Chapter 3

Sherry's POV

In a private social media post that only I could see, Ellie had uploaded a photo of herself and Albert cuddling in bed after intimacy.

I collapsed onto the floor in despair.

After suffering one devastating blow after another, I opened my phone and published a post.

I wrote, "My mom is fighting for her life in the hospital, while Dr. Shearer is busy having an affair with his former mentee who botched my mom's surgery through medical negligence."

The post immediately shot to the top of the trending topics. Seizing the momentum, I uploaded the intimate photos of them in bed.

The Internet turned against Ellie. People demanded that she be sent to prison and condemned her as a homewrecker.

Finally, Albert called me. "What the hell is wrong with you, Sherry? How dare you threaten Ellie? Let me ask you one thing—do you still want your mother to live?"

I gripped my phone tightly, my eyes bloodshot as I challenged him. "If you're so worried about her, then get over here and operate on Mom!"

There was a brief pause before he let out a disgusted scoff. "How could you make up such a pathetic excuse just to ruin Ellie's reputation? I haven't received a single notification about any surgery!"

He hung up.

A few minutes later, a highly upvoted comment appeared beneath my post to my disbelief.

Albert posted, "My wife, Sherry Lourd, suffers from a mental illness. Everything she's posted is nothing more than her own delusions. She's jealous of Dr. Jett because she's young and beautiful, which is why she's made those malicious accusations.

"As her husband, I'd like to apologize to everyone. I'll arrange for her to personally apologize to Ms. Jett, and I welcome everyone to scrutinize her claims."

Attached was a medical certificate diagnosing me with a mental illness.

My phone immediately began ringing nonstop.

"If you're sick, go get treatment! Stop going around ruining other people's lives!"

"Her mother deserves to die! It's unreasonable of her to slander someone else out of jealousy! What a nasty old hag!"

"Don't treat her mom until she apologizes! Otherwise, she'll get off way too easily!"

As I listened to the relentless verbal abuse, I couldn't even defend myself.

Albert called again and said in an icy tone, "Get to the third floor immediately and apologize to Ellie. Think about your mother before you refuse."

I couldn't believe he was threatening me with Mom's life!

But with the situation in the operating room growing increasingly dire, I couldn't afford to waste another second. I hurried to the third floor.

The moment I stepped inside, dozens of livestream cameras turned toward me. The ones behind the cameras stared at me with scorn.

Ellie was nestled in Albert's arms, sobbing. "Mrs. Shearer, you've ruined my life..."

Before I could react, a barrage of slaps rained down on me. My clothes were ripped to shreds in seconds. Someone kicked me hard behind the knee.

"Apologize, you bitch!"

I was left almost naked before the crowd, with blood trickling from the corner of my mouth.

Albert frowned and turned his face away. Perhaps he was embarrassed to be associated with me.

However, I couldn't afford to care about my dignity anymore.

I could only beg him desperately. "I'll apologize, but Mom's condition took a turn for the worse earlier than expected. Please..."

Before I could finish, Albert's expression darkened. "That's enough, Sherry! If you still want me to operate on your mother, slap yourself a hundred times in front of everyone and apologize! Do you really want to see Ellie's future ruined?"

Thinking of Mom's fading breaths, I clenched my teeth so hard that I nearly bit through the flesh inside my mouth. I could barely summon the strength to close my hands into fists.

Just as I was about to give in, my phone rang. It was the doctor, and he was calling in a panic.

"Ms. Lourd, your mother is about to pass away! If you come now, you might still have time to see her one last time!"