Opened a new document.
Started writing what she would say to the Medical Review Committee on Monday.
Not the careful, strategic version Chen wanted.
The truth.
I made a choice. I knew it was against policy. I knew it could cost me everything. And I did it anyway because for the first time in six years, I felt alive instead of just surviving.
I’m not asking for leniency. I’m not asking you to excuse the boundary violation. I’m asking you to understand that sometimes the rules we build to protect ourselves become the walls that keep us from living.
I don’t regret caring about Evie Brooks. I regret the position it put her in. I regret the complications it created. But I don’t regret the connection itself.
Because it reminded me that I’m still human. That I can still feel something other than fear and grief and the careful numbness I’ve been calling professionalism for six years.
Do with that what you will.
Maggie read it over. Saved it.
Knew she probably wouldn’t have the courage to say it out loud.
But writing it felt like something.
Like a first step toward the person Sarah had wanted her to be.
The person Evie deserved.
Even if it was too late.
Monday morning arrived with uncharacteristic gray skies and the threat of rain.
Maggie dressed carefully. Conservative suit. Hair pulled back. The armor of professionalism that had always protected her before.
She arrived at the hospital at 7:30 AM. Thirty minutes before the committee meeting.
Doctor Chen was already in the conference room, along with Doctor Raymond Martinez from Ethics and Karen Walsh from HR. They sat on one side of the long table, documents and tablets spread before them.
Maggie took the seat across from them. Alone.
She’d decided against legal counsel. Whatever happened, she wanted to face it directly.
“Thank you for coming, Doctor Laurel,” Martinez said. His voice was neutral, professional. The voice of someone who’d done this many times before.
“Of course.”
Chen opened a folder. “We have some questions about your relationship with Doctor Brooks.”
Maggie nodded. “I understand.”
“Let’s start with the timeline.” Martinez pulled up a document on his tablet. “You requested Doctor Brooks be assigned to your service on her second day at Oakridge. Can you explain that decision?”
“She showed strong clinical judgment in the ER. I thought she would benefit from intensive mentorship.”
“And you provided that mentorship?”
“Yes.”
“Including taking her off-campus for coffee?” Walsh interjected.
