Chapter 7 - THE PHOTO UNDER MY DOOR
I called Tristan immediately.
He arrived twenty minutes later.
I handed him the photograph.
His face went pale.
“Where did you get this?”
“Under my door.”
He stared at the message.
Then looked at me.
“Bianca, I'm sorry.”
I shook my head.
“Don't apologize for something you didn't do.”
He swallowed.
“Someone is trying to frighten you.”
“I know.”
He looked toward the window.
“I want you somewhere safe.”
I crossed my arms.
“Tristan.”
He stopped.
“I'm not moving into a penthouse because someone sent me a photograph.”
His jaw tightened.
“Bianca—”
“I will report this. I'll take precautions. But I won't disappear.”
He stared at me.
Then nodded.
“All right.”
We reported the threat to the police.
Tristan also informed the independent investigators reviewing Meridian.
The photograph suggested someone was monitoring our relationship.
But it didn't establish who.
The next day, my supervisor, Nurse Manager Patricia Wells, called me into her office.
She looked uncomfortable.
“Bianca, we've received a complaint.”
My stomach dropped.
“About what?”
“Professional misconduct.”
I stared.
“What?”
She handed me a document.
It alleged that I'd accessed confidential patient information and shared it with Tristan Bellamy.
My face burned.
“I didn't.”
Patricia nodded.
“I know you take confidentiality seriously.”
“Then who filed this?”
“The complaint was anonymous.”
I looked at the paper.
Someone was trying to destroy my career.
I cooperated fully with the hospital's review.
Access logs were examined.
My documentation was checked.
The investigation found no evidence supporting the allegation.
But the experience terrified me.
Nursing wasn't just my job.
It was the life I'd worked for.
And someone was trying to take it away.
That evening, Tristan came to see me.
I was sitting on my apartment floor, surrounded by paperwork.
He crouched beside me.
“Bianca.”
I looked up.
My eyes filled.
“I didn't do anything wrong.”
He took my hand.
“I believe you.”
I shook my head.
“You don't understand.”
“Then tell me.”
My voice broke.
“I spent years becoming a nurse. I worked nights. I borrowed money. I missed birthdays and holidays. And now someone thinks they can destroy all of that because I'm dating you.”
Tristan closed his eyes.
Then whispered:
“I won't ask you to sacrifice your career for me.”
I looked at him.
He continued.
“And I won't use my influence to interfere with the hospital's review.”
I began crying.
He held me.
May you like
Not as a billionaire trying to solve everything.
As a man who understood that sometimes love meant respecting what another person had built.
