David's anxious voice from the other end of the phone snapped me out of my trip down memory lane.

"Hello? Natalie? Can you give me a reply? I need to pick Mia up from the hospital now," he pressed for an answer.

I hadn't realized how anxious he sounded in my previous life. He pushed me to help Mia before swiftly turning around to pin the crime on me. It was almost as if he were afraid of dragging Mia into this mess.

Was David involved in all of this? I couldn't help but shudder at the thought.

I glanced at Mia through my peripheral vision. She looked visibly distressed and kept sneaking glances at room 302. It was as if she was hiding a huge secret in that room.

I cleared my throat and put on a calm demeanor.

"I can't cover her shift. I just helped out at the ER, so I'm exhausted. Besides, I have my own patients to tend to. I'm afraid I won't be able to help Mia out," I replied.

Mia turned around in shock. Since she wasn't expecting me to turn down her request, she instantly got worked up over my reply.

"What? I just need you to give him some fluids! It wouldn't even take up much of your time. Why are you refusing to help me with such a small task?" she barked.

"It's just a small favor, Natalie. Why won't you help Mia out? I'm so disappointed in you," my brother reprimanded me in a stern voice.

Since I didn't want to waste my breath any longer, I hung up the phone and proceeded to tend to other matters.

Mia rolled her eyes and began to grumble under her breath, "What a selfish woman. I knew I couldn't count on you to help me out."

When I chose to help her without any hesitation in my past life, she ended up throwing me under the bus. Hence, I refused to help her again.

Mia usually acted obnoxiously and arrogantly. On top of that, she'd constantly pawn her work off on the other nurses. Aside from me, no one at the nurses' station seemed to want anything to do with her.

So, when she went around asking for help, everyone turned her down. In the end, her stomach ache went away, and she stormed off to the washroom, feeling annoyed.

Why was she in such a hurry to get someone to take over her shift? Did something happen to Max already?

In order to confirm my suspicions, I put on a pair of gloves and headed to room 302 after Mia left.

Max looked shockingly pale under the moonlight. When I lifted the covers and checked his body temperature, I froze in shock.

Max was cold to the touch, and his body was in rigor mortis. In other words, he had to have been dead for at least an hour.

Mia was the one who gave him his IV medication at 1:00 am. Did she accidentally kill him by giving him the wrong drug an hour ago? Was that why she was frantically looking for someone to pin the blame on?

My entire body began to tremble out of fear as the thought crossed my mind.

My first instinct was to inform the hospital of the situation, but I immediately dismissed the idea before I could act on it.

I was currently in the room of a patient I wasn't responsible for. Judging by how irresponsible Mia was, she'd definitely accuse me of killing Max and pin the blame on me. So, once I made sure no one noticed, I swiftly left the hospital room.

After standing at the nurses' station for what seemed like forever, I calmed down and realized something important.

If the patient was already dead around 1:00 am, why did Nick's autopsy report state that the time of death was between 5:00 am to 6:00 am?

Nick was known as a genius forensic pathologist. He was so skilled that he was able to narrow down the exact time of death with only a one-hour margin of error. He had never made a single mistake in his entire career.

So, how did such a professional forensic pathologist make such a big mistake?

My head was throbbing. I couldn't figure out what was going on, no matter how hard I tried.

Nick and I were childhood friends. He'd always protected me and looked after me like a knight in shining armor. So, why did he help Mia frame me?

I buried myself in work and ignored Mia the entire night. She was pacing around the nurses' station and seemed incredibly anxious.

It was almost 5:00 am by now, and she was still sitting on her chair while holding a medical tray. It didn't seem like she was planning to administer Max's next IV drip at all.

Eventually, all of our colleagues left to tend to their own matters. Then, when Mia and I were the only ones left at the nurses' station, she shot me a glance before quietly heading to room 302.

When it was almost time for Max's family to cause a scene, I got up from my seat and found a place to hide. Not a moment later, I heard familiar, gut-wrenching cries coming from room 302.

"Wake up, my dear grandson! You're scaring your grandma."

"Son? What happened to you, my boy? Please wake up."

"Max, my baby. The doctor told us you'd be able to return home soon. How could this happen? How are we supposed to live without you?"

After some commotion, the trio angrily made their way to the nurses' station.

Furious, Max's father demanded to meet the nurse on duty and the one responsible for administering the IV medication.

