Chapter 3

Three hours passed, and Irina did not see me in the surgery room. Her revenge arrived swiftly. Law enforcement officers barged into my office with unfriendly expressions.

“Someone in your office reported you for embezzling and withholding funds. Please come with us to assist with the investigation.”

Lewis spoke before I could say anything. “That’s impossible!” His eyes widened in disbelief, and he tried to stop them. “You must have made a mistake. Anyone but Leo would do something like that.”

He was almost crying from panic. “Leo was the one who sold his house to fund the research a few years ago when we lacked funds. You have no idea how he managed to sign that VAM agreement. He had to mortgage his dad’s inheritance…”

“That is enough, Lewis,” I said in a low voice.

Lewis stopped talking, but his body trembled with anger.

I looked around and saw several of my team members lower their heads, afraid to meet my eyes. I had picked them myself, and they had worked with me since the beginning of the research. My conscience was clear with them because I had never treated them badly.

“All of you did this. I will remember this.”

My access card was taken along with all of my work. To stop me from leaving the country, they confiscated my passport as well.

Irina called me and asked, “Do you admit defeat now?”

“No.”

The next day, Irina posted a video on her social media accounts. She cried while begging me to save the man she loved. “I have no idea if there is any bad blood between us, but my husband is innocent. He has been confined to his sick bed for 10 years and could only see the world through a window.

“His greatest wish is to enjoy the breeze by the beach and see snow. I’m begging you to please give him this chance. If you agree to save him, Cress Industries will donate 3 billion dollars for your artificial heart research and focus on using it to save lives.”

The video attracted huge attention online, and with the help of comments that added heat to the topic, I was instantly ostracized.

“Who is this person refusing her request? It must be someone horrible who is extremely jealous.”

“That person is human garbage for ignoring someone dying and refusing to save his life.”

“Do you need help, Cress Industries? If he refuses to do that surgery, I’ll kidnap him for you. My dad is sick. Can I put him on the waiting list to be saved?”

“Isn’t it a doctor’s responsibility to save lives? This must be a doctor without a conscience.”

“A person without sympathy like that doctor should just die.”

My information was quickly exposed online by these all‑powerful netizens. My name, license plate, and my department in the research center appeared everywhere. Even news of my suspension to assist with an investigation was revealed.

Some extreme patients’ families gathered near my underground garage, waiting for me to appear so they could throw rotten eggs at me.

“Kill him! Kill him!”

“Unethical doctors should not exist!”

In that instant, I became the most hated person in the world.