Scuffle? Lucas swallowed. ‘Okay, anything else?’
‘A bruised arm from where he grabbed me, and my throat is sore. Other than that, I’m okay.’ When her hand came up to touch her neck, he could see red marks forming on her skin.
‘Did Stephen do that?’
When Sarah nodded, Lucas was filled with such rage he thought he might explode. Only the fear of making matters worse and strengthening Stephen’s claims that he was the victim prevented him from grabbing Stephen by the throat to see how he liked it. Getting violent might not be the answer, but that didn’t mean Stephen should go unchallenged.
Lucas turned to the medical director and walked slowly towards him. ‘How did Sarah get these marks on her neck?’
All heads turned to look at Sarah, who’d removed her remaining shoe and was holding it like a weapon in front of her, ready to defend herself.
‘No idea.’ Stephen leant against the wall. ‘She probably did it herself. A proper little drama queen.’
Lucas bunched his fists. ‘You’re saying Sarah tried to strangle herself?’
Jafrina gasped.
Stephen glanced between Carla and Georgia, as if to say, Aren’t you going to stop him? But they parted ways like the Red Sea and let Lucas through. ‘She’s unhinged. Unstable. She’s been spreading lies about me.’
Lucas decided to change tactics. As much as he wanted to throttle Stephen, no one other than Carla knew what had been happening, and even Carla didn’t know the extent of the problem. It was time to enlighten them.
‘Since joining the hospital, Stephen has been making a nuisance of himself and harassing Sarah at work.’
Stephen looked outraged. ‘That’s not true.’
‘He started out sending her emails and inviting her for lunches. He then invented meetings for no good reason. Any excuse to get her alone.’
Stephen pushed away from the wall. ‘I did no such thing. Don’t listen to this nonsense. He’s lying.’
‘When that didn’t work, he sent her flowers.’ Lucas stood his ground, a warning sign he wasn’t someone Stephen wanted to upset. ‘Then he followed her home. He’s been hanging around outside her apartment, stalking her.’
‘Utter rubbish.’ Stephen limped over to the security guard. ‘I want him charged with slander. Why aren’t you writing this down?’
The security guard shook his head. ‘Not up to me, mate. I’m waiting on the police.’
Lucas glanced at Sarah. Her anger was subsiding and she looked small and fragile in her bare feet. He headed over. ‘Stephen hand-delivered an invite for tonight’s ball to Sarah’s apartment, and included a dress for her to wear, and instructions for picking her up tonight.’
Georgia pulled a face. ‘Creepy.’
Stephen waved his arms about. ‘All lies!’
The security guard shrugged when Lucas looked at him. ‘No good telling me, mate. Save it for the authorities.’
‘Don’t worry, I intend to tell them everything.’ Lucas glanced at Sarah, hating what this man had done to her. ‘But Sarah’s colleagues need to know what the real Stephen is like. The kind of man who won’t take no for an answer. Who thinks it’s his given right to have any woman he wants. And when he doesn’t get his own way, he resorts to violence.’
Stephen threw his arms in the air. ‘She attacked me!’
‘It was self-defence!’ Sarah waved her shoe at him, finding her voice. ‘I hit you because you were choking me and refusing to let go. I had no choice.’
Georgia gasped. ‘Bastard!’
Jafrina clutched hold of Tyler’s shoulder.
‘The only person who’s struck anyone is you.’ Stephen’s sudden move towards Sarah made her recoil. ‘And these people were witness to that. I was on my knees. You can’t deny it.’
Lucas shot in front of Sarah, instinctively protecting her. What he would have done if the police hadn’t shown up at that moment, he wasn’t sure. He was glad he didn’t have to find out.
‘Oh, thank goodness.’ Jafrina sounded relieved as the two uniformed officers approached.