Chapter 3

I was only human, not a god. I couldn't be perfect all the time.

"You're my mentor. Of course, I'd come to you with any questions." Scarlett's tone was stiff, and there was a hint of barely concealed resentment in her eyes.

A chilling thought suddenly crossed my mind.

But before I could voice it, I needed to verify something.

Frowning, Aidan started taking passive-aggressive swipes at me.

"Wilder, next time, don't take so long in the restroom. We're fighting for lives in the ER. There's no room for slack. How can you be focused on filing charts right now? Shouldn't this have been done ages ago? If everyone is stuck doing paperwork, who's left to save the patients?"

I bit back my anger and forced myself to answer him calmly, "I'm only working overtime because I didn't finish filing the charts. Besides, I'm not even scheduled for the ER tonight. Dr. York is the one on duty."

Aidan's face flushed with fury at my rebuttal. "What do you mean by that? I'm the deputy director. Can't I even question you? If your efficiency is so low that you have to work overtime just to finish your work, have you considered that you might be the problem?"

My blood was boiling, but no matter how unjust I felt, I couldn't publicly argue with a superior.

The pile of patient charts on my desk was as high as a mountain.

The patient, who was discharged just this morning, had been hospitalized for six months. The printed medical records were 20 inches high. I had to meticulously check every single page and handwrite a case summary.

Any senior doctor would need days to finish this task. But because I volunteered for overtime, Aidan twisted it into an accusation of low work efficiency.

"Dr. Garrison, even if you weren't on duty, the ER was busy. You should have helped out. As a doctor, how can you just stand by while lives are at risk?"

Helping out didn't come with a bonus, so why the hell should I be expected to jump in?

Out of professional ethics, I kept those thoughts to myself.

Even the work I loved began to lose its initial appeal after long, exhausting hours.

I cared about my patients, but I wasn't so sure they appreciated me.

Just like in my last life, I collapsed at the surgery door, almost fainting from low blood sugar. I had given everything to save the patient, only for him to stab me to death afterward.

Any doctor would feel betrayed by that.

When Scarlett heard Aidan's words, she burst into louder sobs.

"I heard Dr. Garrison say before that he's sick of this job. He doesn't even like saving people.

"Once, I happened to walk in on him during rounds. He was standing over a comatose patient, muttering about how the man should just die instead of pointlessly hogging a bed in the ward."

Shaking, she hid behind Aidan.

"Dr. Palmer, I refuse to work under a mentor who is so utterly devoid of humanity. He treats human life like it's disposable. It's terrifying. How can a doctor with no medical ethics and zero professional integrity be allowed to stay on staff at this hospital?"

She wept with bitter, heart-wrenching intensity.

No medical ethics?

If I lacked medical ethics, then Aidan was probably a fake doctor. He had done enough shady things, and I'd seen a few of them with my own eyes.

I couldn't stop myself from letting out a scoff. "If you can provide proof that I ever said those things, then I'll resign."

It was just her word against mine. Scarlett wanted to pull me into her mess, but I crushed that idea before it could start. So, she hadn't had time to fabricate any evidence yet.