Chapter 1

The emergency room, which was typically bustling, was now deathly silent. The once-crowded hospital corridor felt as though time itself had stopped.

Medical staff surrounded me as they escorted me toward the isolation room. Through the glass window, my ex-wife, Erica Scarver, lay on the hospital bed. The ventilator's shallow movements weakened by the second.

In the resuscitation room, Erica Scarver hovered at the edge of death. Her vital signs continued to decline.

I recognized the virus strain at a glance. It was one of the core research projects our hospital had worked on for years. No one understood how lethal it was better than I did.

Dr. Lionel Silva's face went pale as he grabbed my white coat. "That's impossible. Dr. Dahmer, you said it yourself. In our profession, we must always be ready to save lives. You made us swear to it. How can you turn away at a time like this? Dr. Scarver is hanging by a thread. Only you can save her."

To prove his point, Lionel pulled up Erica's monitoring data.

Her readings continued to decline on the screen. The piercing alarms echoed through the room, setting everyone on edge.

A senior doctor pointed at me and shouted angrily, "Do you even deserve to be the hospital director? That is your wife of ten years lying there. How can you be so heartless? Get in there and save her already. Who are you trying to fool by acting so righteous?"

I replied calmly, "I just completed a major surgery. According to regulations, I must remain under isolation observation. Besides, I am no longer her husband. You are the one who spends every day with her. You should know her condition best, shouldn't you?"

I took out my phone and showed them a photo of the divorce certificate. It clearly stated that our marriage had already been legally dissolved.

Lionel stood there awkwardly, but he still refused to give up.

"That doesn't matter. Dr. Dahmer, your medical skills are exceptional. Even if you are in isolation, you could still guide us remotely. Since you are always so busy, I volunteered to assist Dr. Scarver with her work and take care of her daily needs," he added quickly, trying to justify himself.

I said flatly, "Hospital policy requires doctors to remain in isolation after surgery. Violators face suspension and investigation. Are you hoping I lose my license so you can take my position?

"Instead of lecturing me here, you should be thinking about how to save her. Besides, her life or death has nothing to do with me. You don't need to put on this act of fake concern."

My eyes never left my phone. I was focused on the live stream comments scrolling across the screen. Lionel was left speechless, frozen where he stood.

Just then, Michelle Becker, my former mother-in-law, who had been sobbing on the sidelines, suddenly rushed forward.

Choking back tears, she cried, "Felix, where's your conscience? The woman lying in there is the wife you spent ten years with. Does your so-called integrity matter more than your marriage? You caused my son's death, and now you want to kill my daughter too?"

Grief twisted her face, erasing all traces of her former composure. She stumbled forward, looking every bit like a mother broken by fate.