Your Guise Is Slipping, Miss Pearl



Pearl shook her head, trusting her gut feeling. "I think she's acting strange. Could you keep an eye on her for me?"

Doctor Hanson agreed to help, nodding. "Of course, I'll watch her closely. She won't try anything under my watch."

"Thank you, Doctor Hanson. I'm going to grab some food for Esther."

"Don't worry about it," replied the doctor as he stood.

Pearl headed to the hospital's cafeteria to pick up some light snacks, considering Esther was

still recovering and needed easy-to-digest food. Before leaving earlier, Esther requested sweet and sour pork and donuts.

At the cashier, Pearl's card was declined several times. She then offered cash instead.

"We only accept cards, not cash," the cashier stated firmly.

With no one else in the quiet cafeteria to borrow a card from, Pearl pleaded, "Please, my friend just woke up very hungry. Can you make an exception this time?"

The cashier, unmoved by Pearl's plea and accustomed to the harsh realities of the hospital, refused again. "I can't. If my bosses find out, I'll be in trouble and they'll dock my pay."

Pearl tried to reassure her, "If there's any problem, I'll cover twice the cost."

The cashier snapped, misunderstanding Pearl's intention. "You think you can just look down on people like me and throw money around to get what you want?" She then took the food away and said, "I don't think you need this now. Go get food elsewhere."

Unable to convince the cashier, Pearl left and found another place to buy food, taking an extra half an hour. When she returned, she heard a commotion near the nurse's station, but Esther's room was silent.

She left the food at Esther's door and approached the chaotic scene at the station. A nurse was restrained on the floor, and Doctor Hanson looked shocked.

"What happened here?" Pearl asked.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Pearl. I failed to keep a proper watch, and this happened. Luckily, I intervened in time," the doctor explained, glaring at the restrained nurse. "She tried to bring viruses into Esther's room!"

Pearl questioned the nurse, who was visibly shaken. "Is that true?"

The nurse hesitated. "I..."

Her reaction confirmed Pearl's question. "Why would you try to hurt her? Who asked you to do this?"

Pearl recalled the nurse had never shown any previous animosity toward Esther. They weren't even acquaintances. What could possibly motivate her to do this?

The nurse took some time before slowly saying, "No one asked me to do it. I acted on my own."

Pearl scoffed. "So, you just decided to harm her on your own? Explain why." She studied the nurse closely, sensing she was withholding the truth.

"I don't have a specific reason. I just really dislike her," the nurse admitted, her face contorting with resentment. "Why does she get a VIP room and top care when my parents are crammed in a standard room, getting worse?"

"What's your name?" Pearl asked.

"Tania Saddler," the nurse muttered.

Pearl texted someone briefly before continuing. "So, you did this because you're upset about the difference in their treatment?"All content © N/.ôvel/Dr/ama.Org.

Tania nodded. "Yes, it's unfair. Just call the police if you want to punish me." She looked ready for what was to come, as if she was expecting it.

Pearl chose a different approach, sensing Tania wasn't completely honest. "If you're not scared of the police, I won't call them."

Tania was confused but relieved. "What do you mean?"

"Let's just talk," Pearl offered, helping Tania to a chair.

"Why would you want to talk after what I did to your friend?" Tania was skeptical. " Shouldn't you hate me?"

"I just want to understand your perspective," Pearl said calmly, trying to learn more about her motives.