I held back my tears, looked at the man being "praised" by the crowd, and spoke softly.
"Fine. Then starting today, we're done. Let Chloe be your daughter."
I left without looking back.
Outside the hospital, I found Mercy General's offer in my email and hit accept.
The call came almost immediately. The voice on the other end was polite but couldn't hide the excitement.
"That's wonderful, Alice. I really didn't expect you to choose us. Don't worry—our hospital may not match your father's in overall ranking, but our cardiology department is the best in the country. Once you're here, you'll thrive!"
"We need people right now. Can you start in three days?"
I smiled and agreed, then hung up.
Honestly, my father's cardiology department wasn't even ranked that high nationally. I'd only been so set on joining because I wanted to fight alongside him. Now that I no longer needed to... I could finally chase my own dream.
For days after, Dad never reached out—but the relatives did. First, my uncle.
"Alice, don't be so immature! Your dad is the Gilbert family's public face. If you—a little girl—cost him his career over some petty grudge, the whole family will never forgive you!"
Then my aunt.