"Okay," Rachel said. "Let me get dressed."
"Thank you." Mac kissed her quickly.
Rachel nodded, but as she headed to her bedroom to change, Derek's text echoed in her mind:
How long before he resents you for limiting his career?
37
Mac
Mac and Rachel arrived at Cole and Ellie's house to find the door unlocked, Cole's truck in the driveway, and Sophie's car parked behind it.
They walked in without knocking.
The living room looked like a war room. Cole stood near the window. Ellie sat on the couch looking devastated, papers spread around her. Sophie was pacing, radiating protective anger.
"Mac," Cole said, his voice tight. "Rachel. Thanks for coming."
"What happened?" Mac asked, though he already knew it was bad from Cole's expression.
Ellie handed him a tablet without a word.
The article was pulled up on the screen:
"Small-Town Practice, Questionable Results: Examining Unverified Success Claims in Physical Therapy"
By Dr. Derek Matthews, Director of Sports Medicine Research, Boston Sports Medicine Center
Mac started reading, his stomach shifting with each paragraph.
The article was devastating in its professional cruelty. Derekhad written it in careful, academic language that made his accusations sound reasonable rather than the character assassination they actually were.
He questioned Ellie's qualifications—her"standard physical therapy degree from a regional university" lacking "specialized sports medicine certifications typically required for treating elite athletes with career-threatening injuries."
He raised doubts about Cole's diagnosis, suggesting the injury might have been "less severe than multiple orthopedic surgeons claimed," that Ellie's "success" was actually "natural healing misattributed to treatment protocols."
The final paragraph was the worst:
"While the outcome in Mr. Hansen's case appears positive, attributing this success solely to Ms. Hansen's treatment, without acknowledging the significant limitations of her training, resources, and methodology, does a profound disservice to properly qualified sports medicine professionals and potentially puts other athletes at risk ofinadequate care."
Mac finished reading, rage building in his core like pressure in a volcano. "This is complete bullshit."
"It's character assassination," Sophie said, still pacing. "He's questioning everything. Making it sound like Cole's recovery was either luck or misdiagnosis."
Rachel stood beside Mac, reading over his shoulder. Her face had gone pale. "This is exactly what he did to the other physical therapists that disagreed with him back home. Brad told me about it, I remember some of them. I didn’t think anything of it, then."
"Except now it's published in a respected medical journal," Cole said, his voice tight. "It's not only internet rumors. It gives his lies legitimacy."
"He's calling me unqualified." Ellie looked at Cole with devastated eyes, then to Mac. "Mac, this could destroy my practice. Patients will leave."
"We're going to fight this," Mac said firmly.
"How?" Ellie wiped her tears. "Derek has credentials, published research, years of reputation in the sports medicine community. I'm just a small-town PT. Who's going to believe me over him?"
"Everyone who knows you," Rachel said quietly, moving to sit beside Ellie. "Everyone you've helped. This entire town."
"Rachel's right," Sophie added.
