ignored Mia and turned to Philip. "Mr. Mitchell, since someone has reported Dr. Brown, I think the best way is to thoroughly investigate. I hope you can have someone immediately check the patient information, medical records, and room numbers mentioned by these family members."

Philip's eyes narrowed, and he nodded. "Alright, I'll have someone look into it right away. If Dr. Brown's innocent, I'll clear her name. But if she's done something wrong, I won't stand for it!"

Hearing this, Mia felt her heart skip a beat, and her eyes involuntarily drifted to Ralph standing nearby.

Ralph appeared calm on the surface, but his hands were already sweaty.

He knew that once this information was verified, the truth would come out immediately.

However, he was now in a tough spot and could only pretend to be nonchalant.

Philip immediately sent someone to investigate. Louis was actually a bit impressed with him as Philip was fair in his actions, making sure no one could accuse him of being biased towards Anna or use it against him.

Mia's fingers tightened suddenly, and her heart pounded wildly.

She turned and gave a nod to a few family members, signaling them to keep going.

The middle-aged man at the front understood and immediately said loudly, "Mr. Mitchell, my mother was hospitalized last year, and it cost us $100,000 to get a bed! These are facts, and we still have the transfer records!"

"Yes! Dr. Brown did exactly that!" another woman echoed, "She directly negotiated terms with us. It was outrageous!"

Accusations flew one after another, and Louis shook his head slightly as he watched them. At the end of their rope, the more they made a fuss, the more it seemed like a bluff.

For a moment, these people all spoke up, unanimously pointing the finger at Anna.

"See? You hear that? With so many people testifying, what else can you say?" Mia said with a cold smile.

However, Louis remained unfazed and instead looked at the family members with interest. He spoke slowly, his voice not loud but clear and powerful, "Although Mr. Mitchell has already sent someone to investigate, since you say my wife took your bribes, you'll need to provide detailed info—like the patients' names, treatment times, and room numbers. This way, it will be easier to check, and the hospital won't waste time, right?"

Hearing this, the family members suddenly fell silent. They exchanged glances, panic flashing in their eyes, but quickly lowered their heads, pretending to be nonchalant.

"What, cat got your tongue?" Louis sneered, "You can't even remember your own family members' names?"

Mia cut him off right away, "Louis, stop changing the subject! They've been very clear. What right do you have to doubt them?"

"Clear?" Louis raised an eyebrow, "They can't even provide basic details. With such a clumsy act, are you sure you want to keep this up?"

Mia's face twisted in anger, but just as she was about to retort, Philip's assistant walked in, holding an investigation report.

The assistant walked up to Philip with a serious expression and whispered a few words.

Philip's face immediately darkened. He looked up, his gaze sharp as he swept over the family members. "According to the data from the hospital's system, these so-called patient family members have no medical records! In other words, the accusations you just made are all false!"

Upon hearing this, Mia turned ashen.

The middle-aged man panicked and quickly said, "That's impossible! We clearly..."

"Clearly what?" Louis cut him off. "Clearly, you were hired by someone with money, thinking no one would find out, right? I suggest you come clean now. Once the police get involved, it won't be so easy to explain away."

These words were like a sharp knife stabbing into their hearts.

Previously, Ralph and Mia had promised them that as long as they cooperated in the act, not only would no one dare to expose them, but they would also get paid.

As a result, Ralph, as a hospital director, was instead being controlled by the husband of an ordinary doctor.

They looked at each other, trembling at the thought of facing jail time.

Finally, one of them couldn't help but beg for mercy, "We were hired by Mia and Ralph! They said they would give us $5,000 after it was done."

Mia was stunned. "You're talking nonsense! When did I ever hire you?"

The man raised his hand and pointed at her. "It was you! You even came to tell us how to act last night!"

Mia's eyes blazed with fury as she screamed, "Shut up! You idiots!"

Ralph, who had been standing silently, saw the situation taking a sharp turn and immediately took a step back, distancing himself. "Mr. Mitchell, please trust me, this has nothing to do with me! I don't even know them, and I have no idea what Mia did!"

"Really?" Louis smiled with interest, his voice soft but each word cutting like a knife. He looked at Mia, "So it seems you're the only mastermind behind this?"

Mia glared at Ralph, her voice sharp and angry. "Ralph, are you seriously gonna say this wasn't your plan? The whole scheme was your idea! And now that it's all gone wrong, you expect me to take the fall by myself?"

"You're lying!" Ralph's face darkened as he continued, "This was entirely your own doing! I had no knowledge of it!"

Louis sneered, "Enough, Ralph, trying to distance yourself? You're not much of a man. Sorry to say, but I have something interesting here."

He took out his phone and played a recording.

In the recording, Ralph and Mia's conversation was crystal clear.

"Don't worry. As long as we ruin Anna's reputation and make her take the fall, our plan will succeed. I've written the lines for those family members, as long as they follow the script, no one can expose us."

"Dear Ralph, you're so thoughtful. When the time comes, I'll rely on you for the breast cancer surgery fee."

The recording ended with the sound of the two of them making love in a hotel bed.

Philip's face turned dark as he slammed his thigh. "Ralph, I'm so disappointed in you! You ruined the hospital's reputation just for your own gain. That's unforgivable! From now on, Mia's guilty of slander, and we're handing her over to the police!"

