2 Months Later… (Warning contains triggering themes.)
Aiden had helped Mia pay for the moving company, since that day they hadn't seen each other once in the past two months. Mia had been actively avoiding his living area, it was too painful for her. That night she ended things she learned a lot about herself and immediately delved into work. Strategically, she didn't use her heartbreak for herself she began applying it to practice, often mental health issues stemmed from relationship troubles and trauma. Mia used her pain to help other and in the two months period began sitting board meeting with the director. Today was a tough ideal for her being faced with the other hospital facility leaders. It was the same line-up as when Mia had actively debuted in her role, since then she had gained a lot of respect from the director as Mia's clinic had the highest recovery rate in the city.
Mia sat silently as all eyes scanned her up and down, which was typical a female doctor was still under scrutiny and being a mental health clinician on top of that didn't bode well for her, yet again she was the only female among the lot. Director Wu began reading through the reports occasionally glancing at the board members with suspicious eyes causing them to gulp in a wave of nausea which was common. It was a review at the end of the day, if standard weren't met some people could possibly loose their jobs there and then. Mia watched a smile stretch across the directors' face as he glanced at Mia. Everyone took their time to scowl at her, but she simply smiled back and began writing notes. As she wrote a prickly feeling on the side of her face slowed her pace and she looked up to see an unfamiliar face, he was the new head of the emergency department and was quite handsome, but he seemed far too confident in himself and sat back nonchalantly staring at Mia. For some reason she had a bad feeling in her gut and looked away before anyone else would notice.
"Right. Meeting is in session please remember what is discussed in this room stays in this room or it will breach confidentiality and you will be given a formal warning." Director Wu was an aging man but still had a voice that could hold nations, it was deep and penetrating attracting everyone's glare towards him.
"Looking at the statistics, I have a very important matter I would like to address." Mia could see the disdain in his face, something had gone amiss she could tell. Luckily Mia was good at identifying body language and watched as the man next to her tense up and start gripping his leg which was a sign of vulnerability.
"£2000 of last months funds have disappeared without a trace, there is no evidence of foul play nor is there any evidence of it being spent on equipment's or wages. My question is, where has this money gone?" Everyone looked around accusingly and majority of eyes locked onto Mia, she defensively glared back and smirked. How fitting she thought. The director immediately could see what the board members were thinking and slammed his hand on the table.
"I have already checked the Mental Health clinical fund and all of it is accounted for. I have no suspicion of Doctor Mia James before you all start pointing fingers like children." Mia gave the director a gratifying nod and began looking at each member for triggers. Sometimes actions spoke much louder than words, even the littlest detail could offer resolution. Mia finally caught on to something, but it wasn't what she was expecting, the young man next to her looked very sheepish but that was only because the new head of the emergency department gave him a very evil glare. Quietly she observed and the director followed Mia's line of sight knowing she had a knack for these types of situations.
"Excuse me but I'm not familiar with your name." Before Mia could open her mouth the man in her firing line beat her to the punch.
"It's Doctor Mia James, and you are?" she said softly yet bitterly, he smiled enthusiastically.
"Doctor Kira Haruki, I've heard a lot about you Doctor James. You really are something." Mia felt her anger flare up at his taunting tone. Some members snickered while others looked quite shell-shocked at his attitude in a formal meeting.
"Well I've heard virtually nothing about you, but we will be working closely together, a lot of my patients are transferred from your department, so I'll be seeing you more often. I'm looking forward to it." Mia wasn't playing nice and didn't care for this man's attitude, he was shifty, and Mia could see straight through him. Kira looked at her a little worried, he expected such a doctor to be passive and shy, but she was quite confrontational, it would be hard to slip past her. Director Wu speculated for the rest of the meeting but without solid evidence he let the matter lie until he was certain. Everyone went under review and the hospital was doing quite well. Mia was happy with the results and packed her files up ready to take her leave, she said farewell to Director Wu and made her way downstairs.
"Doctor James." A deep annoying voice called out behind her, but she put on a fake smile and spun around. Of course, it was Kira Haruki, his dark brown hair and almost black eyes looking right at her. Mia knew he would want something and was prepared for a heated yet professional discussion but what came out of his mouth next knocked the wind out of her.
"You really don't remember me, do you?" he said angrily, Mia looked him up and down confused.
"Not at all is there anything else?" she said calmly. Kira chuckled to himself.
"Thank God I thought you were holding a grudge against me because of the past but it looks like I was mistaken. Have a nice night." He walked past her and waved leaving her pondering, she had met hundreds of people in her past, why would she hold a grudge against him? Mia brushed off her confusion and headed home.
Mia had found herself a pretty large apartment, she was renting from Yu's aunt, so she gave her a special deal, it was spacious and now she had her own home office, since parting with Aiden she buried herself in work for a distraction and accomplished a lot of things. Her biggest achievement by far was finding a new home for her mother after her recovery rate impressed everyone. Jane was now stable enough to be housed outside of the facility and Mia had pledged to help her financially until she found a job. It crossed Mia's mind to let her mother stay with her but when weighing out the positives and negatives she didn't think it was a good idea, Jane needed to find her independence.
