King of Witch Doctors

Chapter 3

Natalie kept her head down, her eyes fixed on the medical record in her hands. She didn't say a word.

Julian's heart sank, and a growing sense of unease gnawed at him.

He'd worked under Natalie for two years and knew her well enough to understand that her silence meant one thing: she was furious.

'Did I really make a mistake? Why else would Ms. Turner be this angry?' Julian wondered. But after racking his brain, he was certain he hadn't done anything wrong.

Still, Natalie remained silent, and Julian didn't dare to speak either.

Standing stiffly in front of her desk, he felt utterly lost.

Today, Natalie wore a white shirt under her coat, its tailored fit accentuating her tall, graceful figure. With each breath, her chest heaved, straining slightly against the fabric.

Her beautiful hair was neatly tied back, revealing an exquisitely charming oval face.

After letting Julian stand there in silence for a full ten minutes, Natalie finally looked up. She slapped the medical record down in front of him and said coldly, "There's been a medical accident. Were you aware of that?"

"What? A medical accident?" Julian blurted, startled.

Natalie's expression turned even colder. "This medical record is yours, isn't it?"

Julian picked up the file and quickly skimmed through it before nodding. "Yes, Ms. Turner."

"Then there's nothing wrong. You prescribed the wrong medication. Room 1205, Bed No. 3, Simon, an elderly patient with a hypertensive stroke, remember him? You gave him high-molecular dextran instead of low-molecular dextran. This caused a blood clot to travel to his brain, worsening his condition."

Her voice was sharp and unrelenting. "This is a serious medical accident. You're no longer qualified to be a doctor. Go be a nurse instead."

"What?" Julian froze. "That's impossible. I didn't prescribe high-molecular dextran. I prescribed low-molecular dextran."

"Are you blind? Check the record yourself!" Natalie snapped.

Julian checked the file again and saw the word "low" had been changed to "high." "What? I didn't change this."

Julian was sweating now, his voice trembling with urgency. "How's the patient? I need to check on him!" He turned to rush out of the office.

"Stop!" Natalie's voice cracked like a whip. "Mr. Gray is already handling it. Don't make things worse."

Julian froze mid-step. "Ms. Turner, you're saying I changed the prescription. Do you have any proof?"

Natalie's glare turned icier. "Mr. Gray and Lyra both testified that you changed it before handing it to the nurse for medication administration."

Natalie's face was extremely cold.

Julian stood there, stunned. But he quickly realized what was happening. Jonathan and Lyra must have been setting him up.

"Ms. Turner, I swear I didn't change that word. Lyra and Jonathan are lying because they—" Julian tried to explain.

"Enough!" Natalie cut him off sharply. "Mr. Miller is already aware of the situation. Starting today, you'll report to the nurse's station. Without my explicit permission, you're not allowed to treat any patients."

"Ms. Turner, I—" Julian began.

Natalie raised a hand and pointed to the door, her voice unwavering. "Get out."

Julian clenched his fists. Suppressing his anger and frustration, he turned and stormed out of the office.

"Jonathan, Lyra, just you wait. I won't let you get away with this!" Julian strode toward the hospital room, feeling irritated yet helpless. Not only had Jonathan taken Lyra from him, but the two of them had even conspired against him.

What hurt the most was that Natalie, who had always treated Julian well, actually believed their lies and had demoted him to work as a nurse.

He had been a top graduate from medical school. If he ended up as a nurse who gave patients injections and IV drips, wouldn't his five years of hard work and study be completely wasted?

Julian knew deep down that this was all because he had no power or influence. Unlike Jonathan, whose father was a deputy department head, he had no one to back him up. That was why he'd ended up in this humiliating position.

'If I came from a wealthy family, Lyra wouldn't have betrayed me, Jonathan wouldn't have dared to hit me, and Ms. Turner wouldn't have forced me to work as a nurse,' Julian thought bitterly.

'I have to rise above all of them. I'll become successful and crush everyone who ever looked down on me,' Julian vowed to himself, clenching his fists tightly.

He took a deep breath and headed for the elevator, needing to go up to the twelfth floor to check on Simon's condition.

With a soft "ding," the elevator doors slid open. Julian stepped inside.

Almost immediately, a familiar scent of perfume hit him. He looked up and froze. Jonathan and Lyra were standing right there.

Jonathan's nose was still visibly swollen from the punch Julian had landed on him the night before.

'What terrible luck!' Julian cursed inwardly.

Julian's first instinct was to step back out. He didn't want to share an elevator with this loathsome man and woman. But before he could move, Jonathan let out a mocking laugh. "Well, isn't this 'Julian the Nurse'? What a coincidence!"

Lyra shot Julian a look filled with disdain. "Why do we keep running into you everywhere? Ugh, how unlucky."

Julian ignored them. He didn't want to waste his breath on such contemptible people.

But his silence only made Jonathan angrier. "Julian, don't think this is over," he sneered. "You're lucky that b*tch protected you today. Otherwise, you'd already be fired from the hospital. You wouldn't even be qualified to work as a nurse."

Julian frowned and asked, "What does Ms. Turner have to do with this?"

Jonathan smirked. "Hah, if Natalie hadn't stepped in and said she'd take responsibility for you, do you think Mr. Miller would've let you off with just a demotion?"

He leaned closer, looking curious. "I really don't get it. What's your relationship with Natalie, huh? Why is she always so protective of you? Are you having an affair with her too?"

"That's none of your f*cking business," Julian shot back coldly.

"How dare you!" Jonathan's face twisted with rage, and he raised his fist, ready to strike.

"Don't do anything stupid," Lyra hissed, grabbing Jonathan's arm and pulling him back. She lowered her voice and warned him, "There are cameras in the elevator. If we're caught on tape, we'll be in trouble."

Jonathan reluctantly lowered his fist. "Fine," he spat. "But listen to me, Julian. As long as you stay in this hospital, I'll make your life a living h*ll."