“Yes, I am her husband,” James confirmed, stepping forward to stand by Isabelle’s side. He gently wrapped an arm around her, lending her his strength. “And I would like to know why my pregnant wife, who is experiencing severe abdominal pain, is being treated with such disregard and hostility.”

Brenda’s bravado seemed to wilt under his scrutiny. “Sir, she didn’t have an appointment,” she protested weakly, but her voice lacked the earlier venom.

James’s expression hardened. “Emergency situations often don’t come with the luxury of appointments. Dr. Monroe instructed her to come in urgently. Is it standard procedure here to ignore a doctor’s directive and threaten a patient in distress?”