After her last encounter with Sam he had left her alone completely, she didn't even receive a text message from him but was always on guard in-case he tried anything. Sam was still unpredictable, and habits die hard, Mia didn't believe he'd given up yet. Apart from that her lifestyle was very stable, her and Mika would talk quite a lot outside of work hours and he often offered to take her out, but she asked him kindly for some space after breaking it off with Aiden as the wounds were still raw. Living the way, she had now reminded her of how toxic it was living in her previous environment. Now she had a healthy body and mind, and her patients were very reliant and trusting of her which is all she ever asked for.
Yu called her all of the time updating her on her degree and love life, she was doing amazing, but Mia still hadn't told Yu she had split up with Aiden. Yu would worry too much and probably come home which was the last thing Mia wanted now her best friend was thriving. Optionally she didn't say very much about Aiden at all, sometimes when reading articles his name and social life would pop up but instinctively, she would skip them, Aiden had his own life now. Speaking of, Aiden hadn't attempted to talk or see her since that day they parted. Mia expected him to be persistent but after what she said to him, it didn't surprise her at all. All of that drama had escaped her life and she had never felt so content. Or so she thought…
Mia settled for bed and just put her head onto the pillow when her emergency work buzzer started beeping off the hook, she quickly answered.
"Doctor James, sorry for calling so late but we have a crisis situation. The woman's name is Taira Yang, she's not under our clinic but we received a distressing call from the neighbor saying she was suicidal." Mia whipped out her notebook and wrote down the details.
"No problem, do you have an address for the crisis?" Mia got dressed in a flash and began making her way towards a lower-class part of town, it was surrounded by poverty. The streets were pull of potholes and the houses were dark and dingy. It wasn't uncommon for those in the lower class too suffer from mental illness as the economy was a stressful battle, they fought every day. Mia pulled up to the address, an ambulance was waiting on hand, there was no lights on in the house but that eerie feeling made her hair prick up. Gently she knocked at the door giving the patient ten seconds before she forced entry. The next-door neighbour ran out her house and filled Mia in on the situation, when the older woman mentioned she was a single mother and had a seven-year-old son the risk factor increased dramatically. Mia finally gave in and pushed the door open, she rushed around the little home frantically searching for the patient as she was just about to exit the backdoor, she heard sniffling coming from the bathroom. Mia carefully approached the door.
"Excuse me for intruding my name is Doctor Mia James, I'm here to help you Taira." The sniffling died down and Mia watched the door slide open, inside was a young boy with his arms wrapped around his mother who was practically platonic, Mia did a fast assessment and noticed the pressure marks around her neck and bruising on her wrists and legs. It was sadly clear the woman had been sexually assaulted.
"Can you help my mom?" he said desperately hugging her tight as if afraid to let her go. Mia sat down on the floor, so she didn't look intimidating. Taira broke free of her state and glanced at Mia with pain in her eyes.
"Taira Yang, I'm here to help you. Is there any guardian for your son while I treat you?" she asked gently, suddenly Taira's eyes widened and she gripped the young boy with all f her might.
"No! Don't take him from me" she sobbed, and the young boy cried with her, Mia was heartbroken witnessing the scene it seemed they only had each other in this world.
"Taira, taking your son away is not what I'm here to do. Right now, you are both my main priority. I was wondering if perhaps there was someway your son could be safe while I treat you. I have a facility close by where I can help you. We have temporary family facilities for him while I discuss a treatment plan for you." Taira looked tempted by the idea and then dropped her head.
"You can't help me, no-one can. Your wasting my time." Mia gave her a kind smile.
"I hear that 85% of the time and then when my patients are discharged they look back and wonder why they had such doubts. Right now, your used to fighting on your own I can tell, your son looks very important to you. I'm sure he wants you to get better. Taira, you don't need to fight alone anymore I will do everything in my power to get you through recovery." The little boy looked up at his mother as if pushing her to accept.
"Mommy, maybe the lady's right. I want to see you smile again." Taira let a faint cry escape her lips and kissed his head adoringly.
"What your name?" Mia looked at him gently.
"It's Hiro Yang."
"Hiro, don't you think your mommy can be happy again?" he looked up at his mother and nodded enthusiastically. Taira looked at Mia questionably, she really doubted that this little woman could help her. So far, she had done everything on her own, but it had become far too much for her. Eventually, she decided there was nothing else to lose and reluctantly took Mia up on her offer.
Mia called off the ambulance and took Taira and Hiro to her clinic, Mia read her body language throughout the whole ride and could see she was agitated and on edge. Hiro on the other hand was very talkative and jolly his mother was being taken care of and Mia chatted with him the whole way which eased Taira. Kai met her at the entrance and showed them the temporary family facilities. Taira struggled to let him go but knew she would see him the next day.
"I promise you Hiro will be safe there." Taira was fighting Mia on a lot of things which was understandable.
"Have you contacted child services?" she said accusingly, Mia walked her into her office and sat down.
