"Bullshit!" Spittle flew from Mr. Lockwood's mouth, nearly hitting my face.

"What scope of practice? Someone's dying! If she dies on campus, we're both finished! You're a doctor! You have to help!"

Mr. Lockwood's eyes went wide with panic. Without another word, he grabbed my shoulders and shoved me hard toward the bathroom stall with all his strength.

"Get in there! If she dies, we're all going down with her!"

I stumbled and crashed into the stall door. It rattled loudly against the frame.

The surrounding students stared at me like I was already guilty. Their silent judgment pressed against my back until I could barely breathe.

The horrors of my past life overlapped with the coercion of this one. In the end, I was still being forced back into the center of this nightmare, all in the name of saving a life.

I stepped into the stall. The metallic stench of blood hit me immediately.

Serena Anderson sat slumped against the cold tile, deathly pale. Beneath her spread a pool of blood that made my stomach turn.

The umbilical cord wrapped around the baby's purple neck. The tiny life barely had any breath left.

My heart clenched. In that instant, everything from my past life came rushing back. Her tearful accusations when she woke, Lynn's condemnation, the online mob, and the cold edge of a blade.

Every image crashed over me, nearly stopping me in my tracks. I couldn't let this happen again. But this was a dying mother and a suffocating child.

Then Serena seemed to regain a sliver of consciousness. "Save my baby. Please…"

I drew a sharp breath and dropped into a crouch, quickly assessing her condition. She was hemorrhaging badly, and the baby was in distress. She needed immediate intervention, but…

I pulled out my phone. "Listen, I'm the campus doctor. I need you to tell me who the father of your baby is."

Serena's lips moved, her voice barely a whisper. "It's Leo…"

"Dr. Kirk! You monster! Are you even human?"

Lynn burst into the stall like she'd lost her mind, swinging wildly to knock the phone from my hand. "Serena's dying and you're taking photos of her? You're disgusting!"

Her shrill voice filled the cramped space and carried to every eavesdropper outside.

I avoided her attack, resisting the urge to throw her out bodily.

Then Serena screamed again, her body convulsing violently. The situation spiraled toward critical. A thought flashed through my mind.

Rather than being forced to help and reliving my past nightmare, maybe…

I let Mr. Lockwood's next shove throw me off balance, stumbling toward the water pipe. "Stop pushing me!"

Then, in the split second before I hit the ground, I angled my left forearm—ulnar side first—directly at the pipe's metal joint and slammed into it with my full body weight.

Mr. Lockwood froze. "Dr. Kirk! What happened?"

Cold sweat instantly beaded on my forehead, my face draining of color. "My arm's broken! I can't even hold gauze steady now. How am I supposed to deliver a baby? You want me to use this useless arm and kill them both?"

I forced the words through gritted teeth, pain shooting up my arm. My gaze swept sharply across everyone present.

"Mr. Lockwood, and you, Lynn! You're the ones so desperate to save her, right? Then you'll do it. Follow my instructions exactly!"

"Me? I can't!" Mr. Lockwood's face went white. He backed away.

"You have to!" I snapped. "You're the closest ones here! Are you going to stand there and watch her die right in front of you? Listen to me and do exactly what I say! Now!"

I guided them through clearing the airway, carefully unwinding the cord from the baby's neck, then coached Serena when to push.

Every step was precarious. One wrong move, and they would both die.

The process was harrowing. The bleeding worsened at one point, and the baby nearly stopped breathing several times. Finally, a weak but unmistakable cry pierced the suffocating tension.

They made it. Almost immediately, urgent footsteps echoed from outside.

"Ambulance is here! Move! Clear the way!"

The stall door swung open, and professional paramedics and nurses quickly took over.

"You did well, doctor. Your intervention was timely. Thank you," one of the paramedics said quickly as they worked.

I sagged against the wall and let out a long breath. At least they were alive.

Serena and the baby were carefully lifted onto stretchers and wheeled out of the bathroom, the crowd trailing behind them.

I turned to head back to the medical office to bandage my arm when Lynn's voice rang out again. "Dr. Kirk! Serena's in this condition, and you're the father! Why aren't you getting in the ambulance with them?"

"What? Dr. Kirk is the father?"

"Oh my God! No wonder..."

"What a monster!"

The accusations and looks of disgust turned on me instantly. Even Mr. Lockwood stood frozen, his mouth hanging open.

My blood ran cold. "Lynn, defamation carries legal consequences. Are you sure about this?"

Lynn looked even more triumphant. "Who are you trying to scare?"

She whipped out her phone and started a livestream, shoving the camera in my face. "Everyone, look! This is the scumbag campus doctor, Dr. Murphy Kirk! He got a student pregnant and won't take responsibility! Share this! Get it trending! Make him famous!"

