EpisodeTwo: TheWoman on Every Screen
1440 Words
Elena’s POV
I walked out of Harborview Medical Center feeling like my entire body had been hollowed out from the inside.
The cold morning air hit my face, but it didn’t wake me up.
Nothing could.
Not after last night.
Not after those gray eyes staring at me like I’d personally destroyed his world.
I tightened my grip on my worn backpack and headed toward the bus stop across the street. My sneakers dragged against the pavement.
Sixteen-hour shifts weren’t supposed to happen anymore.
At least that’s what administration claimed in their cheerful emails about “employee wellness.”
What a joke.
A notification buzzed in my pocket.
Then another.
Then three more in rapid succession.
I frowned and pulled out my phone.
Thirty-two missed calls.
My stomach dropped instantly.
Most were from Maya.
A few from unknown numbers.
Then I saw the headlines flooding my screen.
VALE HEIRESS DIES AFTER HOSPITAL NEGLIGENCE
NURSE UNDER INVESTIGATION
VALE MEDICAL SCANDAL EXPLODES
My blood went cold.
“No,” I whispered.
My thumb shook as I opened the first article.
A blurry photo of me outside the ER filled the screen.
They’d taken it last night.
I looked exhausted. Pale. Guilty.
The article made it worse.
Sources claim the attending nurse had been working excessive overtime hours at the time of the patient’s death.
Social media outrage erupted overnight.
The Vale family has not yet issued an official statement.
I stopped breathing for a second.
Comments flooded beneath the article.
She should lose her license.
People like her kill patients.
If she was tired, she shouldn’t have been working.
Rich people always get exposed because they have power.
Someone even posted my full name.
My hands started trembling.
Another call came through.
Mom.
Panic hit me immediately.
I answered fast. “Mom?”
“Elena.” Her voice sounded weak and frightened. “What’s happening?”
Damn it.
I closed my eyes.
“You saw it?”
“Your brother showed me the news.” She started coughing. “Tell me it isn’t true.”
“It’s not.” The words came out sharp with desperation. “Mom, listen to me. We did everything we could.”
A long silence filled the line.
Then softly, “I know you did.”
That nearly broke me.
Traffic roared past while I stood frozen on the sidewalk trying not to cry in public.
“I’m coming home,” I said quietly.
“Elena—”
“I’m fine.”
Lie.
Again.
I hung up before she could hear my voice c***k.
Another notification appeared.
This time it was a video clip.
Someone had recorded Damian confronting me in the hallway.
Fantastic.
I stared at the thumbnail.
His expression looked murderous.
Mine looked terrified.
The internet was going to eat me alive.
A black SUV suddenly pulled up beside the curb.
I stepped back instinctively.
The tinted window rolled down slowly.
“Ms. Reyes?”
A man in a dark suit looked at me from inside.
Every muscle in my body tensed.
“Yes?”
“Mr. Vale would like a word.”
My laugh came out disbelieving.
“A word?”
The man didn’t smile.
“He insists.”
Of course he did.
I glanced around nervously. People at the bus stop were already staring at me.
Recognizing me.
Judging me.
One woman whispered something to her friend while looking directly at my face.
Humiliation burned under my skin.
“I’m not getting into a stranger’s car.”
The suited man reached into his jacket.
For one horrifying second, I thought he was pulling out a weapon.
Instead, he handed me a business card.
Damian Vale’s assistant.
Great.
“Please,” he said carefully. “Mr. Vale only wants to discuss what happened.”
My jaw tightened.
Discuss?
His sister died.
There was nothing to discuss.
But refusing him felt dangerous somehow.
Like saying no to a hurricane.
“I have to go home.”
“Five minutes.”
I should’ve walked away.
I knew that.
Every instinct told me to run far from powerful men and expensive cars and billionaire grief.
But another bus stop whisper reached my ears.
“That’s her.”
The nurse.
The one who killed—
I climbed into the SUV before I could hear the rest.
The door shut behind me softly.
Inside smelled like leather and money.
The assistant sat in the front seat while I stayed rigid in the back.
And beside me—
Damian Vale.
My pulse slammed against my ribs.
Up close, he somehow looked even more intimidating.
Sharp jaw.
Dark stubble.
Expensive black suit without a single wrinkle.
His gaze stayed fixed on the city outside the window.
Cold.
Controlled.
Deadly calm.
The car started moving.
Neither of us spoke for several seconds.
Then finally—
“You’re trending.”
I stared at him.
Excuse me?
His eyes shifted toward me briefly.
“The entire city knows your name now.”
Anger flickered through my exhaustion.
“Happy?”
His jaw tightened.
Interesting.
Apparently billionaires didn’t enjoy sarcasm before sunrise.
“I didn’t speak to the press.”
“You didn’t stop them either.”
“You think I control the internet?”
“No.” I folded my arms tightly. “I think people like you destroy people like me without consequences.”
That got his attention.
His gaze settled fully on my face now.
Heavy.
Unreadable.
“People like me?”
“Rich people.”
His expression hardened immediately.
“My sister is dead.”
“And I tried to save her!”
The words exploded out of me before I could stop them.
Silence slammed through the car.
Even the driver looked tense now.
My chest rose sharply with uneven breaths.
I was so tired.
Too tired to keep swallowing everything.
“You think I wanted this?” My voice cracked. “You think I enjoyed watching someone die?”
Damian said nothing.
So I kept going.
“I skipped meals to stay on shift.” I laughed bitterly. “I worked sixteen hours because your company keeps cutting staff while pretending to care about patients.”
His eyes darkened dangerously.
“Careful.”
“No.” I shook my head hard. “You don’t get to intimidate me because you’re grieving.”
The moment the words left my mouth, I expected him to explode.
Instead, something strange crossed his face.
Not anger.
Shock.
Like nobody spoke to him that way.
Ever.
The SUV stopped at a red light.
Morning sunlight spilled through the windows, catching the exhaustion written all over his face.
And suddenly…
He didn’t look like a billionaire.
He looked like a man who hadn’t slept all night after losing his sister.
The realization hit me so unexpectedly that some of my anger cracked.
Just slightly.
His voice dropped lower when he finally spoke.
“She called me before the accident.”
I stayed quiet.
“She wanted to have dinner.” His eyes remained fixed ahead. “I ignored the call.”
Something painful flickered behind his expression before disappearing instantly.
“I was in a meeting.”
For the first time since meeting him, he sounded human.
Not cold.
Not cruel.
Just… broken.
The feeling vanished quickly when he looked back at me.
“An internal review has already started.”
My stomach tightened again.
“What does that mean?”
“It means someone will be blamed.”
Ice slid down my spine.
“And you think it’s me.”
“I think,” he said carefully, “that exhausted workers make mistakes.”
My throat burned.
“You really hate me.”
His gaze locked onto mine.
“No,” he said quietly.
Somehow that felt worse.
Because hatred would’ve been simpler.
The SUV slowed near my apartment building.
Embarrassment hit instantly.
Of course a billionaire had now seen where I lived.
The building looked half-dead.
Cracked paint.
Broken balcony rails.
Laundry hanging from windows.
I reached for the door immediately.
But Damian’s voice stopped me.
“Elena.”
I froze.
No one had ever made my name sound like a warning before.
I turned slowly.
His gray eyes held mine with unsettling intensity.
“If the investigation finds negligence…”
My fingers tightened around the door handle.
“…your life is about to become very difficult.”
Then he nodded once.
Dismissal.
The door unlocked automatically.
I stepped out of the SUV on shaky legs.
The car pulled away seconds later.
But even after it disappeared down the street, one terrible feeling remained lodged in my chest.
This was only the beginning.
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