Chapter 5

The interrogation room lights at the police station were blindingly white.

"Dr. Hayes, if you refused to prescribe fever reducers for Eleanor Vance’s daughter, why did you secretly send her medication afterwards?"

"Did you know her daughter died after taking the fever reducer you sent?"

I shook my head, denying it:

"I didn't secretly send any medication. Without a blood test to confirm the situation, I would never casually give her child any drugs!"

"Then how do you explain this video?"

The police showed me a video, which astonishingly showed me, fully disguised, at Eleanor Vance’s doorstep delivering medicine.

"I don't even know where she lives, how could I have…"

The officer interjected, "The hospital system contains her detailed address; there's no need to quibble."

Then the police handed me a file.

"This is evidence provided by Ms. Eleanor Vance: an audio recording and her child's medical death certificate."

I took it. The recording had clearly been meticulously edited.

It only contained my cold insistence on "needing a blood test before prescribing medication" and her tearful pleas.

On the death certificate, the words "acute severe infection with multi-organ failure" were horrifying.

"Dr. Hayes, as a doctor with many years of practice, why would you do this? Was it truly to generate income for the hospital? To increase your personal earnings?"

I didn't know why Eleanor Vance was so determined to destroy me, but Lily had already been cremated.

With the hospital unwilling to defend me, it was indeed difficult to prove my innocence.

But I had the strongest evidence now.

I sharply lifted my head, looking at the officer across from me:

"Since Ms. Vance likes to resolve issues via live stream, I request that this questioning be conducted via a live video call, allowing me to confront her face-to-face."

A dead silence fell over the interrogation room.

The young officer taking notes paused, looking up in astonishment.

The lead interrogating officer frowned, his face full of bewilderment:

"Are you sure? Do you know the public sentiment? They practically want you dead! If you can't prove your innocence in the end, your life will be ruined!"

"I know!"

I met his sharp gaze, my fingernails digging deeply into my palms.

"As long as I can confront her via video call, you'll know why I refused to give her child a fever reducer, and you'll also know why her child died."

After a long stare-down, the police agreed to my request.

The news spread like wildfire, instantly sweeping across the entire internet.

No one had expected that even after being taken to the police station, I would dare to be so arrogant as to go live and confront Eleanor Vance.

Everyone awaited this face-off between the vicious doctor and the grieving mother.

The camera focused on me, a cold red light flashing.

On the electronic screen opposite, Eleanor Vance's live video feed appeared.

She still looked pale, eyes red-rimmed, forcing a strong facade of barely suppressed grief.

The number of live viewers, at the moment of connection, rocketed, soaring past ten million. The barrage of comments was so dense it almost obscured the screen.

[The bitch dares to show her face!]

[Go Eleanor! We're all with you!]

[Look at her, still unrepentant!]

The live stream began. The police questions were sharp and direct.

"Isabella Hayes, why did you refuse to prescribe fever reducers for Eleanor Vance's daughter, and then secretly send unknown medication that led to her death?"

"Because… she deserved to die."

My words shocked the entire internet, and even the police slammed the table in anger. Only in Eleanor Vance's tear-filled eyes was there a flicker of triumph.

The next second, tears streamed down her face:

"I knew she had ill intentions! It's all my fault for cremating my daughter on impulse, otherwise an autopsy would definitely prove that the medicine she secretly sent was the poison that killed my daughter!"

"If it weren't for a kind person reminding me afterwards, I never would have thought Isabella Hayes could be so malicious!"

"I only wanted an apology for my child, which is why I live-streamed that night's consultation. But she actually poisoned my daughter because of it…."

Her tearful accusations elicited a wave of pity and angry curses in the comments section. But I ignored her sorrow and challenged her:

"Eleanor Vance, do you dare to say your daughter had no previous medical history?"

"No! My daughter was just a little frail, with mild anemia and a bleeding disorder, which is why I couldn't bear for her to have blood drawn…"

"Is that so?"

"Ms. Vance, you repeatedly emphasized your child's anemia and bleeding disorder, refusing a blood test."

"Then, please explain this—"

I raised my phone, unlocked it, and turned it towards the camera.

For a second, the live stream was dead silent.

Then, the entire internet erupted in shock!