Page 58 of Obeying

"It's a false complaint, Dad. The misconduct isn't mine."

"It doesn't matter whose it is. Perception is reality in this field. You know that better than most. People won't remember the details. They'll remember that Logan Maxwell was involved in a disciplinary hearing. That's what stays."

"And they'll also remember that I stood up for someone who was being targeted. That I didn't look the other way when it was convenient."

"Logan—"

"What would you have done? If someone walked into your department and physically assaulted one of your residents in front of patients and colleagues. Would you have stood there?"

"I would have handled it through the proper channels."

"There were no proper channels when it was happening right in front of me. I wasn't going to watch and just wait for it to end then file a report."

He's quiet for a moment. "Last time they offered you an out. A clean exit. And you turned it down."

"I did."

"And I respected that because you said the complaints were baseless. But at the time, I didn't know how big of a deal it was. The whole board is reviewing it and will be present, and the person who submitted the complaint is the CEO of Cruz Pharmaceuticals. This is a case people will talk about. This isn't just about whether you're innocent anymore. It's about perception. People won't remember the details of the hearing. They'll remember that Logan Maxwell was involved in a disciplinary investigation."

"I don't care about the details, Dad. I stand by my decision."

He sighs. "Logan, I'm not fighting you on this. Don't do it."

I grit my teeth. A direct command from the senior Maxwell.

"The complaints are baseless."

"That's not my business. I'm trying to protect our family." He takes a deep breath. When he speaks again, his voice is harder. "You don't understand the work we put in to be where we are. Your mother and I. Do you think the Maxwell name would be what it is today if we were this reckless?"

Reckless. He calls protecting a colleague reckless. As long as it puts the name at risk.

"Yes, your name carries weight because of the hard work you put in." I hope it hits him. "But also because of the integrity behind it. What would I be if I looked the other way?"

"Some battles are not yours to fight!"

I flinch. Theo Maxwell has never lost his cool.

The silence stretches. Is this all it takes? A disciplinary hearing? One foot out of line?

"Since you refuse to protect the name, I will protect it. Logan, if you go through with this, do not call me."

I press my lips together. Hard.

Kristen's scared face flashes through my mind. The way she flinched from me in the elevator. The way he gripped her arm. His smug face at his office, asking if I think she belongs to me. Like property. Like something to push and pull.

Grandpa's face comes next. The day he asked me what I wanted to be. Me. Logan.

"I'll hang up now," I say, my voice strange to my ears. "I have a hearing to prepare for. You'll hear about it through your grapevine."

I hang up. I sit there at my kitchen table with my cold leftovers and my phone and the quiet of an empty apartment. My heart pounds. My head aches. There's a roar in my head. When it threatens to drown me, I clear the table, wash the dishes, do the things normal people do at the end of a day that felt like it lasted a week.

I don't think of his words. I think of my decision.

When the hearing comes, I'll be ready. We'll be ready. I'll walk in there and lay out the truth, every piece of it, and when the board sees what Miguel Cruz actually is versus what he pretends to be, his charade will fall apart. His complaint. His threats. His hold on Kristen. All of it.

And whatever happens, I will walk out of there knowing this was my choice to make. I will walk out of there free.

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