2025-01-03 17:29:05As Joaquin stepped out of Serena’s office, the weight of his humiliation pressed on his chest. He clenched his fists, his mind replaying the scene.
Andrew’s smug face, Mikyla’s betrayal, and Serena’s icy judgment all swirled in his thoughts.
They had stripped him of everything—his position, his dignity, and even his hope.
His steps quickened as he made his way to the elevator, needing space to think. But as the elevator doors opened, fate had other plans.
Standing inside were Andrew and Mikyla, their conversation halting as they caught sight of him.
“Oh, look who it is,” Andrew sneered, his voice dripping with mockery. “The hospital’s newest orderly. How does it feel, Joaquin, to be demoted to cleaning up after us?”
Mikyla smirked, her arms folded, her disdain was evident.
“Maybe it suits him. He’s always been good at groveling.”
Joaquin said nothing, stepping into the elevator and standing rigidly in the corner.
“Quiet today, aren’t we?” Andrew leaned closer, his voice low but sharp. “What’s wrong, Joaquin? Too embarrassed to admit you’ve been thrown to the bottom? Or are you sulking because Serena didn’t protect her favorite pet?”
Joaquin’s jaw tightened, but he refused to respond.
Andrew chuckled, clearly enjoying the lack of resistance.
“What’s the deal with you two anyway? Did she demote you because you couldn’t keep up with her demands? Or was it something... more personal?”
He raised an eyebrow suggestively.
The insinuation made Joaquin’s blood boil, but he kept his gaze fixed on the elevator doors, willing himself to stay calm.
He knew the security cameras were watching, and any outburst would only worsen his situation.
“You know,” Andrew continued, his tone growing more vulgar, “Mikyla told me all about how naive you are. She said you actually thought she cared about you. Isn’t that right, darling?”
Mikyla laughed, leaning into Andrew.
“Poor Joaquin. He always thought he was so special. But really, he was just... convenient.”
Joaquin didn’t respond.
Each word cut deeper than the last, but he wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing him break.
When the elevator doors finally opened into the bustling hospital lobby, Joaquin stepped out.
He didn’t waste his time with those assholes.
But Andrew wasn’t finished.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” Andrew called after him, loud enough for everyone nearby to hear. “Afraid someone might ask about the plagiarism? Or maybe about the attack you tried to cover up?”
The words hung in the air, drawing the attention of patients and staff alike.
Conversations halted, and all eyes turned to Joaquin.
“Plagiarism? What’s he talking about?” one patient whispered.
“I heard he assaulted a colleague,” another said.
Joaquin’s heart sank as the murmurs grew louder, the crowd feeding on Andrew’s lies.
“That’s right.”
Andrew declared, his voice full of righteous indignation.
“This man is nothing but a fraud. He steals others’ work, attacks his colleagues, and pretends to be a victim. It’s disgusting.”
The crowd shifted, their disapproval palpable.
Some patients began muttering angrily, their glares piercing Joaquin like daggers.
One older man stepped forward, his face twisted in anger.
“How can someone like you call yourself a doctor? You should be ashamed!”
Joaquin opened his mouth to defend himself, but no words came. He felt trapped, the walls closing in as the weight of their judgment crushed him.
Andrew, sensing victory, stepped closer, his smirk widening.
“What’s the matter, Joaquin? Nothing to say? Or are you finally realizing your place?”
Joaquin straightened his posture, his expression calm but deadly serious.
“Andrew,” he said, his voice steady but loud enough for everyone to hear, “don’t you fear the consequences of twisting the truth like this? Don’t you fear God’s punishment for your lies?”
God’s punishment?”
Andrew laughed sharply, his voice dripping with contempt.
“You’re just a pathetic excuse for a man!”
A sharp cry erupted from Mikyla.
“Andrew!”
Everyone turned to see Andrew clutching his head, his face contorted in pain.
He stumbled backward, collapsing to the floor as blood trickled from his temple.
The crowd gasped, stepping back in shock. Mikyla dropped to her knees beside Andrew, her hands trembling.
“What... what happened?” she stammered, her voice panicked.
“Like I said, God’s punishment,”
Joaquin smiled easily.
