Chapter 1

The hospital director’s mother needed emergency surgery because of a heart condition.

But half an hour before the operation, my wife, who was serving as the assistant surgeon, called me and told me to go to the director’s office because there was an error in the patient’s medical records and her condition had suddenly worsened.

I waited in the office for nearly an hour, but she never showed up.

Confused, I finally headed to the operating room to see what was going on, only to find the hospital director standing outside in a furious rage.

The moment he saw me, he stormed over and grabbed me by the collar.

“I trusted you, which is why I appointed you as the attending physician, but just look at what you’ve done. You’re a doctor, yet you’re late for your own surgery and don’t even seem to care. Do you have any medical ethics at all?”

I stood there in a daze and saw my wife walk out of the operating room.

Our eyes met. She stepped forward with a look of shock, but there was also reproach in her voice.

“Ethan, where have you been?”

“The surgery time came, and no one could find you anywhere. You nearly gave us a heart attack. How could you forget such an important operation?”

I stared at her in disbelief.

What was she talking about? Forget?

Wasn’t she the one who had told me to go to the director’s office to discuss the patient’s condition?

I opened my mouth and was about to explain when Claire continued.

“You’ve always been careless and forgetful at home, but now you can’t even remember the surgery time without someone reminding you. How can you call yourself a competent doctor?”

“Luckily, Ryan was available just now, so he went in and performed the surgery for you. This operation couldn’t afford the slightest mistake. Who knows what other accident might have happened if we’d left it to you?”

I stood frozen in place, and suddenly everything became clear.

Claire had gone to all that trouble because this was what she had really wanted all along.

Everyone knew about the patient’s identity, and everyone knew this was a perfect opportunity to show off in front of the hospital director.

Doctors and nurses alike had been desperately trying to get the chance to perform the surgery.

Yet the hospital director had specifically chosen me as the attending physician.

I still remembered that Claire had questioned the decision the day the surgical team was announced.

“That’s incredibly selfish of you. Couldn’t you leave the opportunity to someone new?”

“Weren’t you the one who said you were happy with things as they were? Yet the moment an opportunity comes along, you scramble to climb higher. You’re so obsessed with power.”

At the time, I hadn’t realized who she meant by “someone new.”

But now, the answer was standing right in front of me.

Claire had deliberately given me the wrong surgery time and caused me to miss the operation, all so Ryan could steal the spotlight.

Just then, the surgery ended, and Ryan walked out of the operating room.

The hospital director shot me a fierce glare before hurrying forward to ask about the patient’s condition.

“The surgery was a success. The patient is out of danger. She’ll be transferred to a regular room and observed in the hospital for a week. If there are no problems, she can be discharged.”

After saying that, Ryan came over to me as well.

“Dr. Ethan, did something come up and keep you from making it here? Still, this was such an important surgery. You were far too careless.”

I looked at him coldly as he pretended not to know anything.

Why hadn’t I arrived in time? Did he really not know?

Ryan smiled at the hospital director, his face full of apology.

“I was only in such a hurry because I didn’t want the surgery to be delayed. That’s why I violated protocol and took over as Dr. Ethan’s lead surgeon. Otherwise, with my experience as an intern, how could I possibly have been qualified to enter the operating room?”

Claire stood beside him, completely ignoring how I felt.

“You did the right thing. In front of a patient, there’s no distinction between an intern and anyone else. A truly good doctor is someone who takes responsibility and does their best.”