Page 113 of Dr. Stone

Jim nodded and smirked. “It appears it’s now my job to get the backs of all you playboy doctors who waltz into my hospital with all your baggage,” he said, taking a sip of his beer.

I shrugged and sighed, “What would you do all day without our dumb asses keeping you busy?”

“I could think of plenty more important things,” Jim chuckled. “Seriously, though, your scandalous ass is all clear. That man can’t fuck with your medical license or your reputation.”

“Thank God.” I took another sip of beer, the fire of rage burning hotter inside of me, knowing this shithead thought he could fuck with my life. “So, he has nothing on me?”

“Not a thing. There’s nothing to have,” Jim said. “The board reviewed everything this morning and confirmed it. The picture Jonathan tried to use to make his bullshit stick never even made it past the ethics chair.”

I nodded. “I still can’t believe this piece of shit went to the board anyway,” I exhaled. “I guess he thought he’d make a point.”

“They also know about your patient’s daughter, but you didn’t break any codes, Jace. Not as a doctor and not as a civilian,” Jim finished. “It’s not a crime to be a player.”

Titus smirked cunningly. “So, now that you’ve gotten immunity from your past and a scandal that could ruin Jonathan,notGillian, what’s your plan to bury this piece of shit?”

I took a sip of beer, completely relieved that all I had to focus on now was nailing this fucker to the goddamn wall. “I’m simply going to return this bastard’s favor.”

Two days later,I walked into the Porsche dealership with one goal—make Jonathan Gilbert feel the same gut-churning fear he’d forced on Andie.

I wasn’t alone. Beside me in the waiting area sat my attorney—a man so sharply dressed in a charcoal Tom Ford suit he could’ve been stepping out of a Wall Street boardroom. He hadn’t spoken since we arrived. He didn’t need to. Clients like his didn’t win in court—they made sure the other side never stepped foot in one.

Jonathan emerged from his office twenty minutes later, still grinning from the six-figure sale he’d just closed. His smirk faltered when he saw me, then flicked to the man at my side.

“Let me guess,” he said, sliding his hands into his pockets. “Here to buy a Porsche, Doc? Finally trading that scalpel in for something that actually gets women wet?”

I stood, buttoning my jacket. “The cars in my garage are worth more than this entire dealership, and none of them are Porsches. I don’t buy toys to impress strangers—I buy machines that perform.” I let it hang a beat, my gaze pinning him. “Unfortunately for you, I’m not here to talk cars.”

His eyes cut to my attorney. “What is this—some hospital board scare tactic? You think a lawyer’s going to rattle me over a little gossip?”

“You don’t need to worry about him,” I said, stepping in close enough to lower my voice. “What you should worry about is feeling exactly what Andie felt the day you threatened her—that sick knot in her stomach, that panic her whole life could be ripped away. You’re about to choke on every ounce of it—unless you sign the papers in his briefcase and disappear.”

He stiffened. “What papers?”

“Custody,” I said flatly. “Every shred of legal and physical rights to Brandon—gone. Permanently. You sign, and you walk away. For good.”

“Why the hell should I?” His gaze darted between us. “Because you have some big-shot attorney here?”

“Because of what I have on you,” I said, my voice dropping, “that could bury you with one phone call.”

“You’ve got nothing,” he shot back, but there was a flicker in his eyes.

I smiled without warmth. “Does the name Gillian Ward ring a bell?”

He inhaled sharply. “Perhaps.”

“You have no idea what that family will do when they find out what you did to their daughter with your threats.” His silence told me I had him. “The Wards don’t just ruin people—they erase them.”

His voice cracked. “What can they do to me?”

“People like them? They take your job, your name, your home, your future—and you’ll thank them for letting you breathe afterward.”

He swallowed, the first real crack in his boldness.

“How wouldyouknow anything that happened between me and Gillian?”

“I know exactly what you did with Gillian because I live in that world, dumb fuck. Drunk heiresses talk, secrets slip, and those secrets land in the wrong ears. So far, I’m the only one holding that knowledge back from her family. The only thing that keeps it buried is you signing over full custody and leaving the state. Forever.”

He tried for a smirk, but it didn’t stick. “You’re bluffing.”