Chapter 172

Chapter 172

"If you didn't make this mistake, are you saying I did? The responsible doctor's name is written right there on the label. Are you still going to argue with me?"

Raymond looked at Abigail with clear disappointment. "I actually thought you were someone who owned up to their mistakes. Looks like we were wrong about you."

His words hit hard.

Abigail looked at the name listed under the responsible doctor on the medicine bottle and found herself at a loss for words.

Her name was right there.

Which meant this prescription had to have been issued through her hospital account.

But Abigail was certain she had never prescribed this dosage.

She just couldn't figure out how it had ended up this way.

Seeing Abigail go quiet, Raymond grew even more displeased.

"Own up to your mistakes! I called you in today to give you a chance to make things right — I didn't want to call you out in front of everyone."

His tone softened slightly as he said this, but his eyes remained sharp.

"Abigail, I understand you've been here a long time and have your own way of doing things. But you still have to follow the hospital's basic rules and uphold the standards expected of a doctor."

Raymond kept lecturing, but Abigail's mind had started to drift. She kept it off her face, though, not wanting to make things worse.

By the time Raymond finally stopped, his mouth had gone dry.

"Alright, that's enough on this. Go back and write me a written self-criticism and bring it up later."

Raymond waved his hand and called it settled.

But if Abigail actually wrote that self-criticism, it would put things on record. After all, she would have to explain the reason in writing.

A sharp glint flashed in Raymond's eyes. He took a sip of his coffee and added with a meaningful tone, "Dr. Taylor, I know you're usually very careful. But a mistake is a mistake. Write it up and turn it in, and we'll put this behind us."

His tone eased a little.

"That said, something like this absolutely cannot happen again. If it does, I will bring it up publicly at a meeting."

He set down his coffee cup and fixed Abigail with a stern look, as if she were a suspect.

"Understood, Raymond."

Faced with his overbearing attitude, Abigail had no choice but to go along with it for now.

But on her way back, the more she thought about it, the more something felt off.

Every dosage she prescribed had been carefully checked and double-checked. There was no way she could have made a mistake like this.

She went over the whole thing in her mind again and again and couldn't find a single error.

With no answers, she headed straight to the security room.

In the security room, Ryder looked at the camera location Abigail wanted to check and gave her an apologetic look.

"Dr. Taylor, that particular camera happens to be broken. It hasn't been fixed yet."

"What a coincidence," Abigail said, caught off guard, and asked without thinking.

Ryder replied matter-of-factly, "It really is. That camera has been out for a while now. Your department has already submitted a repair request. The maintenance team is just swamped right now and hasn't gotten to it."

Still not ready to give up, Abigail pushed further, but got the same answer.

"Dr. Taylor, you might as well let it go. That camera really was broken — there's nothing I can pull up for you."

Ryder shrugged helplessly.

Seeing that, Abigail thanked him and left empty-handed.

Once he was sure she was gone, Ryder made a phone call, his voice dripping with flattery.

"Don't worry. Dr. Taylor has been sent on her way. I told her the camera was broken. She probably won't be back anytime soon."

Back in her office, Abigail worked through the rest of her tasks, but couldn't shake the uneasy feeling inside.

It wasn't that she couldn't accept making a mistake. What she couldn't accept was someone pinning a mistake on her that wasn't hers.

She just couldn't figure out who would do this.

She had just finished with her last patient and was finally taking a breath when Trent called.

"Abigail, I saw you're on the day shift today. Are you free for dinner tonight?"

She could hear the warmth in his voice. She glanced at the time and was about to say yes when a notification popped up on her phone.

The moment she saw it, her expression fell.

She took a deep breath, steadied herself, then answered, "Tonight won't work. I just got put on the night shift."

"How does that happen last minute?" Trent asked, his brow furrowing.

"The doctor who was supposed to cover tonight has a personal emergency. They can't make it back in time."

Abigail explained, rubbing her temples where a dull ache had started to build. She sighed and sent back a quick acknowledgment.

"Why are you always this busy? And why do they spring things on you like this instead of planning ahead? You know what, forget it — just quit and come home and get some rest."

The words were barely out of his mouth before Trent caught himself. He could have kicked himself.

Why did his mouth always move faster than his brain?

That wasn't what he meant at all, but it came out sounding exactly like it used to.

"Abigail, that's not what I meant. I just think you work too hard. I worry about you."

Hearing him stumble over himself on the other end of the line, Abigail felt the irritation she'd been carrying slowly ease.

"Then what did you mean?"

She already knew, but that didn't stop her from making him say it.

Thinking he'd really put his foot in it, Trent rushed to explain himself.

"I just think the way your management handles things is unreasonable. You haven't even finished your day shift and now you have to go straight into a night shift. A 24-hour shift is no joke."

Even through the phone, Abigail could hear the genuine concern in his voice.

"You just did a night shift a few days ago, and now another 24-hour stretch. Your body can only take so much. I'm just worried about you."

He said it plainly and without hesitation. Abigail let out a small laugh.

Hearing her laugh, Trent felt the tension he'd been holding slowly release.

"Alright, I know what you meant. Don't worry — I know my limits."

"Take care of yourself, okay?"

Trent knew there was probably no changing things at this point, so that was all he said.