I Closed The Door And You Knelt To Beg

My mother ran The Serenity Creek Clinic her entire life. A simple dose of cold medicine and a consultation? Ten dollars. Maybe less if you were short on cash.
When I took over, I honored her teachings, dedicating myself to the health of the community.
But the moment I charged a returning local influencer sixty dollars for some specialized GI medication, the entire internetand the whole villagecalled me a greedy monster running a predatory practice.
Men, women, and children lined up, blocking my door, demanding I refund the money they were sure Id swindled from them.
I granted their wish. I handed back every cent Id ever collected. Then, I personally locked the doors.
As you all wished, the clinic is closed, I announced, the finality stinging my throat.
From now on, for your aches and fevers, please drive yourselves to the county hospital thirty miles away. I truly wish you all the best of health.
The very next day, they were back, blocking the door again.
Only this time, they were begging me to open up.
1
Sixty dollars? Are you robbing people?
The speaker was Kinsley "Kinny" Rhodes, a young woman whod recently returned to Serenity Creek to launch her career as a lifestyle vlogger. She was suffering from minor travelers diarrheaa slight bout of food poisoning. I'd prescribed the most advanced, fast-acting, and gentle medication I could get.
Kinny, the wholesale cost of this medication alone is fifty-five. Ive only charged you a five-dollar consult fee. Thats more than fair.
Dont lie to me! She waved her phone in my face, the screen glaring.
I just checked Amazon Pharmacy. The exact same script is fifty dollars! Shipped! Theyre even running a special. And youre only charging a five-dollar fee? What about the federal rural healthcare grants for clinics like this? Are you just pocketing the difference?
Grants?
I blinked, a bitter laugh dying in my throat. Dealing with that bureaucratic nightmare wasn't worth the paltry sum they offered. My mother and I had always preferred to run to our trusted suppliera small, regional pharmaceutical labto guarantee the highest quality meds with the fewest side effects.
Id graduated top of my class, turning down offers from major university hospitals. Five years ago, the mayor himself came to me, reminding me how remote we were, how hard it was for the elderly to travel to Oakwood City. I owed them for the kindness shown to my mother and me after my father died young. Id promised to stay.
Five years of service.
I pointed to the price sheet taped to the wall. The cost of every medication is public record. I dont make a profit on the medicine itself. Im charging you a five-dollar professional fee.
Oh, very official. Kinny folded her arms, a smug smirk twisting her lip. But that kind of scam only works on people who dont know betterlike these country folks.
She rolled her eyes at me, then shouted to the small group waiting outside.
Hey, everyone! Look what this doctor is doing! Hes price gouging! Hes stealing from the good people of this town!
Heads turned. Eyes focused on me, filled with instant suspicion.
Little Jenny, the girl from next door, squeezed through the crowd, puffing out her cheeks and glaring at Kinny.
Thats not true! Dr. Maxwell is nice! Last time I had a fever, he gave me medicine and a lollipop! Hes the best!
A flicker of warmth went through me. I smiled at Jenny.
Kinnys expression darkened. She scanned the barcode on the prescription bottle with her phone, then thrust the screen at Jenny.
Look closely, kid! Its fifty dollars online, and he charged me sixty! He overcharged by ten whole dollars!
Little fool! Youre bought for a single piece of candy. When you grow up, youll be stupid enough to be taken by a traveling salesman!
You! Jennys eyes welled up with tears.
Watch your language, I said, my voice ice cold.
If you look closely, those are two different manufacturers, I pointed out the flaw in her phone image. Mine has a superior purification process. It works better, faster, and has fewer side effects. Thats why the wholesale cost is higher.
She looked like Id just handed her a winning lottery ticket.
See? Excuses! Experts online have already debunked that! The active ingredients are the same, so the effect cant be that different. You just want to make more money!
She pulled up a short video where a self-proclaimed "medical expert" was passionately ranting about how "high-priced medicine is a scam for the uninformed."
The collective gaze of the townsfolk solidified into judgment.
That feeling of being fundamentally mistrusted was sickening.
I knew arguing was pointless. I had other patients to see.
If you think theyre the same, then go buy the generic online.
I tried to reach for the box of medication. Im not treating you. My clinic doesnt welcome you. Dont come back.
She snatched the box to her chest, her face a mask of righteous indignation.
What? Guilty? Trying to destroy the evidence?
Im keeping this! This is my proof!
Utterly shameless. My fists clenched in rage.
A patient from the back of the line tentatively poked his head forward. Dr. Maxwell, my head is throbbing. Can you help me?
I stopped arguing with Kinny and simply pushed her toward the door.
Get out.
She left without paying a cent, medication in hand.
I thought that was the end of it.
The next morning, the moment I pulled up the metal security gate, I stopped dead in my tracks.
A wall of people stood before my clinic. The entire townevery man, woman, and childhad shown up.
The looks they gave me weren't the usual warmth and respect. They were filled with anger and contempt.
Give us back our money! Someone yelled, and the crowd erupted.
Leo Maxwell, give us back the money you overcharged us!
We trusted you! And all along, youve been running a crooked scheme!
I stared at the sea of familiar faces, my mind blank.
What are you talking about? What money?
Mayor Thompson squeezed out of the crowd, his face etched with performative sadness.
Leo, how could you do this to your neighbors?
He held a phone up. The headline was a blazing dagger in my gut: Exposed: The Heartless Rural ClinicA Vampire in a White Coat, Stealing Even the Change.
The author: Kinsey Rhodes.
The video was maliciously edited, showing only the moment I took the sixty dollars and the moment I pushed her out.
