Chapter 5 Not Blaming Her

Ximena Gonzalez's POV:

Mrs. Perez said the mob had come back. They'd smashed down the door, demanding ransom money from Grandma.

Grandma had been terrified. She'd suddenly complained of a headache, then collapsed unconscious on the floor. The doctors said it was a brain hemorrhage. She needed surgery. She was already in the operating room.

My hand shook, and my phone hit the carpet.

"What's wrong?" Albert's voice came from beside me.

I was too scared to speak. My hands trembled as I bent down to pick up the phone. It took two tries before I could grab it.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Albert." I finally found my voice. "I have an emergency. I have to go. I'm sorry—I can't ride back with you."

From the airport to St. Mary's Hospital took nearly forty minutes.

The car pulled up to the hospital entrance, and I bolted out immediately.

I rushed to the neurosurgery floor and found Mrs. Perez in the hallway.

When she saw me, tears flooded her eyes.

"Ximena, you're finally back!"

"Where's my grandmother?"

"Still inside." Mrs. Perez wiped her tears. "It's been over three hours. The doctor came out once to say they'd stopped the bleeding, but they still need to drain the hematoma. Ximena, your grandmother... will she..."

"She won't." My voice shook as I cut her off. "Grandma's always been healthy. She'll pull through."

Time crawled by. At 1:20 a.m., the operating room lights went out.

The doctor said Grandma was safe.

My legs gave out, and I nearly collapsed.

Mrs. Perez caught me from behind.

"Thank you, doctor," I managed to say.

I stayed at the hospital for three days, barely stopping to breathe. I didn't have time to check my messages.

On the third afternoon, while Grandma was asleep, I leaned back in my chair and scrolled through my phone. I stumbled across a notice on the hospital's internal bulletin board.

It read: Head Nurse Selection Meeting scheduled for today at 9:00 a.m. in the main conference room. All candidates must attend on time.

I checked the date. It was today.

It was already three in the afternoon. The selection was long over.

I stared at the notice for a long time, unable to name what I was feeling.

Albert had pointed me toward a path, and I hadn't even made it to the starting line.

The next morning, once Grandma's condition had fully stabilized, I changed into a clean scrub uniform and showed up at the hospital on time.

I'd just picked up the duty roster when Clara rushed over, looking anxious. "Ximena, Dr. Albert wants to see you in his office. He looks furious."

My breath caught.

He'd given me a chance, and I'd missed it. He was probably going to chew me out.

Fine. What's coming will come. I took a deep breath and headed for his office.

But just as I reached the door, I heard voices inside.

"Dr. Albert, I really need to report something about Ximena. She's been on her phone constantly during shifts. Sometimes she gets a call and runs to the end of the hallway to take it, acting all secretive. I don't know who she's talking to. When I ask, she won't say."

"And before she went to Geneva, I heard she was taken to the police station. You bailed her out, didn't you? How can we trust someone with a criminal record to assist our hospital's top surgeon? If something goes wrong..."

It was Brenda.

I clenched my fists. That woman could never stand to see me do well.

"Are you finished?" Albert's voice was ice-cold.

Brenda hesitated, then rushed on. "I... I just think someone like her doesn't deserve to stay in the surgical wing, let alone run for head nurse..."

"The head nurse selection is over," Albert said coldly. "I didn't ask you about the selection. I asked if you have evidence for what you just said."

Brenda's voice dropped. "I... I heard it from other nurses."

"Heard it?" Albert repeated, his tone sharp.

"So you're using hearsay to report on a colleague's performance?"

"No... I didn't mean..."

"Brenda." Albert cut her off. "As head nurse, instead of focusing on clinical management and patient safety, you spend your time watching your colleagues' every move, gossiping, and tattling. Do you think that's your job?"

The office fell silent for a few seconds.

"And who told you Ximena has a criminal record? Where did you dig that up?"

Brenda's voice turned frantic. "I... I heard it from a friend at the police station."

"You have a friend at the police station who helps you investigate your colleagues?" Albert's voice was razor-sharp. "Brenda, do you know what that is? Invasion of privacy. Violation of professional ethics. I'm reporting this to the hospital board."

"Dr. Albert, that's not what I meant. I was just..."

"Get out." Albert's tone left no room for argument.

When Brenda emerged from the office, she looked ready to cry.

She saw me standing by the door and froze, her lips trembling. Then she hurried away.

I pushed the door open and walked in.

Albert looked up at me, his expression unreadable.

"Close the door."

I turned and shut the door, then stood nervously in front of his desk.

"You took four days off. You didn't show up for the head nurse selection."

"Yes," I said, keeping my head down, not daring to meet his eyes.

"I need an explanation."

I took a deep breath, lifted my head, and looked him in the eye.

"Dr. Albert, my grandmother had a sudden brain hemorrhage. She was rushed to St. Mary's Hospital emergency room."

Albert's brow twitched slightly, but he didn't interrupt.

"She had surgery. It went well, but she needed observation in the ICU afterward. I stayed with her at the hospital. I came straight here from St. Mary's this morning."

I pulled out my phone, scrolled to Mrs. Perez's messages and the hospital admission records, and placed it on Albert's desk.

"I didn't request leave in time. That was my mistake. But my grandmother's condition... I couldn't think about anything else."

Albert glanced down at the phone screen, silent for a few seconds. Then he looked up at me.

"How is your grandmother now?"

I blinked, caught off guard. "She's been moved to a regular room. The doctor says she's recovering well. She should be discharged in a few days."

Albert nodded and leaned back in his chair.

"Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"I..." I pressed my lips together. "I didn't want my personal issues to interfere with work. And I thought... missing the head nurse selection was my problem. No matter the reason, missing it is missing it. I didn't want to use my grandmother's illness as an excuse."

Albert studied me quietly, saying nothing.

The office fell silent again.

After a long moment, Albert looked away, pulled a folder from his drawer, and slid it toward me.

"Next month, the hospital is launching a new nursing training program. I'm in charge of one module. I need a nurse to serve as teaching assistant. Are you interested?"

I froze. It took me a long time to process what he was saying.

He wasn't blaming me. He was... giving me another chance?

My nose stung, and tears threatened to fall. I nodded quickly.

"I am."

"Good." Albert lowered his head. "If you need help with your grandmother, let me know. You can go."

Even after I left his office, I felt like I was dreaming.

Suddenly, my phone rang.

I pulled it out and saw Mateo's name on the screen.

I answered immediately. "Uncle Mateo? Where are you? Do you know what happened to Grandma?"

But the voice on the other end wasn't Mateo's.

"Ximena Gonzalez, right?"