Page 112 of Promises in the Dark

“I called you all here because Doctor Moore brought something disturbing to my attention,” he said, his gaze drilling into Red like she was the target.

I glanced at Dr. Fuckface, who was watching Red with a self-satisfied smirk and I wanted to punch him in the face, break his nose, and make him eat his own teeth.

What was his game?

“It seems,” Captain continued, “there’s been a... discrepancy in Viper’s case.”

Red’s expression didn’t change, but I sensed her hackles rising. “What are you talking about, sir?”

Dr. Cockwaffle cleared his throat, his smug expression growing even more obnoxious.

“It appears, Captain, that Dr. Davis’s treatment of Viper’s blood loss was... unorthodox.”

What a slimy, manipulative piece of shit.

Red’s eyes flashed, but she kept her cool.

“That’s not true, Dr. Moore. I followed standard protocol—”

Captain raised a hand, cutting her off, his face stony as ever. “Doctor Moore has shown me the blood results,” he continued, his eyes boring into hers with all the warmth of a goddamn iceberg. “And it looks like instead of giving Viper the proper medication for blood loss, you gave him an anticoagulant that nearly killed him. Care to explain that?”

Red’s face went as white as snow at Captain’s accusations. The evidence was stacked high, and we had jack shit to prove otherwise. We were circling the drain, and fast.

“I would never intentionally harm a patient,” she protested with a desperate sincerity that tore at my fucking heart.

“You are a doctor, for crying out loud,” Dr. Wanker spat, his face heating up. “Youshouldknow better.”

I was fuming, my anger directed at Dr. Twatwaffle, who was enjoying this trainwreck a little too much. And the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

He had the motive, the means, and the opportunity.

His arrogant look told me everything I needed to know—the bastard had orchestrated the whole thing just to screw over Red. He’d switched those labels, setting us up for this catastrophic failure and knowing exactly what would happen after. But we didn’t have concrete fucking evidence to pin this shit on him.

“You’re gonna have to do better than that, Dr. Davis,” Captain lectured her, crossing his arms.

That was the last fucking straw.

I couldn’t stand there and watch as Red got crucified for something she didn’t do. I squared my shoulders and stepped forward, fixing the captain with a glare that could strip paint off a wall.

“It’s not her fault,” I exploded, my voice echoing with pure rage. “Igave her the wrong vial.”

Captain barely blinked and arched an eyebrow, not impressed by my outburst. “Elaborate.”

I felt Red’s eyes on me, practically begging me to shut my mouth and let it go. But fuck that. There was no way in hell I was letting her take the fall for this.

“I made the mistake,” I said, standing my ground. “I handed her the wrong vial. Didn’t check it. If anyone’s to blame here, it’s me.”

Just as I was about to continue, Dr. Fuckwit piped the fuck up and opened his mouth to speak. “It doesn’t matter whose fault it is,” he interrupted me. “It was Dr. Davis’s duty to check if it was the correct substance before administering it.”

My fingers curled into a fist and my blood was pumping as I rushed towards Dr. Douchebag, ready to knock his teeth down his throat.

“Pretty fucking convenient, isn’t it?” I asked derisively. “How you justvanishand then magically show up at the perfect moment to cover your ass.”

Dr. Dipshit frowned and tried to appear offended, but he just looked like an arrogant prick. “I didn’t disappear, you moron,” he countered, his expression turning sour. “I was busy doing my job while you were off playing soldier.”

I scoffed, rolling my eyes at his pathetic attempt to act high and mighty. “Yeah,playing soldierwhile you were dodging responsibility,” I stated flatly. “And now you’re trying to pin this shit on her.”

Dr. Jackass stepped forward, sizing me up and puffed up like a peacock showing off his feathers. “I don’t need to,” he replied, glancing over at Red. “She fucked up all on her own.”

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