Chapter 3

3

"Just tell the truth. You did this because this doctor suggested you be moved to another car, didn't you?"

"We have witnesses, and you clearly had a motive. This lady can take you to court for this!" the officer shouted.

Brenda didn't look scared at all; she actually looked emboldened.

"Court? See, even the cop says it's a civil matter. That means you can't do anything to me, can you, officer?"

"And you, little man, why are you giving her ideas? Are you taking her side because she's young and pretty?"

The officer's face turned purple. "If you keep insulting me, I will arrest you for obstructing an officer!"

Brenda was like a snake. She knew exactly where the line was and danced right on the edge of it.

She was just smart enough to be dangerous and just trashy enough to be disgusting.

Suddenly, the conductor walked in with some good news.

A maintenance crew had found my bag by the tracks.

We didn't know if the laptop survived, but the notes were still inside.

They promised to ship it to my hospital as soon as possible.

Brenda piped up again. "Oh, look at that! It was just a laptop. My bad, honey. Check it when it gets there and send me the bill for any scratches. See, officer? I'm being cooperative."

As she sauntered out of the room, the officer took a deep breath.

"Dr. Sterling, I am so sorry. Sometimes we deal with people who are just... garbage."

I nodded, forcing a smile.

I had spent over a decade in school to save lives, but my professor was right.

A doctor can heal a body, but you can't fix a soul that's already rotted through.

The attendant told me my seat was clean, but offered to move me anyway.

I told her it was fine; I didn't want to be a bother.

I was Natalie Sterling. I was a professional. I was a hundred times cleaner than Brenda Gold could ever hope to be.

But as I walked through the connection between cars to go get my stuff, two men blocked my path.

One was tall and lanky, the other was short and round. They were both massive.

I tried to sidestep them, but they moved with me, trapping me in the narrow passage.

"So you're the one? Natalie something?" the tall one asked, shoving my shoulder.

He didn't hit me hard, but his size sent me stumbling back.

"You're the one who called my son a brat and got my wife kicked out of her seat? You think you're so special because you're a doctor?"

"Gary, don't even waste your breath on this b*tch," the fat one said, leering at me. "She thinks she can look down on us? We'll show her who's boss."

"What do you want?" I asked, my heart hammering against my ribs.

"Stay back! There are cops on this train! You can't touch me!"

I realized then that Brenda wasn't alone on this trip.

Her husband and brother-in-law were on the train too, just in a different car.

Now they were cornering me in a place where nobody could see.

"Help! Somebody help―"