"No, I haven't there was no reason too. Hiro is a healthy weight, there was no sign of foul play and he's a very bright boy, so I have no concern for his physical or mental development. However, you seem to lack some of those things. You are clearly a very dedicated mother and I respect you for that but you're not taking care of yourself Taira." Immediately she was shell-shocked Mia had caught on to her situation so quick.
"I-I do whatever I can to support my son. But I can't take it anymore…" she buried her head in her hands shamefully. Mia reached over and gently held her hand.
"I have an idea of what your implying, this may be unprofessional of me to say but can I ask what you mean by that?" Taira froze up and shuffled uncomfortably. Mia stroked the red raw mark on her wrist. Taira wanted to say it but couldn't find the strength, Mia decided to help her.
"Would it be correct to say you pressure yourself to do extra favors in order to gain a higher income for your son?" Taira breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, she had read her mind.
"Taira are you a willing participant or are you in any way forced?" Mia already knew the answer to that, her body language suggested it the minute she spoke to her.
"I have no choice, I have poor education. How else am I supposed to put Hiro through school?" she cried out shamefully. Mia was enraged someone was taking advantage of this kind woman whom just wanted her son to have a better life.
"Taira, could you tell me the name of your company?" she nodded reluctantly.
"It's James Industry." Mia felt her blood run cold and she felt her stomach churn, Taira looked up when Mia didn't say anything and saw her face white as a sheet.
"Um Doctor James, are you alright?" Mia cleared her throat and slowed her breathing, this was a shock to her, but she needed to prioritize her patient.
"Excuse me, would you mind telling me the name of the perpetrator?" Taira clammed up again but Mia already knew the answer to that too, this was getting complicated. Mia was also a victim of that man.
"Was the perpetrator Sam James…" she said painfully, Taira shot he head up startled she also knew that information. All of a sudden, she felt Mia understood her more than anyone, her face was painted with concern and pain. Mia tried to hide it but her eyes told a million words.
"Yes." She clenched her hands together as tears fell from her face. Mia began planning her words carefully.
"From observation your suffering from trauma, anxiety and depressive episodes. I would like to admit you for a couple of days to determine a care plan, Hiro will be able to stay with you also." She quickly shifted the conversation to work base afraid to let herself slip, it had been two months since Mia had even thought about him this long. He was a sadistic pervert and both of them had become a victim.
"I would like that." Taira shook Mia's hand and Kai found her a bed for the night, Mia sat in her office reading over her notes and began filing a police report, for assault and rape. It was time for Sam James to pay his dues, her was a danger to society and had caused this woman to suffer to the point of death. Enough was enough, she would need Taira's consent. Mia looked up the number for James industries and punched the numbers into her phone but when she put it to her ear yet again, she felt physically sick in-case Sam answered the phone. Thankfully, a receptionist picked up.
"James Industries how may I help?"
"Hello, my name is Doctor Mia James from Hangzhou Mental Health Clinic, I'm calling to inform that Taira Yang will be under leave while she is treated. I'm acting as advocate which she is under observation." The receptionist paused and whispered something Mia couldn't make out.
"I'll hand you over to the supervisor, please hold." Mia felt her throat contract, she knew the supervisor was indeed Sam but was filled with dread hoping he wouldn't be working this late.
"This is Sam James what can I do for you?" Mia felt her voice weaken, it was his voice…his breath.
"Good evening, I'm a Doctor at Hangzhou Mental Health Clinic. I'm here to inform your employee Taira Yang has been admitted and will be on leave from your company for a few days." Mia didn't mention her name, and intentionally changed her voice so he wouldn't recognize her.
"I see…that's awful Taira is a good friend of mine. Would it be possible to visit her tomorrow?" he was obviously putting up a front and Mia felt her temper flare but composed herself.
"I'm afraid visiting hours are only available when treatment has begun which will not be for a few days. My apologies." Mia heard him sigh.
"No problem, I wish her good health until her return. Thank-you for informing me." Mia relaxed, thinking he hadn't seen through her.
"Is would be nice to see you again Mia, I'll visit when Taira starts treatment. Good night." Sam hung up before Mia could say another thing and she held the phone up to her ear with shaking hands, her method had failed, and it was now worse case scenario. Mia was going to have to set up a restraining order on her treatment as well as Sam. Slowly, she wondered if Sam had orchestrated this purposely so he could infiltrate her work but maybe she was being too paranoid.
"Doctor James, Miss Yang has settled in is there anything else you need me for." Mia jumped when Kai addressed her.
"Um…sorry one last thing. Could you inform the receptionist that if anyone by the name of Sam James drops by, he is forbidden to enter the clinic as part of Taira's care plan." Kai nodded and rushed off. Mia calmed herself down and got ready for her leave, she was especially on edge from usual and drove home carefully checking her street and apartment block thoroughly before entering.
At last she settled for bed and began thinking of ways to stop Sam on her own, before Aiden supported her and had many contacts to keep him at bay but her security had reduced drastically and now, she was fighting a lone battle. This was Mia's new chapter and she was ready to fight him with everything she had.