Chapter 1

In the operating room, my surgeon husband and his mistress nurse abandoned a patient for forty minutes, leading to the patient's death.

Afterward, my husband demanded I sign a medical malpractice waiver.

That's when I realized he thought my own mother was on the operating table.

I silently pushed the waiver back to him.

"It wouldn't be appropriate for me to sign this. The deceased's son should sign it."

"Sign this."

Dr. Victor Thorne slammed the document onto my desk. His face showed no remorse, only impatience.

I glanced at the paper. "Medical Malpractice Waiver" read the title.

I was confused. Then Tiffany Davis, standing next to Victor, spoke up, her voice dripping with sickly sweetness.

"Dr. Hayes, my condolences. Victor did his best, but your mother just didn't make it…"

She pretended to look sad, lowering her head, but her hand clutched Victor's arm tightly.

I froze, instinctively looking at Victor. "What happened? It was just a thyroidectomy, right?"

Victor scoffed. Tiffany immediately chimed in, her tone falsely understanding.

"Dr. Hayes, you're a doctor too. How can you say something so unprofessional? There are always complications during surgery. Your mother was old, in poor health… You can't blame Victor. He's probably more heartbroken than you are."

He's more heartbroken than *me*?

I frowned, staring at Victor.

—And why wouldn't he be?

My gaze seemed to offend him. Victor roughly shoved the waiver back in front of me.

"Cut the crap, Amelia! Sign this now and hand it to Director Miller yourself! Also, tomorrow morning at eight, the moment our cooling-off period is over, we're going straight to the courthouse to get divorced!"

He paused, then pulled Tiffany closer, flaunting her. "And, Tiffany and I are getting married tomorrow. Your mom's funeral is just too much of a downer, so I won't be going."

With that, Victor didn't even spare me another glance. He walked away, arm around a smug-looking Tiffany.

My mom's funeral?

My eyes fell back to the "Medical Malpractice Waiver."

The patient's name seemed to be a printer error, with some ink bleed, making it barely legible. I could just make out "M. Thorne."

"Due to insufficient care by the family, the patient died from postoperative complications. The hospital and lead surgeon, Dr. Victor Thorne, bear no responsibility…"

I read each line, feeling nothing but a sickening sense of absurdity.

Victor only had one surgery scheduled today.

The patient was his own mother, Martha Thorne.