My husband, Dr. Adrian Pierce, insisted on bringing his childhood sweetheart—a mere intern—into the OR as an assistant surgeon during a critical heart transplant. All I did was reprimand her for wearing rhinestone-encrusted acrylic nails in a sterile environment. Adrian abandoned the patient, chest cavity wide open, and stormed out of the operating room to comfort her. I begged him to come back and finish the surgery. He snapped at me: "Bella is upset right now. Can you not start drama with me at a time like this? Pause the surgery. Nothing is more important than Bella's feelings." The patient was left exposed on the table for forty minutes and died in agony. Later, we found out the patient was the beloved Mayor of our city. Adrian and his "little sister" Bella pinned the medical malpractice on me: "If you hadn't gone crazy in the OR and chased us out, the Mayor wouldn't have bled to death! This is all your fault!" I couldn't prove my innocence. I was sentenced to life in prison, where I suffered until I died. Meanwhile, my husband and Bella walked down the aisle. When I opened my eyes again, I was back. Back to the day the Mayor was lying on our operating table. 1 "Maya, Adrian is the attending surgeon. He said I could keep my nails. What right do you, a lowly resident, have to lecture me?" Hearing the familiar, arrogant voice, I snapped my eyes open. Standing before me was Bella, looking down her nose at me with a smirk. I scanned the room. We were mid-heart transplant. Everyone was scrubbed in, covered head to toe in sterile gear. Everyone except Bella. Not only were her long acrylics studded with rhinestones, but she wasn't even wearing a mask. That’s when I knew. I had been reborn. I was back to the day the Mayor died in our hospital. In my past life, Adrian insisted on having Bella assist. She was clumsy, handed him the wrong scalpels, broke sterile field protocol repeatedly, and almost dropped a rhinestone into the patient's open chest. I scolded her about the nails. She took it as a personal attack and stormed off. Adrian abandoned the patient to chase after her. "Bella is upset right now. Can you not start drama with me at a time like this? Pause the surgery. Nothing is more important than Bella's feelings." The patient died. They blamed me. "If you hadn't gone crazy in the OR and chased us out, the Mayor wouldn't have bled to death! This is all your fault!" I died in prison. They got married and became the youngest Chief of Surgery and Vice Chief in the hospital's history. I snapped back to reality just as Adrian frowned and scolded me. "Maya, this is an operating table, not a place for your jealousy. I approved her nails. Apologize to Bella." Looking at Bella's triumphant face, I swallowed my rage. "Why should I? Hospital policy forbids artificial nails in the OR. I did nothing wrong." Seeing I wouldn't budge, Bella's face darkened. "Maya, admit it, you're just targeting me. Fine, I'll leave." She tossed a scalpel onto the tray carelessly. It bounced and nearly sliced the patient's aorta. Panic and anger surged through me. I grabbed the scalpel just as Adrian moved to chase Bella. I lowered my voice, urgent and cold. "Adrian, the patient's chest is open. We need to proceed with the transplant immediately or he will die." "You are a doctor. Are you going to watch him die?" Adrian looked at the door where Bella vanished, then at the patient. He gritted his teeth and picked up the scalpel. Just as I let out a breath of relief, Adrian's phone rang. It was Bella. 2 Adrian put it on speaker. Bella's angry voice filled the sterile room. "If you don't come comfort me right now, I'm never talking to you again." Adrian's voice turned gentle. "Bella, honey, let me finish this surgery and I'll come straight to you." Bella huffed. "If you aren't here in five minutes, I'm going to the clinic to get rid of this baby. You won't be a father anymore." Pregnant. The bitterness filled my mouth. In my past life, I thought they only got together after I went to prison. Turns out, they were already expecting. Before I could process the shock, Adrian dropped his instruments and bolted for the door. I grabbed his arm. "Adrian, you can't leave. The patient can't wait." He glared at me with pure fury. "Didn't you hear her? She's going to abort my child! If I don't go now, it'll be too late!" I frowned. "What about the patient?" "I'll be back as soon as I can. A few minutes won't kill him." I stared at him in disbelief. A heart transplant is a race against time. Every minute counts. Last time, the patient died because of this exact delay. I tightened my grip. I wouldn't let him go. "Maya, let go! Are you trying to kill my child?" I started to deny it, but he shoved me hard. I stumbled and crashed back-first onto the metal instrument table. A groan escaped my lips. Adrian didn't even look back. He sprinted out the door. The rest of the surgical team rushed to help me up. "Dr. Lin, are you okay? Dr. Pierce is out of line. Defending her is one thing, but getting physical?" "I knew something was going on between them. I didn't think they'd be so blatant about a pregnancy." I waved them off. "Not the time. I need to get him back." The patient's life was more important than Adrian's betrayal. I wouldn't let the tragedy repeat itself. I ran into the hallway, but I was immediately surrounded by the patient's