The text was pure, inflammatory fiction, painting me as a greedy, unethical profiteer.
The comments section was a savage, digital frenzy.
[This doctor should have his license revoked and be jailed!]
[Disgusting, preying on honest, hardworking farmers.]
[Support the vlogger! The truth must shine!]
I was shaking with fury.
This is a lie! She maliciously edited that video!
In all my years, when have I ever overcharged anyone? I source this medicine at almost cost price, only charging a nominal fee! For people who couldnt pay, I always covered it myself!
Just then, Kinny Rhodes emerged from the back of the crowd. She held a selfie stick, filming.
See, everyone? This is the face of a guilty, heartless doctor! Still lying!
If it was such a losing business, why did his family run this clinic for forty years? Hes not an idiot. Hes been quietly profiting and basking in your naive gratitude!
You let the whole town spin in circles youre a hypocrite!
The last word was the match, igniting their stored anger.
Mrs. Davies, who Id given free deep-tissue massage to for her back pain, shuffled forward, pointing a trembling finger at me.
The last time my back hurt, you took half a month to fix me! Were you intentionally using slow medicine just to make me pay more visits?
I froze.
Id used the most gentle, non-invasive method precisely to avoid causing her deeper long-term damage. At the time, shed held my hand and thanked me profusely.
Mr. Henderson shoved his son forward, his face red and distorted.
My boy broke his leg! You set the bone! You must have overcharged me, too! Give me back the money! Or Ill tear this clinic down!
I remembered everything. His son was hurt late on a Sunday night. Id jumped out of bed, worked until dawn, and charged him only three hundred dollars for the emergency materials.
Then there was Billy, a young man whose life Id saved.
He was now grinning into Kinnys camera, pointing at me like I was a freak show.
Folks, this is the quack who did the illegal surgery on me!
My arm still hurts, so it must be his fault! Its a permanent side effect from his terrible skills!
To save his hand from being mangled in a machine, I had performed emergency, life-saving debridement and stitchingin my unapproved clinicat a moments notice.
Now, my act of mercy was his "proof."
You you cant be so heartless! My mother, Eliza, stumbled forward.
Her small, fragile body stood between me and the crowd, shaking with rage.
I know my son! To serve you, he gave up a top job at a major hospital and came back to this poor place. How how can you do this to him?
No one listened.
Their eyes were glazed over with manipulated rage and raw greed.
Just then, a car marked "Health and Human Services" pulled up. Several people in uniform stepped out, their expressions severe.
Weve received multiple public complaints alleging illegal practice and pharmaceutical price gouging.
You are ordered to close the clinic immediately and cooperate with our investigation.
The comments section on Kinnys live stream exploded.
[The government is here! Its confirmed!]
[Justice served! Lock him up!]
Watching the nightmare unfold, I felt dizzy.
I took several deep breaths, then walked to the safe and pulled out every ledger and receipt I had from the past five years.
You want proof? Here is your proof!
These are my inventory receipts and billing records! Look for yourselves!
Not only have I not made a cent of profit, but Ive also put over thirty thousand dollars of my mothers retirement money into keeping this clinic running!
The mountain of receipts and ledgers momentarily stunned the crowd.
But Kinny, ever the performer, immediately cut in, her voice shrill.
Who knows if these are real? Receipts can be forged! The only person who knows the real prices is you!
Go outside! Call Oakwood City Hospital! Find out where their prices are lower than mine! I shouted, my eyes burning.
These records are stamped and signed by the pharmaceutical supplier! How can they be forged? Go ahead and check!
I thought the tangible evidence would silence them.
Instead, Kinny sneered, ready to throw her final, most devastating bomb.
Even if your prices were lower, what gives you the right to use that as an excuse to sexually harass your female patients?
Kinnys words were a lightning strike. The silence was absolute.
She grabbed a woman named Maria from the crowd and pulled her forward.
Maria wouldnt meet my eyes, mumbling in a whisper barely audible:
He he treated my back last time. He used the massage as an excuse to touch me inappropriately
The crowd erupted in a furious roar.
Mayor Thompson seized the moment, pointing a finger at me.
And who says the amounts on those receipts are real? I heard youve been colluding with your supplier, exaggerating the wholesale prices and taking massive kickbacks!
A strangera man Id never seen beforesqueezed forward, claiming to be an employee of my supplier.
I can confirm it! The prices on his receipts are all fake! He and our boss have been working together to defraud the community!
The lead investigator from Health and Human Services looked at me, his face grim.
If any of this is true, youre facing commercial fraud charges. That means jail time.
It was absurd.
I pointed to the security camera in the corner. The cameras will prove my innocence regarding the harassment.
As for this so-called employee, I don't know him! My supplier is not the one he claims! You can check my call logs and bank transfers right now!
The investigators immediately split up to verify my claims.
Seeing one lie fail, Kinny spun another.
Dont get distracted, everyone! His most serious crime is practicing medicine illegally! She pointed triumphantly at Billy.
He permanently damaged Billys arm with his shoddy surgery!
Hearing his cue, Billy clutched his wrapped forearm and let out a theatrical yelp.
Thats right! He did an illegal surgery in this unapproved office! My wound still hurts every day. Its a permanent injury he caused!
The investigator's face was now a mask of deep displeasure.
If the charges of illegal practice and causing bodily harm are verified, your medical license will be immediately revoked!
I tried to speak, but Kinny rushed toward my mother, her eyes full of venom.
Like mother, like son! The old one was no good, so how could the young one be any better?
My mother, already reeling from shock, gasped, her eyes rolling back. She fell backward, straight and stiff.

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