The Case Is Expedited
The city lights glittered outside the window, casting shimmering patterns across the wallpaper.
Propped up on her pillow with an audiobook playing, Avery Hayes had drifted off without even realizing it.
She didn't stir until the sharp ring of an incoming call blared through her earphones, jolting her awake.
Blinking against the sudden awareness, she fumbled on the nightstand for her phone. The screen's cold light made her squint, and she had to wait a second for her eyes to adjust before she could swipe to answer.
"Doctor Hayes, did you oversleep?" Leo Foster's voice boomed from the speaker.
Avery glanced at the time. It was already past seven. "Sorry," she mumbled, her voice still thick with sleep. "I guess I did."
Leo let out a hearty laugh. "I figured. Get down here. I booked us a table at The Empyrean Club. Turns out they just got a prime rib shipment in, so I ordered one. Full prime rib dinner tonight."
At the mention of The Empyrean Club, Avery's eyes snapped open.
It wasn't just any restaurant. It was an exclusive private club perched on the top floor of a skyscraper in the heart of the central business district.
Her old mentor, Elias Thorne, had taken her there once back when she was still a lawyer.
The place was a playground for the ultra-rich, suspended in the clouds.
From the servers to the floral arrangements, every detail whispered an effortless, astronomical wealth.
Even with their money, Leo, Ethan, and their friends didn't have the kind of pull to book a permanent private room there, let alone order a custom menu at the last minute.
This dinner definitely had strings attached.
A small smile touched Avery's lips as she put it all together. "Dexter just couldn't wait, could he? Didn't even want to let me rest for a minute."
Leo was stunned silent for a second before he caught on. "How'd you know it wasn't me?"
She was right, of course. This dinner wasn't his treat.
The private room was Julian's permanent suite.
Julian and Dexter were supposed to have a business meeting there, but their partner had canceled.
Right after, Julian had texted Dexter, mentioning he'd picked up Dr. Hayes and wanted to treat her to dinner.
The second Dexter heard that, he'd changed their plans to The Empyrean Club on the spot.
"If you told me your dad booked it, I might believe you," Avery said, her voice laced with amusement. "But you? Do you even believe that yourself?" She let out a soft chuckle, lowering her gaze. They really thought she was some naive girl who didn't know how the world worked.
"Whoa, looks like Doctor Hayes knows her way around the city," Leo teased, though his playful tone couldn't hide his genuine surprise. "Even the ins and outs of The Empyrean Club." Seriously, wasn't she from Westlake City? How the hell did she know what it took to get a table there?
"My mentor is Professor Joel Finch. I've been there with him," Avery said calmly, letting her eyes drift half-closed as she casually spun the excuse.
The mentor of the original "Avery Hayes" had been the Director of Cardiovascular Surgery at the National Military Medical Center, once considered the top surgeon in the military.
As he got older, he'd stepped back from clinical work to become a distinguished professor at the NYU School of Medicine.
Both she and her brother, Cole, had been his students.
It wasn't a lie, the connection was real, even if she and Cole were just two among the countless students he'd taught over the years.
Avery had dug up that piece of information from her memories right after she was reborn, back when she was desperate to find justice for the body's original owner.
She'd gone through every possible connection, and Professor Finch was the only one whose name carried enough weight to be useful.
But considering his age and health, she'd ultimately decided against involving him.
"Professor Joel Finch? Who's that?" Leo was completely lost. The name didn't ring a bell.
Avery hadn't expected it to. "Hold on," she said, and ended the call.
Outside the hotel, Leo lowered his phone and stared blankly at Ethan Rhodes and Zachary Bell. "Do you guys know who Professor Joel Finch is?"
"Who?" The other two were just as clueless.
"Avery said her mentor is Professor Joel Finch, and that she's been to The Empyrean Club with him," Leo explained with a frown.
Zachary paused, then immediately pulled out his phone to search the name. The moment the results loaded, he froze. The entry on the screen was stark and authoritative.
