Chapter 1

I had just returned from a specialized fellowship abroad, stepping out of the operating room after successfully completing a complex organ transplant. The air still buzzed with the aftermath of intense focus.

But then, Dr. Chloe Davis, my husband’s intern, blocked the hallway. She looked smug, arrogant, and stopped me dead in my tracks. Her voice, sharp and loud enough for everyone to hear, sliced through the quiet.

“Who gave you permission to use Operating Room 3? Effective immediately, you’re suspended!”

I froze for a split second, then a smirk touched my lips. “Oh? And who, exactly, gave *you* that authority?”

She scoffed, a cold, harsh sound. Right in front of me, she snatched the departmental schedule from the nurses' station and ripped it in half with a dramatic flourish. “The Director did,” she spat, tossing the shreds onto the floor.

I nodded slowly, pulling out my phone. I immediately shot a text to Patient 001’s private contact.

“Apologies, my surgical privileges have been revoked. It seems I won’t be able to perform your wife’s tumor surgery.”