Chapter 1

The moment I stepped out of the operating room, a group of people rushed up to me like rabid dogs, cornering me at the locker room entrance. A sharp, ringing slap sent my glasses flying, and my vision blurred in an instant.

Clutching my stinging cheek, I barely had time to steady myself before someone grabbed me by the collar with a death grip.

"You heartless quack!" The leader of the agitators, Benjamin Wilson, glared at me as if he wanted to tear me apart.

His spit sprayed across my face as he shouted, "My son had a simple hernia surgery yesterday, and you cut his sperm duct? Are you trying to end our family line?"

Curious patients and their family members gathered around us, pointing and whispering about me. I mentally reviewed yesterday's surgery; there hadn't been a single mistake throughout the entire procedure.

Suppressing the anger in my chest, I explained solemnly, "It was a routine hernia repair, and it would never, under any circumstances, involve the sperm duct. The excised tissue was also sent to pathology. If you don't believe me, you can go verify the results yourself."

"Verify my ass!" Benjamin kicked over the trash can beside him.

Just then, the crowd parted. My wife, Emma Young, walked over with a stoic expression, flanked by a team of hospital security guards. She was holding a few thin sheets of paper, yet it felt as though she were holding my death warrant.

"That won't be necessary. This is the expedited report from an independent lab. Her voice was as cold as a stone in an ice cellar.

The very next moment, she flung the papers at my face. The sharp edges grazed the corner of my eye, sending a stinging pain through me.

"Sign it, admit to medical malpractice, and get the hell out of Heartwell Hospital!" Emma looked down at me. There wasn't a shred of affection in her eyes, only disgust. "Don't drag my family's reputation down with you!"

My junior colleague, Samuel Wright, who had always coveted the hospital director's position, stood beside her. Dressed in a brand-new suit, he sighed, as if he pitied me.

"Oh, Michael," he said. "I told you a long time ago. If your hands are shaking, don't force yourself onto the operating table. Now, look what you've done. You've ruined someone's life. That's a sin you can never make up for!"

I bent down to pick up the report from the floor. After just a glance, I was so exasperated I chuckled. The signature on it was crooked. It wasn't even my handwriting.

Samuel and Emma hadn't even bothered to forge it properly. This was a blatant attempt to destroy me.

"I didn't sign this." I held up the report and pointed at the signature.

My voice pierced through the commotion in the corridor. "The date is also wrong. At this exact moment, I was still on the operating table, saving a patient's life!"

A mocking smile tugged at the corner of Samuel's lips. He leisurely pulled out his phone, tapped on a video, and shoved it right in front of my face. "Stop denying it, Michael. The surveillance footage caught everything!"

On the screen, a man in a white coat and a surgical mask staggered drunkenly into the operating room. His build certainly looked like mine, but his gait was completely wrong.

"This is fake!" I hissed, staring straight into Samuel's eyes as rage exploded in my chest. "My white coat went missing yesterday. Did you steal it and wear it?

"Check the fingerprints! Check the retinal scans! Everyone has to use facial recognition to enter the operating room!"

Emma impatiently interrupted my defense. "That's enough! The evidence is right here. How much longer are you going to keep coming up with excuses?"

After scanning the surroundings, she announced loudly, "In light of this severe medical malpractice, the board has decided to remove him from his position as director. Dr. Wright will take over as the new director, effective immediately!"

At her command, several security guards rushed forward, reaching out to strip the white lab coat right off my back.