Dirty

12 | At crossroads

‭‭Hebrews 12:22 KJV‬‬
but ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,

FAITH FOUNDATION PRIVATE hospital stood tall before them with its glittering sign board and beautiful workers running about the entrance. In front of the little girl it was a gigantic building ready to swallow her up. Her mother had come here once and never came out. She was afraid to step in when her father spoke to her.

"It's better to rip the band-aid off once. No matter what your fears are, there's no way to run from them." That was the kind of man he was. Strong, courageous, wise, and straight to the point. He always knew what to say.

Her heart beat wildly in her chest. She wanted to back out from this. Just go back home and retire, after all she knew the outcome of the meeting. But then she would remember her father's voice that day telling her to rip the band-aid off and face her fears. Faith Foundation private hospital had been glamorous from the outside and awe inspiring from within all those years ago but now it held her future. Now she couldn't appreciate its beauty because she'd come to be a part of them. She became exposed to deaths, cruel people, and lost hope in the eyes of many. This was her means of livelihood on the line.

It was time to face her fears. "God help me. I don't know what to pray for but I ask for one thing. Let your will be done there. Give me the strength."

She pushed the doubled door open. Inside the room were five members from the board of directors, Doctor Ahmed and a man she didn't recognize. They sat around the oval table in the center of the conference room, all dressed in finely tailored suits and for the only woman present, a unique Ankara skirt with blue blouse which matched its print.

"Have a seat." The man she didn't know pointed to the swivel chair at the opposite end of the table, directly facing him. This position made all the eyes of the people sitting around him to settle solely on her.

"Good morning." She greeted.

"Let's skip the pleasantries. You committed a very serious crime, Miss Ugwu. One that I can't simply let slide for the sake of the hospital my father toiled hard to build." The man she didn't know turned out to be the owner's eldest son. A man in his late twenties with a reputation of being heartless. If his mind was set on something he never stopped until he had it. "I trust the judgment of the five people around me, hand picked by my father to cater to the affairs of the hospital. And doctor Ahmed here has worked for many years, hence I trust his words. There's no need to retell the story. Are you going to deny your actions?"

She pressed the seat handle to reign in her anxiety. This man was scary. She didn't say anything. It seemed a decision had already been made, her output wasn't needed. She did the last thing she never imagined doing. Pleading.

"Please give me a chance. You know I'd never do anything out of line if I didn't have good intentions. They were going to let that man die. I had to step up, he had no one to contact. Technically I didn't... I didn't-"

"What? You didn't do anything wrong? Are you trying to defend yourself? You clearly went against our decision." The woman's words sliced through her. "That man was a criminal."

"Assumptions! Mere assumptions! I even paid for everything with my money. What did you lose in this? He would've died in your care anyway."

"You went against the instructions and protocol of this facility. Kidnapping a patient you had no relations with."

She looked horrified. "I didn't kidnap him."

"You will keep silent when I'm speaking, miss Ugwu or else I will lose all sense of formality with you. I can have the police here now to take you away. You committed a grave crime. I can have you locked up for good."