Chapter 5 - The Legal Shark
Three days later, I received a frantic, aggressive email from Julian. He threatened to sue me for HIPAA violations, claiming I had illegally accessed his son’s medical records to humiliate him in public. He demanded a million dollars in a private settlement, or he would go to the medical board and have my license revoked.
It was the desperate thrashing of a drowning man.
I didn't reply to the email. I simply forwarded it to Harrison Sterling.
The next morning, I sat in Harrison’s sleek, glass-walled office in downtown Chicago. Harrison looked like a shark in a Tom Ford suit. He read the email, laughed out loud, and tossed his iPad onto his mahogany desk.
“This is adorable,” Harrison smirked. “He’s trying to extort a doctor over information a nurse yelled out in a public hallway.”
“Can he cause trouble for me at the hospital?” I asked, sipping my sparkling water.
“Zero,” Harrison said flatly. “You didn't look at a chart. You didn't access a database. The nurse announced the blood type to the child’s legal guardians in a public space, and you performed basic high-school biology in your head. There is no HIPAA violation for having a functioning brain.”
“Good.”
“In fact,” Harrison leaned forward, interlacing his fingers, his eyes gleaming with predatory delight. “I think it’s time we hit him with our own paperwork. Have you decided how you want to proceed with the fertility clinic fraud?”
I took a deep breath. For months, I had sat on the evidence that Julian had forged my medical records to convince me I was infertile. I had held onto it, waiting for the right moment, unsure if I wanted the media circus that would come with suing a prominent clinic.
But seeing Julian in that hallway, watching him try to use my supposed trauma to break me... all my hesitation evaporated.
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“Burn him to the ground, Harrison,” I said coldly. “Sue Julian for emotional distress and fraud. Sue the clinic for medical malpractice. I want his reputation completely dismantled. I want the world to know exactly what kind of man he is.”
Harrison smiled, a terrifying, beautiful expression. “I’ll have the filings at the courthouse by noon.”