Within minutes, the accusations spread across social media. Posts calling me a predator and discussing the bathroom birth went viral.

The surrounding students fed off the frenzy. Their shouting grew louder. I simply watched it all unfold, expression cold.

Since becoming the campus doctor, I'd been nothing but diligent and professional. I'd never once crossed a line with any student. Apparently, that only gave them the courage to destroy me more boldly.

I smiled bitterly and walked away.

Let them rage. The harder they pushed this narrative now, the worse the backlash would be later.

The next day, police officers appeared at my door. "Dr. Kirk, you need to come with us for questioning. Please come with us to the hospital."

In the hospital room, Serena lay pale in the bed, looking away from me. Lynn stood beside her, shooting me a venomous glare.

I knew what was coming. I stayed silent, almost amused, content to play the observer.

The officer approached the bed. "Ms. Serena Anderson, is the campus doctor, Dr. Murphy Kirk, the father of your child?"

The room fell silent. Every eye was fixed on Serena's pale lips. Her lips trembled, and her gaze flicked nervously toward Lynn before dropping to her lap.

"Serena, don't be scared! The police are here. Tell them the truth! Did he assault you or not?" Lynn couldn't wait. Her voice was sharp, leading.

After a suffocating silence, Serena seemed to gather every ounce of strength she had left. Head bowed, she whispered, "Yes."

Lynn immediately pointed at me, shrieking. "Officers, you heard her! He raped a student! He deserves to rot!"

The reporters outside the room erupted, trying to push past the police barricade.

The lead officer's expression darkened completely. "Dr. Kirk, do you have anything to say?"

At that critical moment, I slowly reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone, my expression calm.

"Officer, before I provided medical assistance, I obtained Serena's consent to record our conversation for documentation purposes. This is the original, unedited recording."

I pressed play and turned the volume all the way up. The recording played. Serena's agonized moans and labored breathing filled the background.

"Listen, I'm the campus doctor. I need you to tell me who the father of your baby is."

"It's Leo..."

The moment the recording ended, Lynn screamed. "That's fake! The recording is fake!"

She jabbed a finger at me. "He forged it! Or he forced her to say that while she was in agony! Think about it! She was dying and in extreme pain. You really think she knew what she was saying? He planned this! He had it all set up to clear his name! He's despicable!"

Her words set the room on fire.

"She's right! When you're giving birth, you're not thinking straight!"

"This doctor is so manipulative! Why was he recording her? That's suspicious right there!"

"He definitely planned this whole thing. Set it up just for this moment! Scumbag!"

"Lynn's right! We can't trust anything he says!"

The crowd, briefly subdued by the recording, surged back to life under Lynn's influence. They glared at me with renewed disgust.

The officer looked at me. "Dr. Kirk, we'll need to verify this recording. Until then—"

"Wait." I drew a deep breath and spoke coldly.

I thought producing the recording would be enough to establish the truth. I didn't expect Lynn to twist things this far.

But why was she so determined to destroy me? Was it just so that Serena's baby would have a father?

Questions swirled in my mind, but now wasn't the time to dwell on them. "If the recording isn't enough to prove my innocence, then let's do a paternity test."

"A paternity test?" Lynn's voice faltered for a split second before she sneered. "Even now, you won't give up? Fine! Do it! Let everyone see what kind of scum you really are!"

I looked up at her, unsurprised. In my past life, she'd also demanded a paternity test. The results had shown that the child was somehow mine.

But this time, I hadn't laid a finger on Serena during the entire delivery. There was no way Lynn could frame me again.

"No. Don't…"

From the hospital bed, Serena's voice emerged weak and trembling, until Lynn's hand landed on her shoulder.

The forensic technician collected a sample from the baby. When it was my turn, I held up my swollen, misshapen left arm.

"This arm is broken. Draw blood from the right one."

Suddenly, Lynn shrieked. "You're just trying to avoid the test!"

"Avoid it?" I asked. Then I turned my cold gaze on Mr. Lockwood. "Mr. Lockwood, you were the one who shoved me into that stall. Should we also verify whether the injury to my wrist matches the force you used?"

Mr. Lockwood's face went white, sweat beading on his forehead. "Dr. Kirk! That was to save a life! It was an emergency!"

"Urgent enough to force someone with a broken arm to deliver a baby. Urgent enough to throw around false accusations."

I turned back to the officer. "I'll cooperate with the test, and I reserve the right to press charges against Lynn for defamation."

The statement sent a ripple of shock through the room. Lynn shot me a vicious glare but finally shut her mouth.

With expedited processing, the officer returned in less than an hour, holding the sealed paternity report. Every eye locked onto that thin sheet of paper.

I looked up at Lynn, whose expression had gone dark and unreadable. I'd like to see how she planned on spinning this one.

The officer opened the seal in front of everyone. "The test results confirm…"