Chapter 1

On my birthday, my mother-in-law was rushed straight into the emergency room right after coming off the operating table.

In a video the intern had just posted, he was holding the scalpel and cutting open my mother-in-law's abdomen.

My wife, who was supposed to be the lead surgeon, was nowhere in sight.

The caption read: "Who says interns aren't qualified to operate? It's fine. My department chief wifey spoils me."

My colleagues flooded the comments, obsessing over their romance.

I immediately forwarded the video to Chief Bennett, the head of our hospital.

Moments later, my wife called me, her breathing ragged and her voice uneven.

"Is this really because I forgot your birthday? Did you actually go crying to the Chief and claim I broke hospital protocols?"

"I am so sick of your petty jealousy! Even if my mom takes your side this time, we are getting a divorce..."

Before I could say a word, she hung up.

What she didn't know was that her mother would never take my side again.

The patient who had bled to death because of an intern's botched surgery was her own mother.

1

The resident held out the death release form, pressing me impatiently.

"We did everything we could. Once you sign this, you can take the body."

The body had already been wheeled out of the trauma bay.

Yet the doctor in front of me only pushed for my signature, saying nothing about the unauthorized switch of the lead surgeon.

I let out a bitter laugh.

"I refuse to sign. I'm requesting a formal medical malpractice investigation."

The doctor gave an awkward smile and tried to talk me down.

"Chief Hayes said the cause of death was an unforeseen postoperative complication. There was no error in the procedure."

I stood my ground, demanding a full inquiry, leaving him no choice but to comply.

In the department's group chat, the intern, Trevor Dawson, tagged me.

"Dr. Ward, I'm so sorry. Autocorrect changed 'Dr. Hayes' to 'wifey' in my caption. I didn't mean to cause a misunderstanding."

Other colleagues immediately jumped in to comfort him.

"It's just a typo, what's the big deal?"

"If my attending had been as generous as Chief Hayes during my residency, letting me get hands-on experience, I'd brag too."

"Chief Hayes and Trevor just have a great mentor-mentee dynamic. Why does Dr. Ward always assume the worst?"

Whenever these people had caused trouble in the ward, I was always the one who cleaned up their messes.

Yet the moment they noticed my wife, Chief Mallory Hayes, favoring the handsome new intern, they turned on me.

They didn't hesitate to tear me down just to flatter Trevor.

Even now, knowing Trevor had illegally performed the surgery, they sold their souls to defend him.

I sneered and typed back: "Whether it was a typo or not, you know the truth."

The second I sent it, I was muted.

The group admin was none other than my wife, Mallory.

I closed my eyes, feeling a profound, stinging ache in my chest.

I turned around to leave the hospital and gather the paperwork for the malpractice claim.

The circulating nurse from the operation ran up to me in a panic.

"Dr. Ward! The patient Chief Hayes let Trevor operate on... there's a massive problem!"

I looked at her coldly. "And?"

She avoided my gaze, lowering her voice.

"Something went wrong during the procedure, and now the family is demanding an investigation."

"Chief Hayes wants you to take the blame for it."

I almost couldn't believe my ears.

Mallory had recklessly handed a scalpel to Trevor just to stroke his ego.

Now that a life was lost, she wanted me to be their scapegoat so neither of them would face charges.

All for Trevor, she had completely abandoned her medical ethics and discarded her own husband without a second thought.

The bitterest irony was that she still had no idea who was lying in that morgue.

My heart turned entirely cold.

"Tell her no. If she had the guts to do it, she should have the guts to face the consequences."

I brushed past the nurse and walked away.

Moments later, Mallory called me on FaceTime, screaming at the screen.

"Are you out of your mind? I'm the department head, and you're just an ordinary surgeon! If you lose your job, who cares?"

"Have some damn empathy, Gavin! Trevor just started his career. You can't destroy his bright future just because you're selfish!"