Two Weeks Later.
The Right Hand of God was discharged.
Adam's rep in the medical world shot up even higher. A first-year resident outshining veteran attendings, holding his own with the big shots—just shy of legend status.
With the Right Hand of God's clout backing him, the medical community was all too happy to hype up Adam's miracle.
It was all flowers and fanfare, like a feast cooked in blazing oil.
But Adam didn't let it get to his head.
He didn't go jetting off to guest surgeries, lectures, or conferences to flex. Just kept living his quiet life of saving people and racking up lifespan points.
Owen Shaw hit his discharge day too. He rolled out with bald Deck's little sis, Hattie, who'd come to pick him up. They were headed straight to England.
"Kitten! Tinkerbell!"
Before she left, Hattie went full Bernadette-mode on Adam—like she was channeling her inner nag at Leonard—throwing out snarky, unfriendly jabs left and right.
Her eyes screamed, "Mad yet? Prove me wrong with some action!" Total taunting vibes. 😏
Adam ignored it. Didn't see it, didn't hear it.
He wasn't the petty insults she was tossing out. No need to prove jack to a kid like her.
"Hattie!"
Owen couldn't take it anymore and snapped at his sister. "Apologize to Dr. Duncan!"
"What, am I wrong?" Hattie shot back, eyebrow raised. "And you—a loser who nearly got laughed to death over a woman—what right do you have to call me out? Don't forget, I'm the one dragging you outta here, not the other way around!"
"…"
Owen's face went dark with frustration.
"It's fine," Adam said, calming him down. "I'm not sweating it. Owen, safe travels—I've got stuff to handle."
He flashed Owen a smile, turned, and walked off.
Sure, Owen seemed grateful, but Adam didn't need it.
That whole family? Trouble magnets, every last one of them.
Owen was heading off to follow the same family path now—definitely destined to be a chaos-stirrer too.
A troublemaker's thanks? Yeah, it comes with a whiff of something nasty! 😅
Tonight was Emma's first birthday party.
With that on his mind, Adam headed to the Green Clinic.
Knock knock knock.
"Leonard, you got the gift sorted?" Adam called out as he walked in, grinning at Leonard, who was sitting at his desk, fiddling with his phone. "If not, we've still got time to grab something. I can drive us over after work."
"Already got it!" Leonard looked up with a smile. "We'll head straight there later."
But then his face sank back into a worried frown as he stared at his phone.
"Still bummed about Jill?" Adam asked, plopping down instead of leaving. "Relationships, man—breakups happen."
Emmm.
Leonard had been stressing before about Jill being too hung up on that senator-family boyfriend, worried she'd get hurt.
Last week?
Jill's boyfriend, Warner Huntington, took the LSAT, graduated early, and was gearing up to apply to Harvard Law.
In the meantime, he was off to do some study-abroad work to pad his resume.
His grandma even flew from New York to LA.
Jill's besties hyped her up, convincing her Warner was about to propose before he left—grandma was there to hand over a six-carat heirloom ring!
So, she dolled herself up and showed up all starry-eyed.
But nope—not a proposal. A breakup.
The reason? Simple.
His brother just got engaged to a Yale Law golden girl from another old-money family. Perfect match.
Warner's a Huntington too, carrying all that family expectation baggage.
Sure, he and Jill had fun, but if he wanted to hit senator status by 30, playtime was over.
He didn't need a wife as "perfect" as his brother's, but he couldn't settle for someone who'd do zilch for his career either.
He needed a socialite, not some dolled-up, shopaholic movie-star type.
Jill's heart shattered.
For a whole week, she'd been holed up in bed, scarfing junk food, watching soap operas, not even bothering to get ready.
Her friends' biggest freakout? She wouldn't even go get a manicure.
That's apocalypse-level stuff right there.
Even her ride-or-die crew called Leonard and the family, begging them to talk some sense into her before something unspeakable happened.
"I can't get through to her," Leonard said, stressed. "I told you—law types have dirty hearts. That jerk's not even a lawyer yet, and he's already this slimy.
Him dumping Jill? I'm all for it—hands and feet up in the air!
I get she'll be down for a bit, so I haven't flown out there.
But today's Emma's first birthday party!
I told her ages ago she had to come, and she agreed!
Now she's pulling this 'can't reach me' crap…" 😣
"She's probably on a plane," Adam said, trying to ease him. "She'd be flying in around now, right?"
"Nope!" Leonard shook his head. "I bought her ticket—her flight's still over four hours out!"
"Maybe she's getting ready?" Adam suggested. "You know girls—takes forever to pick an outfit, do their hair, get a mani. Half a day, easy. Maybe she just didn't hear her phone."
"Fair point. I'll try again," Leonard said, dialing Jill's number once more.
"Still no answer!"
"Call her besties—Margot and Serena!" Adam grabbed the phone, dialing under Leonard's curious stare.
"They're always bugging me," Adam explained with a grin. The call picked up fast, a quick chat, then he hung up. "Told them to have Jill call her dad back."
"They were dragging her out for a manicure," Adam said, laughing.
"Oh, got it."
Leonard couldn't help but crack a smile.
A minute later, his phone lit up.
"It's Jill!" Leonard grinned, picking up. He put on a stern dad face, but Jill's cheerful laugh came through loud and clear.
Old man Leonard couldn't hold the act—soon he was chuckling, chatting away with his newly perked-up youngest.
Adam listened for a bit, then stood to head out.
"What?!"
Right then, Leonard's voice spiked, his face pure shock.
Adam's stomach dropped as Leonard clutched his chest, his face going pale, body trembling, breathing ragged. His phone slipped from his hand, and he toppled backward.
Adam flipped into bullet-time mode, darting over to catch him before his head hit the floor.
"Sudden heart attack—Code Blue!"
One glance, and Adam knew what was up. He scooped Leonard up, rushed him out, laid him on a gurney in the hall, and started emergency care while barking at the nurses who'd heard the commotion.
"Grab Dr. Green's phone from the office!"
"Call Rachel, Amy, and Jill—get them here!"
"Page Dr. Burke!"
All while working on Leonard, Adam cursed under his breath: "Damn it, Jill!" 😡
(End of Chapter)