Chapter 4

"Ryan... you... you have to save my mom!"

I pushed open the operating room door. Lucas, incredibly, still didn't want to yield.

"I... I can still..."

I stepped behind him.

"Get out."

I took his instruments, operating with swift precision, stabilizing the bleeding point.

The blood pressure gradually returned, and the steady beeping of the monitor resumed.

Two hours later, the surgery concluded perfectly.

—*That* was the difference.

Of course, I hadn't told them that all of this was part of my plan.

The paper they stole was a deliberately altered, fake version.

The surgical steps seemed detailed, but in the method for handling blood vessels, I’d embedded a subtle trap.

Anyone who had performed this surgery before would immediately recognize that the technique there was incorrect.

But for an imposter, eager for quick success and lacking foundational knowledge, it was a heaven-sent shortcut.

The moment Lucas got his hands on that fake paper, I knew he would follow it without question.

After the surgery, Lily rushed up to me.

"How's my mom?"

Actually, I had originally orchestrated this surgery to give my mother-in-law the opportunity for global attention.

But Lily, sensing something was wrong, had quietly swapped her mother with another patient.

She knew her little lover might not be able to handle such a high-pressure situation.

She couldn't let anything happen to her mother.

I, without a change in expression, had swapped them back.

Let her own mother be Lucas’s guinea pig.

My mother-in-law had never given me a moment's peace.

Right after we got married, she’d said in front of all our relatives:

"Lily is our family's treasure. She's never suffered a day in her life, so don't expect her to take care of you. You'll have to bear most of the burden."

I bought a house, bought a car, and invited her entire family to live with us.

But once they moved in, she went around telling everyone that *her daughter* had bought the house.

She came to stay with us for what was supposed to be a week but ended up staying for three months.

Any milk or fruit I bought for the fridge, she'd say she didn't like and pour it out.

But if something serious happened, I was always the first one she called.

Her brother lost hundreds of thousands in the stock market, and she called me at three in the morning asking for money.

Once she got the money, she started complaining that I kept too much personal savings, implying I was up to no good.

Even so, I never spoke ill of her to anyone.

For holidays, gifts were always plentiful. When her relatives needed medical care, I personally arranged the best rooms for them.

I had fulfilled my duties as a son-in-law.

And today, I had saved her life.

Back in my office, I pulled out a divorce agreement and placed it in front of Lily.

"Sign it."

She froze for a second, then immediately forced a laugh.

"Honey, what's wrong? Is there some misunderstanding?"

"You're being silly. Lucas is just a colleague. Why are you imagining all this nonsense? You men are even more petty than us women."

I said nothing, just stared at her.

"Why did the hamster die?" I asked.

She stiffened, frowning.

"Didn't I tell you already? It got sick! Little animals have short lifespans anyway, and maybe you fed it too many treats and it overate."

She refused to admit anything.

I knew, of course, that if I opened Lucas's phone gallery right now, I'd find the evidence.

If I hadn't set this trap today, he'd probably be basking in the glory of a successful surgery,

and perhaps even parading Lily around, bragging to me.

But I wasn't in a hurry.

Presenting evidence now would only lead to her crying and begging for mercy.

I didn't want mercy. I wanted her to be utterly incapable of recovering.