Chapter 1
When my son was critically injured in a car accident, I immediately begged my husband, a renowned surgeon, to save his life.
He promised to perform the surgery himself and assured me that he would bring my son back to me, healthy and full of life.
But just before the surgery, he switched the lead surgeon to an intern, Emily Lane.
Meanwhile, my husband stood outside the operating room, gently guiding her.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Carter. My hand slipped, and I think I cut something I shouldn't have," Emily said.
Tears streamed down Emily's face, making her look utterly heartbroken.
But my husband just gently patted her back, his eyes full of pity and tenderness.
"Don't be scared, I'm right here with you," he reassured her.
Then he spun around and yelled at me, "If you hadn't been so careless, our son wouldn't have gotten into that accident! You're the one to blame, as his mother!"
With that, he put his arm around Emily and took her to his office, gently soothing her.
Emily posted on her social media: [As long as Dr. Carter has my back, I'm not afraid of messing up, no matter how big the mistake.]
I looked at Emily's post and snorted coldly.
Did he really think the person whose future he'd ruined was my own son?
*****
The lights in the operating room went out.
A young assistant doctor came out, looking exhausted.
"Mrs. Carter, the surgery was very complicated," he said, his eyes avoiding mine as he glanced down at the report in his hands.
"To save your son's life, we had to remove some of the damaged tissue," he continued.
The doctor paused, his voice dropping to a whisper."This will cause permanent damage. He won't ever be able to have children."
I hung up the phone, my fingertips icy cold.
My personal assistant, Sophie Young, rushed over to steady me, her eyes blazing with anger.
"Ms. Sutton, this is a medical malpractice! How could Dr. Carter just switch surgeons at the last minute?"
Without hesitation, she grabbed her phone, her anger barely contained.
"I'll contact the legal department right now. We have to sue them!" she said.
"No need," I said, my voice calm and steady.There wasn't a trace of emotion in my voice.
"Contact a lawyer and have them draft a divorce agreement for me."
Sophie's eyes widened in shock, but she quickly nodded.
I turned and walked toward the director's office at the end of the hallway.
As I passed James Carter's office, I stopped in my tracks.
Through the slats of the blinds, I caught a sight that stabbed right through me.
James was sitting on the couch, holding a bowl of soup.
Emily was huddled next to him, her shoulders trembling as she cried.
He scooped up a spoonful, blew on it to cool it down, and held it up to her lips.
"Alright, don't cry. It's over now." He spoke with a tenderness I'd never heard from him before.
"It's normal to be nervous your first time as lead surgeon. This isn't your fault," he reassured her.
Emily sobbed, drinking the soup straight from his hand.
"But Dr. Carter, I ruined Olivia's child..." Emily choked out.
"It's not your fault," James cut her off, setting the bowl aside and gently wiping the tears from her cheeks. "You were just too nervous."
My stomach twisted, and all I could think was how twisted this whole situation was.
My husband was holding the woman who destroyed his son's future, comforting her so gently.
I couldn't help but wonder.
When James finally realized that the only child he had with the woman he loved and lost, his one and only bloodline, could never have kids because of what he did, would he still be able to smile?
As soon as I walked into William Grant's office, he immediately handed me a settlement agreement.
"Mrs. Carter, here are your son's complete medical records. Dr. Carter is one of the top surgeons in the country. He really did everything he could for your son," he said.
"James just wanted to give the intern a chance. Who could've known she'd be so fragile when it really mattered?" he added.
Every word out of his mouth was trying to shift the blame onto Emily for being too young, and onto me for supposedly rushing things.
"This is the hospital's compensation package. Just sign it, and that'll be the end of it," he said.
"And before he left, Dr. Carter said that's final, no more discussion," he added.
I looked down; it was a non-disclosure agreement.
If I signed it, this medical mistake would just be called an accident, and Emily would walk away without any consequences.
William tried to sound sympathetic as he talked me into it.
"James just hopes you can go easy on Emily. She's just a student, we shouldn't ruin her future for one mistake," he said.
"Yeah, it's a pity about your kid, but at least he made it, right? Let's not blow this up," he added.
I glanced at the agreement, not even tempted to touch it.
"In that case, please have the director send all future bills directly to James," I said.
William's smile froze on his face.
I didn't give him a chance to keep talking and immediately made another request.
"I'm just the stepmother. I can't make decisions about something this big," I said.
"Why don't we wait for James to get here and let him decide?" I suggested.
William looked stunned, his expression frozen.
I didn't give him another chance to pressure me. Without a backward glance, I walked away.
My phone buzzed; it was a video call from my real son, Adam Sutton.
On the screen, seven-year-old Adam was wearing his little dinosaur pajamas.
"Mommy, when are you coming home?" he asked.
I forced a smile. "I'll be home as soon as I finish up here."
Adam, his voice small and full of hurt, asked softly, "Mommy, is Emily coming over for dinner tonight? Did Daddy go to be with her again today?"
Every innocent word from Adam felt like a knife, stabbing at my heart again and again.
I opened the app and booked the earliest divorce appointment for the day after tomorrow.
Then I took a screenshot and sent it to James.
Under the picture, I only typed one line.
[See you at the city hall the day after tomorrow.]