Chapter 52
Cormac
Ican’t believe this is happening. The two men behind Dr. Davis Harrow fan out and stop my heart.
“I can explain,” Harrow says, looking guilty, pushing glasses up his nose. “Please let us in.”
“Professor O’Rourke,” Bradley Ford says, his tone somewhere between not surprised and impressed.
It’s really the third man in my hallway that has me spiraling, thinking my medical career is truly over. When I worked so hard to bring it back from the dead.
“Ramses Langston.” The titan of medicine holds out his hand for me to shake. “I don’t believe we’ve formally met.”
My life flashes before my eyes, and my legs go weak as the worst-case scenario runs through my brain. Ford is here to fire me, and Langston is here to take Scarlett away from me.
The only bit of comfort I have is that if either of those happens, they will be dead by sunrise.
I should spit in Langston’s face. Tell him to go fuck himself for what his son did to Scarlett. What he did to me.
But I had a father who did terrible things. And I would find it brutally unfair if someone made me pay for those sins. This is just reversed.
“Cormac O’Rourke,” I say and shake his hand. “A pleasure to meet you, sir.”
There’s no getting around this man if I want to keep my medical license.
“Can we come in, Cormac?” Harrow asks, his face still red.
I assume Ford and Langston know everything. But why are they here?
“Sure. Come in.” I step aside.
The three men cross over the threshold, and I hear Scarlett shriek. “Dad!”
“It’s okay, Scarlett.” Ford holds up his hand to assure her.
Of what, though?
I move into the kitchen and put my arm around her. “Someone start explaining.”
Ford opens his mouth first. “I ran into Harrow last month. He had a little too much to drink and said something that had the hair on the back of my neck standing up. After a good amount of coercion, he admitted to mixing the cocktails that were killing the street dealers.”
“I didn’t give you up, Cormac,” Harrow says.
“I hired a PI,” Ford admits. “I understand what you’re doing, Cormac. Those drugs are tearing apart communities and destroying families.”
“I’ll handle it from here,” Ramses Langston says, confidence dripping off his tone.
“My reach goes farther than you can imagine. There is usually someone very high up at the root of these community surges. Those people can be influenced. I’m also installing a mole in the customs department.
I can’t guarantee to eliminate the influx one hundred percent—”
“Medicine never promises one hundred percent,” I interrupt.
“It’s time I step up and attempt to solve this problem,” Langston says.
“Cormac, you’ll have a full-time schedule next semester, and my daughter deserves a husband she loves, one who stays home with her at night. Not out risking his life,” Ford adds.
My eyes stray to Scarlett, who just keeps staring at Ramses. When my eyes go between them, he looks at my wife.
“Scarlett,” he says. “I want to extend an apology to you, too. After that horrific scene at the award ceremony, I dragged Pierce into my office and demanded to know what the hell was going on. I could immediately tell I was being gaslit. I pulled the cameras from his apartment. I saw him strike you.”
“What?” Ford says, looking furious. “Scarlett, you didn’t tell me that. Ramses, that son of yours…”
“My son is being disciplined, Bradley. I assure you.” He gestures for Brad to calm down. “He’s been removed from his position at the practice, a job I got for him. As well as the boards he sits on. One of my men is in charge of setting him straight.”
“Ronan Castro?” I ask.
Langston smiles. “Ronan spoke highly of you, Dr. O’Rourke. How you handled the situation at Scarlett’s apartment when Pierce used undue influence to convince the management she had been neglectful. How you stepped up to take care of the woman my son failed.”
I give Scarlett a nod. It’s better to accept a Langston apology than get in his way.
“Thank you, Dr. Langston,” she says. “I appreciate you offering that apology for Pierce.”
“My son also confessed to bribing some admin at your bank. You’ll get a message by tomorrow morning that your funds have been restored.”
“Ford, have that money granted to someone else in a scholarship,” I say. “Someone who needs the money. I’m covering my wife’s education.”
“That’s considerate of you,” Ford says. “I’ll have my assistant take care of that.” Then he moves to his daughter. “Please don’t ever keep that kind of information from me again, Scarlett.”
“There will never be any abuse of her in my home,” I say sternly. “But Scarlett, your father is right. I’m not perfect. You can always talk to your father if we have differences. I’m man enough to face him.”
I glance at Harrow and give a small sigh. The man had one daughter, and he lost her. There is no happy ending for him. Only an elusive peace that I hope he finds one day. The way I did.
With Scarlett tucked under my arm, I watch Harrow, Ford, and Langston each carry out a bin. Tools of death I never want to see again.
I’m returning to the business of saving lives, and that includes teaching future minds what I know, so that one day, they too will save lives.
The door closes, and Scarlett smiles at me.
The weight of keeping this secret is lifted. It’s not my fight anymore. I can have peace while men more powerful take over. I tried playing God, and it didn’t work out too well for me.
Yet, when I was starting over, I found the love of my life.