Chapter 3

The ICU doors violently swung open.

Vincent stormed in.

His white coat still reeked of Mia's cheap, sweet peach perfume.

"How is Dr. Quinn?"

I swung my arm back and slapped him hard across the face.

The sharp crack echoed through the dead-quiet ICU.

Vincent clutched his jaw, stunned. "Elena, are you crazy?"

"I'm not crazy," my voice was pure ice.

"You are his lead surgeon. You got a code blue page, and you blew it off to babysit your mistress."

"I'm pulling you as the primary surgeon."

Vincent scoffed, looking at me with utter disgust.

"Are you insane? Do you know how few surgeons in this hospital can pull off your father's bypass? You swap me out now, he dies on the table."

My fingernails dug into my palms.

In my past life, this was exactly how he manipulated me.

"Stop throwing a tantrum," he reached out to grab my arm. "I'll handle Mia. She could never replace you in my heart."

I slapped his hand away.

"You're good. But you're not the best."

I turned on my heel and walked out. Vincent chased after me, sneering.

"You mean Alan Lowell?"

"He's in London. By the time he gets here, your dad will already be dead."

I shook him off and marched straight to the Hospital Director's office.

When Dr. Marshall heard I wanted to change the lead surgeon, he frowned in confusion.

"Elena, your father's case is incredibly complex. Vincent is your husband, and your dad mentored him from day one. Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?"

"No need," my voice was unwavering. "My father agreed to the change."

"He abandoned his post during a code. I don't trust his character."

Dr. Marshall went to the ICU to ask my father himself. When he came back, the way he looked at Vincent had completely changed.

That afternoon, the disciplinary action came down: Vincent Hale. Abandonment of post. Suspended from surgery pending review. Dr. Warren to assume temporary care.

Vincent's face was flushed dark red with fury. He ground his teeth and glared at me.

"Elena, if he dies on that table, don't come crawling to me for help."

I didn't even look at him. I turned and walked back to the ICU.

My dad looked a little better.

They had taken off the oxygen mask. He looked at me and let out a heavy sigh.

"Ellie, it's my fault. I never should have let you marry him."

The tears I'd been holding back finally spilled over.

"It's not your fault. I'm the one who chose him."

"I've already contacted Alan. He's going to text me tonight."

After my shift, I went back to the apartment to dig up the evidence of Vincent's crimes.

I suddenly remembered: the old laptop.

I had bought it, but Vincent used it most of the time. When he upgraded, it got shoved into a cabinet in the study. It held years of his kickback ledgers.

I pushed the front door open.

Mia was sitting on the couch, munching on an apple.

Vincent was in the kitchen cooking. The domestic scene looked exactly like us when we were first married.

When Mia saw me, she jumped up, playing the innocent victim to perfection.

"Ellie! My dorm was just too loud. Vincent told me to move in so he could take care of me. You don't mind, right?"

I ignored her completely and walked straight into the study.

Vincent's footsteps followed me.

He leaned against the doorframe, watching me rifle through the cabinets.

He looked utterly smug, like a man holding all the winning cards.

"Elena, you know your dad's condition. He doesn't have much time left."

"You play nice with Mia, and I promise I'll do that surgery flawlessly."

Mia drifted up behind him and leaned against his back, looking soft and pitiful.

"Vincent really cares about you. He just pities me."

"Ellie, just let us be, and save your dad. Isn't that better for everyone?"

"Mia." I looked up at her, my voice dead calm. "Do you know what I hate most about you?"

Her fake smile froze.

"It's not that you're a homewrecker. It's that you tear apart a family and still desperately want to play the victim."

Tears instantly spilled down Mia's cheeks. Right on cue.

"I'm not!"

"Save it," I cut her off. "Save the tears for the next time you slit your wrists."

Vincent exploded. He lunged forward and shoved me hard.

"Elena! That's enough!"

I stumbled backward and slammed into the hallway shoe cabinet. Blinding pain shot through my ribs, and my vision went black for a second.

He shielded Mia behind him like she was the most precious thing in the world.

"One more word to her, Elena, and I walk away from your dad's surgery. I mean it."

I braced my hands against the cabinet, fighting through the pain to stand up straight.

I looked at the man I had been married to for six years and let out a self-deprecating laugh.

"Vincent, my only regret is that it took me this long to see who you really are."

I grabbed the old laptop and walked out the door.

On the drive back to the hospital, my phone buzzed. A text from Alan.

Landing in Boston at 11 PM tonight.