Chapter 3

With that, Del shoved me into the operating room, and Irene's face appeared before me.

I had no idea where they got the guts to disregard the rules and force a surgery on me.

As soon as my restraints were gone, I slapped Irene straight across the face, anger boiling over.

She just stood there, totally stunned—I bet she never thought I'd snap and actually hit her.

"You bitch, how dare you hit Dr. Willis?" In a flash, her student jumped forward to hit me, not even waiting for Irene to react.

"Why wouldn't I? You guys already broke the rules with this surgery, and I've reported it to the hospital director. You owe me a damn explanation!" I yelled.

My mom was famous for mentoring so many outstanding doctors, and the only reason I came to this hospital in the first place was because the director, Conrad Bowman, was in charge.

But in my previous life, Irene set him up and got him transferred out. Otherwise, I would never have had to swallow my pride and beg her to help clear my name.

Irene frowned, holding her student back, then turned to me and started her usual lecture. "From the ultrasound, your uterine wall is so thin—must be from all those abortions you've had.

"If we keep waiting, the abscess will press against your uterus, and it could just burst!" she warned.

Here she went again, spouting the same old line.

My eyes darted around—there was just one security camera here, and only an insider like Irene could get their hands on the audio.

My fingers brushed over the recorder I'd switched on earlier, and I couldn't help but feel a quiet sense of relief.

Taking a deep breath, I shot back calmly, "As far as I know, the thickness of the uterine wall can be affected by all sorts of things. Irene, are you seriously that sure it's because of abortions? That's just straight-up slander."

Irene sighed and shook her head. "I'm a genius. You don't even trust me? I can tell just by looking—it's from all those abortions. Girls should take care of themselves. Getting abortions too many times will totally wreck your body."

That whole fake concerned act of hers made me want to puke. If it weren't for her, my family wouldn't have fallen apart, I wouldn't have been slandered, and I wouldn't have ended up taking my own life.

I sneered, eyeing her suspiciously. "What are you even talking about? The doctor I had before told me my uterine wall was thin from birth. Or do you just want to blame me for whatever reason, because you don't like me?"

Irene sighed, shaking her head in resignation. "If you really want a chance at having kids in the future, you'd better listen to me. I'm the doctor here, and you are being way too stubborn."

"Dr. Willis, what's the point of arguing with her? Let's just tie her up and get this damn surgery over with," her student snapped.

"She doesn't even give a damn about her own life, and now we're stuck worrying ourselves sick over her!" Without another word, her student lunged at me, ready to restrain me by force.

Irene faltered for just a moment, doubt flickering across her face, but in the end, she didn't step in to stop.

I stepped back warily; all my talk just now was a deliberate stalling tactic to record evidence.

I had already managed to contact Conrad, but I didn't expect them to lose their patience and pull this stunt tonight.

Conrad only started rushing over from home after I got the word out.

"Irene, I know you're Del's dream girl. You claim you've got nothing against me? Then let Del come face me in person!" I yelled.

With that, I backed into a dead-end corner, nowhere left to escape.

Irene's student sprang toward me, clutching a syringe filled with anesthesia, ready to jab it right into my arm.

I hurriedly tried to sidestep, but Irene blocked my way.

A stab of pain shot through my arm as the two of them grabbed me, pinning me down so I couldn't move at all.

Within moments, my head started spinning, everything going fuzzy and out of focus.

I could feel myself being hauled onto the operating table, my clothes stripped off, the chill of disinfectant washing over my bare skin.

"Irene... what you're doing? It's against the law..." I murmured weakly, barely able to get the words out.

"Against the law? Please. With your boyfriend here to vouch for his precious dream girl, we're just 'saving' a dying patient—nothing illegal about that.

"Actually, after this surgery, I'll be the talk of the hospital, maybe even get a raise. Eileen, do you really think my gifted hands were just a coincidence?" Irene spat, her tone mocking.

Right then, she dropped her entire act and showed me the ugly, real side she'd been hiding all this time.

She felt totally safe—after all, my boyfriend lied for her last time, so she was sure he'd cover for her again in this life.

The scalpel flashed dangerously, and at the very moment I lost hope, the operating room door slammed open.

"Stop! Irene—you've crossed the line so many times, are you seriously about to harm a patient now?" Conrad roared.

The director finally stormed in, with Wynne trailing closely behind.

The moment Wynne caught sight of me, she wasted no time—she rushed over, practically shoved Irene aside, and helped me hurriedly get my clothes back on.

Irene slammed the scalpel down onto the tray—she really hadn't expected Conrad to actually show up.

I clutched my aching stomach and gave a bitter laugh. "Irene, you mess around in the dark long enough, you're bound to get what's coming. I'm taking you and Del to court. Since he's so into you, let's see how he likes facing up to that!"

The pain in my stomach was unbearable, and just as I finished speaking, my vision went dark and I blacked out.

When I finally woke up, I found myself lying in a hospital bed hooked up to monitors.

Wynne was standing at my bedside, her expression gentle. "You're awake? Everything went well—the surgery was a success, and your uterus is just fine."

As soon as I heard that, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my chest.