After a messy and painful divorce from her ex-husband, Madeline decided to shift her focus entirely to her career. Her passion for medicine and her patients became her primary motivation-until she crossed paths with a blue-eyed detective who disrupt...
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Madeline glanced at the email on her phone, her face lighting up with a huge smile. It was an offer to join the FBI's Gang Unit in California, but she only had a week to accept it before the opportunity would be passed to someone else.
"What's with the smile on your face?" Maggie asked, raising an eyebrow as she noticed her colleague's excitement.
"It's a job offer," Madeline replied, turning the phone to show Maggie the email. "The Gang Unit. FBI. California."
Maggie read through the email quickly, a smile spreading across her face. "That's incredible! So, what are you going to do?"
Madeline sighed, slipping her phone back into her pocket. "I don't know. I won't lie, the offer is tempting—it's everything I've been working toward. But it's in California. I don't want to leave Jay."
Maggie placed a comforting hand on Madeline's arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. "You and Jay have to talk about this. But whatever you decide, I'll support you. Even if that means leaving Chicago."
"Leaving Chicago?" Will asked as he approached the two women, catching the end of their conversation.
"It's nothing," Madeline said quickly, grabbing an iPad from Will's hands and steering the conversation elsewhere. "Let's go talk to the patient." Without waiting for a response, she strode off toward the exam room.
Will followed, donning gloves as he introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Dr. Halstead, and this is Dr. Sanchez."
Madeline smiled politely at the patient. "Vasiley Qipaqli?" she asked, reading the name off the chart. Her smile turned sheepish. "Butchered it, didn't I? I'm sorry about that."
"You got close. Just call him Vee—it's easier," said a man standing nearby, who introduced himself as the patient's cousin. "I'm Brandon Wycoff."
"Nice to meet you," Madeline said warmly, offering a nod before turning her attention back to Vee. "So, Vee, what happened?"
Vee looked at Brandon, clearly unsure of how to respond.
Brandon stepped in, explaining, "He's visiting me from Moldova. He only knows, like, ten words of English."
"That's fine," Madeline replied with a kind smile. "We can get a translator."
Brandon chuckled awkwardly, shaking his head. "Good luck with that. Most people in Moldova speak Russian or Romanian. But he's from the south, so he speaks Gagauz. It's just easier if I do the talking. Long story short, he slipped and fell in the shower."
Will stepped forward, gesturing at the patient's head. "Mind if I take a look? Let me check the back of your head." As he inspected the area, he nodded. "Minor head laceration. Doesn't even need stitches."
Meanwhile, Madeline gently examined Vee's wrist, which was wrapped in ice. "Hey, does this hurt?" she asked, carefully moving it. "Pain?"
Vee hesitated, then nodded slightly. "Oh, I—I okay."
