Chapter 5

My nose stung uncontrollably, and the surging emotions could no longer be suppressed. I rushed into the living room.

“Why did you throw all my things outside? I’m still your legal husband, aren’t I?”

“Everything else aside, you know Buddy was abandoned because of his disability, he’s terrified of being left behind. How could you throw him outside?”

“Julian is afraid of dogs.”

Serena’s bland statement choked all my words in my throat.

“Julian’s current apartment is too expensive, that’s why I let him move in. It’s just to save money.”

She added, as if granting me a favor.

Her cold demeanor completely extinguished my heart.

Picking up Buddy, I struggled to push my suitcase out of the apartment.

As I passed my old office, I heard my former colleagues passionately discussing surgical plans.

A sense of indescribable melancholy filled me.

That night, I meticulously prepared all the surgical plans for my patients.

I believed that as a doctor, I had a clear conscience towards my patients.

How Julian would complete the surgeries afterwards was no longer my concern.

The next day, I contacted the most authoritative medical dispute arbitration recommended by my mother.

I slapped the drafted lawyer’s letter in front of Serena.

“Dr. Evans, aren’t you known for your zero-failure surgeries? How can you let me be a blemish on your record?”

“For your sake, I absolutely *have* to win this case.”

Serena frowned, glanced at the lawyer’s letter in her hand, and disdainfully tossed it aside.

Then she threw the surgical plans I’d written last night back at me.

I opened them and saw that while the general direction was my writing, some minor details had been altered.

And these alterations contained incredibly stupid, low-level errors that were obvious at first glance.

I smiled. Whether this was Serena’s scheme or Julian’s, I no longer cared.

I slammed the plans onto Serena’s face.

“First, these patients are all Julian’s now. I have no obligation to write plans for them.”

“Second, I keep drafts of everything I hand over. I taught you that rule, you haven’t forgotten, have you?”

“Finally, your current position is one I let you have. Now, your so-called ‘best friend’ wants to steal *my* position too. Fine, take it all. I just wish you, who are undeserving of your positions, don’t crash and burn. Otherwise, it’s the patients who will suffer.”

“Oh, and I suggest you take that lawyer’s letter seriously.”

“As I always taught you, vigilance prevents disaster.”

With that, I didn’t bother to look at Serena’s face, a canvas of disbelief and guilt, and strode out of the hospital.

While waiting for the traffic light, I received a call from my lawyer.

“Mr. Reed, your divorce proceedings have encountered some issues.”

“We’ve found that your wife, Ms. Serena Evans, took out a $150 million loan in your name during your marriage to help a Mr. Julian Cole establish Cole Medical in Riverbend City, building over a dozen private hospitals.”

“Unless this debt is settled, your divorce proceedings will be difficult to finalize.”

I hadn’t even processed this astounding news when a heavy truck barreled towards me.

My mind went blank instantly. I felt like my insides had been utterly pulverized.

But the next second, the truck reversed, deliberately driving over my right hand again.

My already battered hand was mangled beyond recognition, practically glued to the asphalt like ground meat.

The pain was gone; I even started thinking absurdly: how would the paramedics even scrape my mangled hand off the asphalt?

Through my fading consciousness, I heard the truck driver speak into his phone, addressing someone on the other end:

“Ms. Evans, it’s confirmed this time. It’s completely ruined. It won’t affect Mr. Cole anymore.”