Emily turned to look at him, her brows knitting slightly. “And you are...?"

Alex White pulled a patient chart from the pocket of his white coat, flipping it open in his hand. "I'm Mr. Howard's student-the attending physician. I've already reviewed the patient's file."

He nodded his chin toward the hospital room. "Come on, didn't you want me to check on the patient?"

Realization flickered across Emily's face. After a moment's pause, she crouched in front of Ashley. "Ashley, I have something to take care of. Can you go back by yourself?"

Ashley glanced between Alex and Emily, her small brow furrowing adorably. She clearly wasn't thrilled, but she nodded anyway. "Okay, I'll go by myself."

Emily reached out and gently ruffled Ashley's hair.

Inside, her grandmother still hadn't woken up. Emily stood quietly to the side as Alex leaned over to examine the elderly woman.

A few minutes later, Alex straightened and jotted a note in the chart. "She's stable. She should wake up today. If anything unusual happens, press the nurse call button. I'll be around all day."

Emily nodded, then turned to the caregiver. "Did you get that?"

The caregiver responded without hesitation, “Yes, I understand."

Alex returned the chart to its place and turned to leave. Emily was heading to work

as well, so the two of them exited the room one after the other.

Suddenly, Emily called out, "Wait."

Alex turned lazily, "Something else?"

Emily looked at him. "You're a doctor. Can I ask you something?"

Because of Isabella Austin, Alex didn't have much patience for Emily. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have bothered with whatever she wanted to say.

But right now, he was a doctor, and Emily was a patient's family member.

It was his responsibility to answer her questions.

"Go ahead," Alex said.

Emily got straight to the point. "If someone is misdiagnosed with late-stage bone cancer and undergoes several rounds of chemotherapy because of it, what kind of side effects could there be?"

Alex's brows drew together. "Does this have something to do with your grandmother?”

Emily's voice was calm. "I'm just asking."

He studied her for a few seconds, then finally answered, "Mouth ulcers, diarrhea, bone marrow suppression... things like that. The patient would need to be monitored in the hospital and given time to recover."

Emily nodded thoughtfully.

Alex clicked his pen shut and slipped it back into his pocket. "So, can I ask why you want to know?"

Suddenly, Emily smiled. "Mr. White," she said, emphasizing his name on purpose. "If you accidentally misdiagnosed someone, convinced them they had late-stage cancer, put them through chemotherapy, made them take all sorts of unnecessary medication—what would you do?"

Alex's scowl deepened, irritation flashing across his face. "What exactly are you implying?"

For any doctor, a misdiagnosis is a career-ending disaster-a stain that could ruin everything they've worked for.

Alex prided himself on his professionalism and meticulousness. He'd never even considered the possibility of making such a mistake.

To him, this kind of suspicion wasn't just unfounded-it was a direct insult.

And the fact that Emily chose to bring this up right after he'd examined her grandmother only made it worse. From his perspective, she was questioning his competence for no reason at all.

His expression darkened. "Emily, if you don't trust me, you're welcome to find another doctor. But let me be clear: any physician you bring in will tell you the same thing. The patient is stable and should wake up today. It won't make a difference who you ask."