*Joel Finch, member of the National Academy of Medicine, former member of the Expert Group of the National Health Committee, oversaw the development of national standards for cardiovascular disease diagnosis and treatment...*
The list of titles and achievements went on and on, enough to make your head spin.
Zachary stared at the screen and let out a low whistle. "Holy crap. Avery's mentor is on *that* level? With a connection like that, why on earth would she get into the entertainment industry?"
Hearing this, Ethan and Leo leaned in. As they scanned the screen, they both fell silent.
They already knew Avery was a genius, but being a student of someone like Professor Finch put her in a completely different league.
If she had stayed in medicine, she could have become a giant in her field, just like him.
No wonder she was so cool and distant. With a background like that, it would be strange if she wasn't a little proud.
Having dropped her little bombshell, Avery leisurely got up, changed her clothes, and got ready to leave.
She'd used Professor Finch's name to handle Leo, but she had another motive.
Dexter Reed's respect for her was tied directly to her professional identity as "Doctor Hayes."
That was her main advantage, and she needed to leverage it for all it was worth in their upcoming contract negotiation.
Just as Dexter figured, everyone gets sick eventually. Having her around for consultations, with her ability to mobilize top-tier medical resources, was a convenience he wouldn't want to lose.
A cool night breeze hit her face as she stepped out of The Belmont Hotel. Avery pulled her beige trench coat tighter and walked toward Leo's parked car.
"Sorry for the wait."
"Not at all, we just got here," Leo said, quickly opening the passenger door for her.
Avery nodded at Ethan and Zachary before sliding into the seat. The two of them, who had been chatting nonstop earlier, were now completely silent, probably still reeling from her academic pedigree. Leo had spent more time with her, so he recovered faster.
"Avery, we just looked up Professor Finch," he said as he started the car. "Since you're his student, why'd you suddenly quit being a doctor?"
It was a question that was genuinely bugging him.
Based on her resume, she'd been on the fast track to a brilliant career.
Why would she throw it all away to go into acting?
Could Dexter really have been that persuasive?
Damn. Luring a star medical student into the entertainment industry... the guy had no shame.
"I lost the conviction to be a doctor." Avery's eyes were half-closed, her dark lashes resting on her cheeks. She clearly didn't want to talk about it.
"Oh." The three guys exchanged a look, not quite sure what to make of that.
The car fell quiet, filled only with the rush of the wind and the low hum of the engine. They tactfully dropped the subject.
Just then, Avery's phone rang, shattering the silence. She pulled it out and saw the caller ID: Lawyer Goodwin, from Westlake Hospital's legal department. Her fingers paused for a second before she answered.
"Doctor Hayes, your case has been expedited," Lawyer Goodwin's calm voice said. "You won't have to wait three months. We just got a notice from the court. The trial is in two weeks."
Avery's eyes narrowed. That was fast. "Why so soon? Did something happen?" Under normal circumstances, a case like hers would have taken at least three months to get to trial.
"The public outcry online was extremely effective," he explained. "It created immense pressure, and the court decided to hold the trial early to show they're taking it seriously." He paused, then changed the subject. "Do you need to appear in court?"
"No, I won't be there," Avery replied. "The evidence is solid. I trust you to handle it."
"It's better if you don't," Goodwin agreed. "With the trial moved up, the Sterling family is definitely going to panic. Be careful. Don't let them find you."
Avery's voice was firm. "Panicking won't help them. I'm not signing any letter of forgiveness. Bryce Sterling needs to be sentenced to the maximum penalty."
The car was dead silent. Though the call wasn't on speaker, Goodwin's voice was still audible in the cramped space. And Avery had said the name out loud: Bryce Sterling. The three guys in the car knew exactly who he was.
Hearing that name, they finally understood what she'd meant.
*I lost the conviction to be a doctor.*
The air in the car seemed to evaporate. After a beat of stunned silence, Zachary let out a sharp, audible gasp.
The woman sitting right there with them was the main victim from the medical malpractice case that had blown up online a couple of weeks ago.
No wonder she'd quit. She had almost lost her life because of that bastard Bryce Sterling. Who could possibly go back to practicing medicine after something like that?