Chapter 3

Jaiden was the one pulling all the strings behind the scenes, so why was he acting in front of me now?

I sneered and shot back, "Sorry, I just realized working with someone like you is beneath me. So, I'm out."

Jaiden's smirk grew wider. He became even more smug, raising his voice as he pointed at me.

"Vance, as a doctor, you've caused a major medical accident. You can just resign and run away, but the patient's family is making a scene. It's the hospital's reputation that's taking the hit.

"I suggest you apologize to everyone in the hospital. Why should we all suffer because of the mess you caused?"

After saying that, Jaiden looked around, expecting someone to back him up.

The sheer absurdity of it was almost funny. I turned and prepared to walk away.

But Jaiden wasn't done. He rushed up and blocked my path. I tried to sidestep him, but at that moment, he suddenly plopped down on the floor.

Ellie's voice rang out instantly. "Jaiden! Are you okay?"

She quickly ran over to him, her face full of concern as she checked on him. Then, she turned to glare at me and snapped, "Vance Gibson! Are you crazy? Why would you push him? Apologize right now!"

Before I could speak, Jaiden played the nice guy. "Ellie, don't get mad. I was just afraid that Vance's medical accident would hurt the hospital's reputation. I'm sure he didn't mean to push me…"

The mention of the medical accident lit a fire in Ellie's eyes. Frowning, she said, "You were so incredibly reluctant when I asked you to take over that one surgery, and now, the patient's dead.

"Tell me, what are we supposed to do now? How did I not see this side of you before? You treat human lives like they're nothing!"

I found her words ridiculous and shot back, "Well, when you helped Jaiden frame me, wasn't my life worth as little as a pawn to you?"

Then, I shot a sidelong glance at Jaiden, who was looking diffident. "A scumbag like him will ruin you one day!"

Ellie immediately shielded Jaiden and snapped back at me, "Vance! Stop making accusations. You were the one who performed surgery drunk. Who's to blame for that? You're just getting what you deserve!"

My throat tightened with anger. All I could do was let out a bitter laugh.

It was always like this. Whenever Jaiden was involved, Ellie was always on his side, no matter the cost, even if it meant sacrificing my career.

I had no proof for now, so I could only take the fall.

Too tired to argue further, I picked up my box and prepared to leave.

But Ellie wasn't done. She grabbed my sleeve, pulling me back.

"You think just resigning solves everything? I'm going to make sure every hospital in this city knows about this! You'll be blacklisted from the entire industry!"

I turned slightly and gave both Ellie and Jaiden a contemptuous look. I said coolly, "Go ahead, but before you do that, you'd better pay your respects to that patient. You wouldn't want his restless soul coming for your necks while you're sleeping, would you?"

With that, I strode toward the hospital exit, ignoring their wide-eyed stares of guilt.

Ellie was always like this. She viewed my every move through a lens of malice.

The moment something went wrong with the patient, she pinned it on me. She just wanted me to be the scapegoat so she could protect Jaiden.

But none of it mattered anymore.

Once outside, I contacted a real estate agent to list the house that Ellie and I had paid for in full when we got married.

The young agent told me the market was hot right now, and the house could sell for a good price.

But I simply told him that the place was a bit of a mess. Once he found a buyer, he could just call a junk removal service and toss everything out.

I didn't want any of Ellie's stuff.

After that, I went straight to the courthouse. Just before closing time, I finally got the divorce certificate.

Ellie probably didn't even remember that she'd slapped a divorce agreement on my face in a fit of rage months ago.

Realizing I'd forgotten to tell her to move out earlier that day, I drove back home, intent on a final showdown.

On the way there, I imagined the look on her face when she saw the divorce certificate.

But I didn't expect her to surprise me first.

I couldn't get the smart lock to open.