"Nora, didn’t you have something you wanted to discuss with me?" Meredith said, taking the initiative to speak.

Nora quickly composed herself. "Meredith, this is Elaine, the friend I mentioned earlier. The patient Alice Drake, who needs the surgery, is her sister-in-law."

Her words immediately linked me to Ashton. Meredith nodded politely at me, and I quickly handed him Alice’s medical records.

He took the records and skimmed through them for about half a minute before ...