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Latest Chapter
Chapter 281: Doubts
“What should we do now, Mom? Dad is conducting an investigation!” James asked anxiously, his voice taut with unease.They were inside his office at VMH. James sat rigidly behind his desk, hands gripping the armrests, while Gracia reclined lazily on the sofa across the room, leafing through a glossy magazine as if the world outside didn’t exist.They had been talking about what happened to Jasmine and Joaquin, about how Javier had practically moved into the hospital, guarding his children like a sentry. James knew exactly how deeply his father cared for them—how far he would go to uncover the truth. And that terrified him, because if Javier succeeded, the truth would lead straight back to him and his mother.He never wanted this. He never wanted blood on his conscience.But Gracia had insisted.“Don’t worry, son,” she said, barely glancing up as she flipped another page. “Your father won’t know anything… unless you tell him.” Her tone was almost mocking, dangerously calm.James exhale
Chapter 280: Finding the truth
Jasmine slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was the blinding light above her. Panic struck her chest as the thought hit—was she dead?What happened to me? she asked herself, bewildered.Her memory felt fractured, like someone had torn pages out of a book. She couldn’t piece together how she had ended up here. The last thing she remembered was being inside a warehouse with Joaquin… then the deafening explosion.“Ms. Lopez? Do you hear me?” asked Dr. Ramirez.He carefully opened one of her eyes and shone a small light inside. Her pupil reacted, and he immediately let go.A faint smile tugged at Dr. Ramirez’s lips as he glanced at Javier Villareal, who stood tense and watchful at the bedside.“She’s back, Mr. Villareal.”Relief washed over Javier like a tide breaking through a dam. He leaned down to see his daughter’s face more closely, his voice trembling.“Jasmine? It’s me. It’s your father.”Jasmine let out a faint groan in response. Her vision still spun, the world tiltin
Chapter 279: A Glorious Comeback
Joaquin stood in the arched doorway, chest heaving, the air still trembling with the fading echoes of Neraxis’s fall.The oppressive hum of warped reality was gone; the sanctum felt… lighter. Almost hollow. Behind him, the once-terrifying heart of the Spire lay in shambles—obsidian walls fractured, the black glass floor cracked like dried earth after a storm.The smell of scorched stone clung to his skin, sharp and metallic in his nose.He gripped the doorway with one hand, letting his weight rest against the cool stone. Every muscle ached, each breath scraping his ribs like a file, but for the first time in what felt like days, his mind was clear. No illusions. No shifting corridors. No voice slithering into his thoughts.It was over.
Chapter 278: The Last Blow
The air between them crackled, saturated with a magic so dense it seemed to choke the breath from Joaquin’s lungs. Neraxis stood at the far end of the sanctum, his blackened robes stirring in an unseen wind, his eyes burning with the slow, deliberate confidence of one who believed himself untouchable. The fractured remnants of his earlier spells still hung in the air — shards of warped light, fragments of distorted space, and threads of darkness weaving back into his grasp.“You have clawed your way through the Spire, boy,” Neraxis said, his voice deep as bedrock, “but here, at the heart, your strength ends.”Joaquin didn’t answer. Words were useless now. He tightened his grip on his weapon — the blade glowing faintly, flickers of his own magic laced through its steel — and forced his aching body to stand st
Chapter 277: It Bend
The air didn’t explode.It bent.One instant, Joaquin stood in the sanctum’s warped corridor, the next, the edges of his vision folded inward like a burning page. The walls were still there, but not in the same way. Stones swam through each other, dissolving at the edges. Shadows pooled on the ceiling like ink in water. The floor tilted, though the slabs beneath his boots didn’t shift an inch.He blinked hard, expecting the distortion to clear, but it only deepened. The air in front of Neraxis rippled as if heat rose from invisible flames, and in that distortion his form wavered—sometimes tall, sometimes impossibly narrow
Chapter 276: Cont.
The void shuddered.A rift of raw, black fire tore through the air where Joaquin stood, heat and cold striking him in the same breath. The world beyond the sanctum was gone—replaced by an endless chasm of fractured light and swirling darkness.And in that collapsing space, Neraxis moved first.The High Warlock’s hand slashed downward, and the void answered. Entire constellations bent inward, their dying light collapsing into a spear of shimmering obsidian. It hurt to look at it—like staring into the heart of every shadow Joaquin had ever known.The spear screamed toward him.Joaquin didn’t move by instinct alone; he let the storm inside his veins surge, the remnants of every battle he had fought here i
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