Chapter 1

I was strapped to a cold operating table, my limbs restrained. I couldn't even cry out since my vocal cords had been removed in advance.

I could hear the cheers from the crowd erupting on all sides.

"That murderer is finally going to die!"

"I wish I could rip this evil doctor to pieces!"

There was an LED screen on the judgment platform that kept looping through my so-called crimes—deliberately altering surgical procedures, intentionally administering the wrong medication, causing five patients to die on the operating table, and destroying five families completely.

Wanda Johnson—my wife—stood at the center of the platform and bowed deeply to the crowd. "I'm so sorry! Matthew Sullivan—my husband—has committed a heinous crime! He didn't just take the lives of your family members; he took the life of mine as well!"

Wanda's eyes were brimming with tears, her voice breaking with emotion while saying, "You all can rest assured that I'll carry out this execution fairly."

She raised the syringe and injected the drug into a lab mouse, causing the once-active mouse to die in an instant. She then came toward me and emptied the rest of the syringe into my vein.

She stumbled backward involuntarily once everything was over.

Harvey Little, who was standing beside her, caught her in time and gently reassured her, saying, "You did the right thing, Wanda."

Harvey was not only my medical assistant, but he was also Wanda's first, unattainable love.

Wanda gently squeezed Harvey's hand and said with a faint smile, "I can't believe Matthew would do something like this… If you hadn't caught the discrepancy in time, things would have been much worse, Harvey…"

In that instant, the people in the crowd immediately voiced their sympathy.

"Dr. Little is truly unfortunate! He was actually stabbed in the back by his most trusted mentor!"

"He was the one who exposed Matthew! He showed real medical ethics and compassion!"

"If it weren't for his early discovery, the death toll could have been higher!"

Wanda took a deep breath, her gaze sweeping across everyone present before finally settling on my face. She scowled, her eyes reflecting clear and total disgust.

It was then that the "Project Nightingale" system suddenly activated. It was a new AI technology that used OR footage, medical statistics, and the memories of those who participated in the surgery to show exactly what happened during the operation.

That massive screen suddenly flickered to life, displaying the Concordia Hospital ER from a winter three years prior. I was 26 years old back then and had been standing at the operating table for 72 hours straight. I had successfully finished 13 complex cardiac surgeries without a single failure.

I removed my gloves and stumbled after having completed the last one. I suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood that sprayed all over the white tiled floor before collapsing.

In that instant, everyone in the hall fell silent.