Chapter 15 Giselle's drowsiness vanished as she bolted upright . " What's going on ? " The clinic manager's voice crackled through the phone . " Five vaccinated dogs from our clinic just died , and now the customers are raising hell . It's gotten so bad they're throwing punches ! Y - You need to get here now ! " Giselle's mind went blank , a deafening buzz filling her ears . She hung up , threw herself out of bed , and yanked on the first T - shirt and jeans she could find . Within minutes , she was speeding toward the downtown veterinary clinic . She gripped the wheel with one hand , phone pressed to her ear as she spoke to the clinic manager , rapidly putting the pieces together . From what she gathered , every dog that had died had been vaccinated at her clinic in the last three days . None had preexisting conditions , and their death was tied to the vaccine . This was massive . Giselle's heart raced , but she forced herself to stay focused , her mind already working through possible solutions . But the moment she stepped out of the car , the dog owners lunged at her like a pack of wild animals before she could even enter the clinic . One grabbed her hair , another kicked and punched her , while the rest stood by screaming curses or sobbing hysterically . Completely frenzied , the women unleashed their rage on Giselle in a brutal onslaught . It took several male staff members a great deal of effort to pry the furious customers off Giselle , finally giving her just enough space to breathe . Without their intervention , she might have been beaten to death right there . Two female staff members quickly pulled her up and rushed her inside , guiding her to a seat . Giselle's scalp burned , her lip was split , and her back , waist , and stomach ached from the kicks . Bruises from pinches covered her body . Every inch of her throbbed with pain and humiliation . But she had to stay calm and endure it . She took the customer's rage without resisting . As a dog owner herself , she understood . To these people , losing a pet was like losing a child . No matter how furious they became , it made sense . " I'm so sorry , everyone . I'm just as heartbroken as you are about what happened . " Giselle forced herself to speak with the steady calm of a business owner , even through her own pain . " I promise I'll make this right . You'll get every penny of the compensation you're owed- 1 " " Do you think we want your damn money ? " a customer shouted , her voice raw with grief , " Do you think a few lousy dollars can bring our dogs back ? You should drop dead and rot in the ground with them ! " Giselle's target customers had always been high - end clients - wealthy , privileged women who wouldn't bat an eye at the meager compensation she offered . One customer even goaded the others . " Go ahead . Call the police ! Do it now ! A shoddy clinic like this ought to be shut down for good ! " Giselle lowered her head in apology . " Please , everyone , I promise we'll make this right . This tragedy happened because of my negligence , and I take full responsibility . " To get to the truth , we'll let the police handle the investigation . Once again , I'm truly sorry . This was completely unexpected . We need some time to sort this out properly . " But the customers were in no mood to calm down . After throwing punches and shouting insults , they immediately called the police . Several officers showed up at the veterinary clinic and took Giselle , the owner , along with other staff members involved in the incident , to the station for questioning . After further investigation , the truth quickly came to light . The veterinary clinic's original vaccine supply was perfectly fine , and all the doses given were correct . The problem was that the dogs that died had actually been injected with substandard vaccines , brought in privately by one of the nurses . The nurse involved , Shirley Cooper , had been missing since the incident . Even though they'd found the " culprit " , tracking her down now wouldn't change anything . The customers didn't care which nurse had killed their pets . All they knew was that this clinic's standards were dangerously flawed . The brand had become untrustworthy , and no one in their right mind would risk bringing their pets to visit again . In the days that followed , things spiraled out of control . Not only was Giselle facing astronomical compensation fees , but several of her veterinary clinic branches were also implicated in the scandal . The Animal Health Department shut them all down , demanding a complete operational overhaul . Het competitors wasted no time capitalizing on the controversy . They fueled the backlash online , calling for a boycott of all her pet - care businesses . Even her most loyal customers turned against her , leaving in droves . Giselle's thriving , up - and - coming pet brand stood on the brink of ruin . Everything happened so fast that she couldn't even turn things around , leaving her depressed for days She wasn't stupid . It didn't take a genius to figure out who was really behind this . She just hadn't expected them to act so quickly , striking before she could even react . Then , consumed by rage , she stopped thinking altogether . She jumped into her car and sped straight to the Holt residence .