Chapter 3

Suddenly, the ground started to shake again. The pain in my body spiked, and I couldn’t stop coughing up blood.

Feeling the tremors grow stronger, I cried out to them through tears, “Just… go! Don’t worry about me!”

However, no matter what I said, not a single person was willing to leave me behind.

At last, the rebar behind me was cut in time. They lifted me onto a stretcher and sprinted for the exit.

The moment we reached solid ground, the floor behind us gave way.

Everyone went pale from the close call.

Mike squeezed my hand tightly. “Gwen, you’re going to make it!”

I was drifting in and out, but Mike kept talking to me, keeping me from slipping into unconsciousness.

We finally reached the makeshift operating room in the county hospital. Just as I was about to be wheeled inside, Derrick and Serena suddenly blocked Mike’s way.

“With the operating rooms so backed up, you’re really going to waste precious medical resources on this stunt? That’s a crime, you know!” Derrick snapped.

Mike’s eyes were bloodshot as he shouted back, “Can’t you see she’s actually hurt? How can you call yourself a doctor?”

Serena muttered under her breath, “Well, Ms. Jones has been a doctor for years, too. She knows how to fake it so it looks real.”

One of the rescue workers who’d brought me in stomped his foot in anger.

“Director Nelson! Looks to me like the woman dying in front of you is your wife. Why won’t you believe your own wife, yet you’ll take the word of a girl you barely know?”

…

Derrick just gave a cold, mocking laugh. “This has nothing to do with Serena. I know she’s faking because those doctors in front of you could never have gotten her out alive. They don’t specialize in that kind of procedure. There’s no way they’d know how to keep a patient’s vitals stable in this situation!”

Mike clenched his fists. “That’s because Gwen was the best in the field, and she switched departments for you! I came to this hospital just to learn from her. She was famous for her skill in neurosurgery. But when I arrived, I found out she’d given up her career for you.

“Now, standing here and seeing her at death’s door, can you live with yourself after everything she’s sacrificed for you?”

Then he turned to Serena. “And you, Serena! I heard she put herself in danger to save you. Could you drop the fake innocence for once? Do you think someone’s life is a game?”

At that, Serena clung to Derrick’s arm, bursting into tears.

“Mr. Nelson, they’re framing me! I really almost died back there. Sure, I usually ask you for help more often, and Ms. Jones has always been cold to me because of it.

“She wanted to kill me, so there’s no way she’d really let herself get hurt. Isn’t that right, Mr. Nelson?”

Seeing Serena cry, Derrick’s anger flared hotter. He jabbed a finger at me and shouted, “Not only are you petty and manipulative, but now you’re egging others on to attack Serena verbally!

“Apologize!”

I forced a bitter smile and asked, “You keep saying I’m manipulative, but I really don’t understand. Back when you were chasing me, you said I was the purest and kindest girl in the world. How is it that now I’ve become petty and small-minded?”