Goro did not leave Apartment 307 immediately after declaring that the Red Sickle would no longer come to collect debts. He stood near the door while carefully regulating his breathing, and Hector waited for orders like a subordinate still unaccustomed to seeing his boss make room for someone else. “The settlement document,” Goro said. Hector immediately took out a black folder from inside his jacket. He handed it to Goro, then looked at Peter with a tense face when the folder changed hands, as if a sheet of paper could be more dangerous than the needle box on the table. Goro held out the folder. “The old matter is truly closed. There is no second record, no new interest, and no subordinate of mine will come carrying another excuse.” Peter accepted the document, but did not thank him. He opened the first page and checked the amount, the date, Goro’s name, Hector’s s

Peter had not yet left Apartment 307 when a new message arrived from the number of a nurse at Prosperity Health Clinic. It was not Doctor Wong who sent it, but a short video from the clinic waiting room, recorded with trembling hands and the overlapping noise of people in the background. Peter played the video without sound first. The waiting seats were full, the corridor leading to the treatment rooms was crowded with patients, and the administration desk, which usually focused on calculating deposits, was now surrounded by patients’ families demanding explanations. “When is Doctor Peter coming?” a man’s voice could be heard in the recording. “My mother did not come here to be handed over to another doctor. Peter already examined her, so we want to continue with him.” A woman behind him immediately added, “Doctor Wong said we have to wait, but for how long? My husband could not

Peter arrived at Prosperity Health Clinic not long after Wong received Endi’s message. He did not come with an entourage, did not bring a new signboard, and did not stop to receive the gazes of patients who recognized him the moment he entered. The waiting room, which had been noisy, suddenly quieted down. Several people stood, some patients called his name, and a young mother even seemed ready to rush forward while carrying a feverish child. Peter raised his hand. “Do not all stand up. The loudest person is not always the most critical. Nurse, take patients with shortness of breath, pale lips, or chest pain to the treatment room first.” Nurse Lina, who had received Peter’s list of conditions by message, moved immediately. She brought a new clipboard, called two other staff members, and began separating patients according to their complaints without asking who had arrived in an expensive car or wh

Endi did not immediately take the blank sheet Peter had pushed toward him. He stared at it for several seconds, then covered it with his report folder, as if paper without an official letterhead was unworthy of receiving his signature. “I do not need to play by your rules,” Endi said. “The report will be written according to procedure, and procedure does not wait for the consent of an unlicensed practitioner.” Peter did not look angry. He returned to checking the records of the patient who was about to be referred, making sure the family contact number and destination hospital were correct. Only then did he raise his head when Endi began reading the report points aloud, loudly enough for the waiting room to hear. “Needle use without specialist verification, medication whose composition is not accompanied by complete information, and the manipulation of patient hope through emotional testimon

Endi Wang looked at Mr. Suryo with a flushed face, then repeated himself more clearly so the entire waiting room could hear.“An old man who does not understand medical science should not interfere in a doctor’s affairs.”Mr. Suryo did not answer by shouting. He looked at Endi for several seconds, pressed the tip of his cane against the floor, then spoke in a steady voice despite the disappointment in his eyes.“I may not remember every term in your folder. But I have lived for decades. I have led people. I have seen honest men, and I have seen men who care only about protecting their own faces.”Several patients in the waiting area exchanged glances. Peter Davis stood beside Mr. Suryo, first watching the elderly man’s breathing before turning his attention to Endi, whose jaw had begun to tighten.Mr. Suryo continued, “When I could barely breathe, people in this clinic told my family to arrange the deposit and wait for our turn. Doctor Peter looked at the color of my lips, checked my