Chapter 21
Annika
The unpleasant physiological effects from my binge-drinking episode were now behind me, and my body and spirit were finally on the mend after my encounter with Jeff. In the depths of my despair, I had allowed the bad blood to fester to the extent of being self-destructive, and a certain beefy businessman ended up rescuing me before I reached the point of no return. I was actually grateful to Leon for infecting me with his fortune cookie mentality because it somehow reminded me that the darkest hour is just before dawn. I had gone through hell and back, but I made it through. Slowly but surely, things began to fall into place, and the impact of the forward momentum of our plans breathed new life into me.
Hunter delivered on his promise in a New York minute and secured an appointment with his great uncle. It was music to my ears when he called me with the news, and I wasted no time relaying everything to Leon, but I should have known that Hunter would have already informed him. Our date with the judge was set, and after all the blood, sweat, and tears it took to survive this living nightmare, I was ready to claim my sweet, sweet victory and wash my hands of Jeff and his scheming mistress.
The papers were pending submission and would be processed any day now, signaling the end of phase one, and it was time to implement phase two of my plan: destroy Jeff and Sadie’s public images piece by piece. My initial thought was to expose Jeff to his coworkers so they could see him for who he really was—a lying son-of-a-bitch who thought he was above the law because he was a district attorney. But as fate would have it, I was presented with an opportunity I couldn’t refuse as my day was coming to an end at the clinic, and I was surprised to see the name of my next patient after grabbing the clipboard from the door.
“Hmm, my day just got a lot better,” I quietly mused, but it was still audible to a sharp-eared Kenzie as she passed by. She stopped dead in her tracks and peered over my shoulder, and I didn’t need to look at Kenzie to know she wore a smirk on her face.
“How are you going to handle this?” she asked with a familiar twinkle in her eyes.
“You’ll see,” I responded. Kenzie nodded and walked away to tend to her last patient, and I opened the door to mine. “Good evening, Mr. Galloway! It’s been a while since I last saw you. How are those allergies now?” I asked with a genuine smile. Now that I knew exactly who he was, it would make the next part of my vendetta that much sweeter. Although I would be fine with gouging out his daughter’s eyes with a scalpel, it wasn’t worth my license or a prison sentence for disfiguring her.
“Hello, Doc. I’m doing better since I started taking antihistamines every day as you said,” he replied genially.
“That’s great to hear. So, what brings you in today? And where is your wife?” I asked, realizing that Mr. Galloway was alone.
“I didn’t want to bring her. She nags too much. Plus, she worries for nothing,” he responded with a nonchalant shrug, making me chuckle. “I’m just here for a follow-up. I wanted to make sure that everything else was okay with my health. I’m not getting any younger, and my wife will back off if I can show her that everything else is pretty much normal, to an extent, obviously.”
“I see. Well, that shouldn’t be too hard. Let’s do a routine physical then, shall we?” Mr. Galloway nodded in agreement, and I hit the ground running. I finished taking the rest of his vital signs as I quickly assessed his general appearance to check for abnormal growths, bruising, or inflammation and performed heart and lung auscultation. I evaluated his reflexes before asking Mr. Galloway to lie on the exam table for an abdominal exam. Next, we discussed his health history, including medications, supplements, vaccinations, past surgeries, and family history, and I handed him a depression screening to fill out as I ordered laboratory tests. Based on his history, he wouldn’t require additional testing besides routine blood work and colorectal screening. He also didn’t appear to show any deficits in memory or mental agility, and his depression screening was negative. We had already established that he was pre-hypertensive, but it wasn’t alarming considering his age.
“Well, Mr. Galloway, you seem to be in excellent condition based on preliminary assessments. As we discussed before, your blood pressure is slightly elevated, but nothing a healthier lifestyle and diet won’t fix. Physically, you seem as healthy as a horse, and you’re not at risk for depression,” I told him honestly. Though I doubt that will continue to be the case once I’m through with your daughter and expose her to the public, I convulsed with laughter internally as I maintained a straight face. “I would like you to stop by the laboratory for some routine blood work along with some additional tests to check your prostate and colon.”
“Today?” he repeated, shifting his eyes nervously as a bead of sweat trickled down his temple.
“Would that be a problem?” I wore a confused expression as I glanced over at him.
“Oh, no, it’s just that … well … I’m not that big a fan of needles,” he admitted sheepishly, averting his gaze. I caught my lips between my teeth to stop the amusement from taking over my face when I heard his confession. Trypanophobia was very common, but I couldn’t help but feel entertained by my good fortune.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Mr. Galloway, but rest assured. You’ll be in good hands with our highly skilled phlebotomists. Did you know that sometimes patients have smaller veins or veins that roll, making it difficult to draw blood? It’s very rare for our staff not to get it right on the first try, so try not to worry too much,” I added with utmost sincerity, but it seemed that my words only further stoked his fears at the prospect of being poked more than once. He nodded his head before he stood.
***