family. "Doctor, how is he? Is the surgery a success?" I recognized them instantly. The Mayor's family. His elderly mother knelt before me, sobbing. "Doctor, please, save my son. I'm begging you." His wife, seven months pregnant, also tried to kneel. "Doctor, please. Everyone says this is the best hospital. Please save my husband." I pulled them up, looking them in the eye. "I promise you, I will do everything I can." Adrian was gone. I returned to the OR. The team looked behind me expectantly. "Dr. Lin, where's Dr. Pierce?" I shook my head. "I couldn't catch him." The anesthesiologist panicked. "The patient is under general anesthesia, chest cracked open. If we don't operate now, he'll die of shock or infection." "Only Dr. Pierce is qualified for this procedure in the whole city. It's too late to call in someone else." I took a deep breath. "I'll do it. Adrian and I were classmates. I know everything he knows." The team rejected the idea immediately. "Maya, you're a resident. Hospital protocol forbids you from leading a transplant." "Just call Dr. Pierce again. Get him back here." I swallowed the truth—that he wouldn't come back—and dialed his number on speaker for everyone to hear. 3 "Where are you? Come back, we're waiting for you." Adrian's voice crackled with rage. "Bella is crying her eyes out. Can you stop making a scene right now?" "Pause the surgery. I'll do it once I've calmed Bella down." Click. The room went dead silent. The anesthesiologist cursed. "By the time he comes back, the patient will be a corpse." "Call him again. If this patient dies, we all go down." I dialed again. "The patient is critical. You need to return." "Heart transplants are high risk," Adrian snapped. "If he dies, it's just his bad luck." I was stunned by his callousness. "If the patient dies and the family sues, can you handle the fallout?" Adrian scoffed. "He's a nobody. No money, no power. If they sue, we'll just say they're extortionists." "Stop calling me. Bella wants strawberries. I'm buying strawberries." He hung up. Fury ignited in the room. "He abandoned a patient with an open chest to buy strawberries? He's unfit to be a doctor!" "BP is dropping fast!" the anesthesiologist shouted. "If we don't act now, we lose him!" I stepped up to the table. "I'm doing it." They hesitated. "Who else?" I challenged. "Are you going to watch him die?" "It's against protocol," the anesthesiologist said, sweating. "If you do this, you take full responsibility." "I will take full responsibility," I said calmly. "We have no time. Assist me." They exchanged looks, then nodded. I picked up the scalpel. I removed the failing heart. I implanted the donor organ. I sutured the vessels. My eyes were glued to the flat line on the monitor. Seconds ticked by. Agonizingly slow. Then, a blip. A steady rhythm. "We have a heartbeat!" the nurse cried. "Success!" I didn't speak. I focused on closing the chest. When the last stitch was in, my legs gave out. I slumped to the floor, my scrub top soaked in cold sweat. An hour later, the patient woke up. And that was when everyone finally learned: He was the Mayor. 4 In the recovery room, I checked the Mayor's vitals. Everything looked perfect. I let out a breath I felt like I'd been holding for hours. The Mayor smiled weakly. "I heard you performed the surgery. Thank you." "But I recall Dr. Pierce was supposed to be my surgeon. Where is he? Did something happen?" Before I could answer, Adrian called. The Mayor glanced at the phone. "Answer it here." I put it on speaker. "Where are you? Come to Bella's apartment right now." "I'm doing post-op checks. The transplant was successful." Silence for a few seconds. "You did it? I'm surprised that guy's tough enough to survive being left open for forty minutes." "Pity. I thought we could use the body for research." I saw the Mayor's face turn purple with rage. "Adrian, watch your mouth. We are doctors. Our duty is to save lives." "Why save these peasants?" Adrian sneered. "No power, no influence. Just a waste of resources." "Their only use is for us to practice on, to refine our skills." I gasped. The Mayor's expression was terrifying. Adrian continued, oblivious. "You upset Bella earlier. She's stressed. I'm giving you thirty minutes to get here and apologize." "Also, she wants your home cooking. Buy groceries on the way." He was treating his wife—a surgeon—like a maid. "I need to monitor the patient. He's still critical." "Is his life more important than Bella skipping a meal?" Adrian yelled. "The surgery is done. If he dies now, it's fate." "Don't make me ask twice. Get your ass over here!" He hung up. I felt a chill in my bones. I never knew Adrian was this monstrous. To him, a "commoner's" life was worthless. The Mayor was trembling with anger. "He abandoned me for his mistress... and he calls himself a doctor? He is a disgrace to the profession!" He started coughing violently. I rushed to soothe him. "Mayor, please, you just had a transplant. You cannot get agitated." He took a deep breath. "You're right. He's not worth my health." "But if Dr. Pierce thinks he's a god who can decide who lives or dies, I will show him what happens when he loses that power." He looked at his chief of staff. "Pass the order. Revoke Adrian Pierce's medical license immediately. Ban him from practicing medicine for life."
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