Ralph tried to make a final struggle, "Mr. Mitchell, let me explain! Mia threatened me. You must investigate thoroughly!"

At this point, Mia collapsed to the ground, her eyes vacant and her lips trembling. Every now and then, a chilling, tragic laugh escaped her.

"Ralph, if I had known you were such an irresponsible man, I wouldn't have believed your sweet talk," she said disheartenedly.

Ralph, enraged, shouted, "Shut up, you bitch!"

Mia raised her head, her eyes full of exhaustion, and said to everyone, "It was me... I admit it was all my idea." She choked, "I have breast cancer and urgently need money. I really had no other choice!"

Mia pointed at Ralph, her voice hoarse with resentment. "It was him! It was Ralph's idea. He said he would find a way to embezzle some hospital funds and use Dr. Brown's lack of background in the hospital to make her take the fall. Then the money could be used for my surgery!"

"Damn it, crazy bitch, stop talking nonsense!" Ralph took a step forward, raising his hand as if to hit Mia, but Louis kicked him into the hallway.

Louis glanced sideways at Mia, who was slumped on the ground, and coldly said to the two of them, "Although neither of you are good people, Ralph, you're even worse!"

Ralph's face flushed, cold sweat beading on his forehead as he scrambled to Philip. He begged, "Mr. Mitchell, she's making this up! You've got to trust me!"

Philip took a deep breath to suppress his anger before he said, "Ralph, I am extremely disappointed in you. As the head of the hospital's internal investigation department, not only did you fail to fulfill your duties, but you also conspired with outsiders to frame a colleague for personal gain. We will not keep a doctor like you in our hospital!"

Hearing this, Ralph collapsed to the ground, tightly clutching Philip's leg. "Mr. Mitchell, give me another chance! I... I was momentarily confused!"

"Your confusion almost caused the hospital to suffer a huge reputational loss," Philip said coldly, "I've decided. You are suspended pending investigation, and all issues involving you and Mia will be handed over to the relevant authorities."

Hearing this, Mia completely broke down, crying and shouting, "It's not my fault! I just wanted to get treatment! I had no choice!"

"No choice?" Louis said coldly, his gaze like a sharp sword piercing her. "So you thought it was okay to play with someone else's innocence? You are indeed ill, but Anna's career was almost ruined by you! Does her life mean nothing?"

Mia said nothing more, just lowered her head and cried.

Seeing the downfall of Ralph and Mia, the hospital colleagues finally reduced their prejudice against Anna.

And her so-called useless husband, this time, didn't seem as useless as the rumors suggested.

After handling the matter, Philip proactively apologized to Anna, "Dr. Brown, this time it was the hospital's fault. I didn't expect Ralph to be such a person. On behalf of Unity Medical Center, I apologize to you!"

Then, Philip bowed deeply, which startled Anna.

"Mr. Mitchell, I'm fine. It's all in the past," Anna said, completely at a loss.

Philip smiled and nodded, then looked at Louis, smiling warmly. "Mr. Windsor, when would it be convenient for you to visit my home?"

"No problem, I'll contact you when I have time," Louis smiled slightly.

Upon hearing that, Philip was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly. This time, Louis finally showed signs of accepting his invitation.

A female doctor suddenly approached with a smile, her tone dripping with flattery. "Anna, congratulations! You truly deserve the position of chief physician. We've long been displeased with Ralph."

Anna smiled slightly but said nothing more. She never cared about these insincere gestures.

Compared to these, she cared more about Louis.

She looked back and saw Louis and Philip walking side by side to the end of the corridor, talking in low voices.

They looked relaxed, occasionally nodding, appearing quite mysterious.

Anna felt a hint of doubt and decided to ask Louis about it when he returned.

Within two minutes, Louis strolled back in, wearing his usual carefree smile. "Honey, it's settled! How about treating me to a meal as a thank you?"

Anna pretended to be angry and asked, "Be honest, why did Philip show you so much respect? And how do you know him?"

Louis was stunned for a moment, then touched his nose, his eyes evasive. "Maybe he mistook me for someone else. My name is so common that there are many people with the same name."

Anna snorted, "Louis, can you come up with a better excuse? Or are you out there pretending to be some doctor, deceiving people?"

"Absolutely not!" Louis quickly waved his hand. "Honey, I swear, I really didn't."

"It better be that way." Anna rolled her eyes, warning, "Don't go around saying you're some doctor's husband, and don't pretend to be some miracle doctor. If I find out you're deceiving people, I'll be the first to break your leg!"

"Honey, which leg do you want to break? The third one is off-limits!" Louis said mischievously.

"You!" Anna was furious.

Louis raised his hands, swearing, "Don't worry, Anna, I definitely won't! How dare I lie to you!"

Although Louis's explanation seemed far-fetched, Anna's gratitude towards him was genuine.

She said softly, "Thank you for this time. If it weren't for you, I might not have been able to clear my name."

Louis immediately smiled, his eyes crinkling, "So, do I get a reward?"

"Don't push your luck." Anna raised her hand and tapped his forehead, her tone full of disdain, but her eyes held a hint of softness.

"Got it, got it, I'll go home now!"

Louis grinned and prepared to leave the hospital.

As they bantered, Anna's phone rang.

The screen displayed Lucy's name.

Anna answered the call, and as soon as she said "Mom," an eager and excited voice came from the other end.