Mia, who was fearfully hiding in a corner, scanned her surroundings and tried to locate my whereabouts.

The other nurses pointed at her with a terrified expression and said, "Mia is the one who's been tending to Max all this time."

Before Mia could say anything, Max's father marched up to her and punched her in the eye. Then, just as Mia regained her footing, Max's mother kicked her in the stomach.

After being simultaneously attacked by Max's parents, Mia was now lying on the floor, wailing in agony.

Subsequently, Max's grandmother pinned her to the ground and began violently yanking on her hair.

"You're the one who killed my beloved grandson!" Max's grandmother exclaimed in anger. "I've disliked you for quite some time now. You're nothing but a troublemaker."

She continued, "You'll pay for what you did. I'm going to kill you!"

When I walked over to the nurses' station, Mia, who was covered in blood, caught sight of me.

"I was on duty, but Natalie was the one who gave him the drugs. She must've messed up!" She pointed a finger at me and yelled.

In my previous life, I was just about to get off work after a long shift when Max's family confronted me at the nurses' station.

When they demanded answers, Mia immediately pinned the blame on me.

"Natalie was on duty that night. She was the one who administered the fluids. I had nothing to do with it," she'd told them.

Before I could explain myself, I was violently beaten up by Max's family members.

Max Campbell was seven, and he was an only child. His father looked like a powerful man, and his mother was a lawyer. His grandmother, on the other hand, was known for being an unreasonable woman.

As a young woman who just turned 25, I had no way of defending myself against them. I was powerless and helpless.

In my current life, I refused to let Mia use the same tricks to twist the truth again.

When Max's family members turned to glare at me, I immediately held my hands up and said, "Don't try to pin the blame on me. I didn't help her administer anything last night. Everyone here can prove it."

The other nurses piped up one after another.

"Although Mia asked Natalie to fill in for her yesterday, Natalie turned her down. Mia went to administer the IV herself," one said.

"Says who?" Mia yelled hysterically. "When I asked her again at around 5:00 am, she agreed to help me. None of you were there during that time!"

Mia's blood-covered face and shrill voice made her look extremely horrifying.

"A patient just died. Which one of you wants to insist that I was the one who gave him the IV?

"From the way I see it, Natalie probably gave him the wrong drug. Now, she's trying to pin the blame on me because she's afraid of the consequences!" she spat.

Since the incident resulted in a person's death, no one dared to utter another word.

When Max's family started glaring at me with seething anger, I defended myself and said, "I didn't even enter the room. If you don't believe me, check the surveillance footage."

"The cameras in the hallway are broken. You're just trying to avoid responsibility," Mia spat.

A subtle, smug smile crept its way to her lips. It seemed like she had it all thought out.

It all made sense now. She already knew that the surveillance cameras in the hallway were broken. That was why she entered the room when none of the other nurses were around.

She was planning to frame me from the very beginning.

Max's father's patience was wearing thin, and he couldn't stand our bickering any longer.

He aggressively kicked the desk at the nurses' station. The monitor that was placed on top of the desk toppled over as a result.

"One of you needs to pay for killing my son!" he bellowed.

"The police are here!" someone from the crowd suddenly exclaimed.

I felt my breath catch in my throat. Then, I caught a glimpse of David's familiar face through the crowd.

He ended up coming to the scene after all.

When David saw Mia on the floor, he looked confused.

"Why are you the one who's been beaten up?" he asked quizzically.

Mia sobbed as she cradled her injured face. "I wasn't the one who gave Max the IV infusion, David. You need to help me."

Wait a minute. This incident took place very suddenly, and no one at the scene of the crime called the police.

So, how did David get to the hospital so quickly? It felt like he knew that someone was going to die before it even happened.

As I was staring at him with a puzzled expression, he marched over to me and slapped me across the face.

He hit me so hard that my ears started ringing.

"I'm so disappointed in you, Natalie. You should be more responsible and own up to your mistakes," he barked.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. David seemed like a completely different person.

After he told me off, he turned toward Max's family and immediately put on a kind and friendly expression.

"I'd like to apologize on behalf of Natalie. I hope you'll take her young age into consideration and don't be too harsh on her.

"Once this is all over, I will throw her into prison myself and make sure she gets punished by the law."

Before even conducting any form of investigation, David, my biological brother, was already telling everyone that I was guilty. His actions didn't just make me feel disappointed. They completely wiped out any remaining love or respect I had for him.