Chapter 3

Nicole Point Of View 

The moment the director finished speaking, complete silence fell over the group. Every one of them froze, slowly they all turned to look at me. I met their stunned expressions with a small, satisfied smirk. The shock on their faces was priceless.

"You... you mean she's Doctor Nicole?" David asked, his voice unsteady as the words stumbled out.

I couldn't help but smile, five years ago, when I left New York behind, I had buried the woman they all knew as Hayley. I changed my name to Nicole, my middle name. It has always been my mother's favorite name for me. I also dropped my father's surname and took my mother's maiden name instead. Even after learning that I wasn't biologically related to them, my mother's family never stopped treating me as one of their own. 

They welcomed me with open arms and became the family I had always longed for.

"Yes," I said confidently. "I am Doctor Nicole Davies." I held my head high as I spoke.

Judging from the expressions on their faces, they knew exactly who I was. My reputation had reached far beyond New York. People across the world knew the name Doctor Nicole Davies. After all, they had specifically requested that I perform their daughter's surgery before they even knew I had already arrived at the hospital. That alone told me they were well aware of my reputation.

Tamara was the first to recover from her shock. "Are you sure she's not a fraud?" she asked, panic and disbelief evident in her voice.

The hospital director immediately turned toward David. "She is the Doctor Nicole Davies," he said firmly. "The surgeon people call the Gifted Hands. You can rest assured that your daughter is in the safest hands possible." The color slowly drained from Tamara's face, for the first time since I had known her, she looked completely speechless.

"Oh, Director..." I said dramatically as I lifted a hand to my forehead. "I don't think I'm feeling very well. My head suddenly started hurting."

The smiles on David and Tamara's faces vanished instantly, it didn't take them long to realize what I was doing. The director looked confused as he hurried over to me.

"Doctor Nicole, you were perfectly fine just a few moments ago," he said.

He reached out as if he wanted to check my temperature, but I quietly took a step back before his hand could touch me. I gently rubbed my temple.

"I don't think it's a good idea for me to perform such an important surgery while I have a headache," I said. "Could you try contacting another surgeon? I'm not feeling well."

The director's face turned pale. Before he could respond, Tamara spoke up in panic. "No... no, you can't do that!"

She took a hurried step forward, her composure completely gone. "The surgery is in less than an hour. Where are we supposed to find another surgeon at this point?"

The director looked at me again, desperation written all over his face. "Doctor Nicole," he pleaded, "what if I get you some painkillers? Please, there really isn't another option right now."

I remained silent. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Tamara grab David's hand tightly. The arrogant, smug woman who had been mocking me only minutes ago had disappeared.

Now she looked exactly what she was. A terrified mother desperate to save her child, I looked at her without the slightest bit of sympathy. 

She loved her daughter so much, she couldn't bear the thought of losing her. Yet years ago, out of nothing but jealousy, she had pushed me down the stairs while I was pregnant, hoping I would lose my own baby. The irony wasn't lost on me.

"Do something, David," she cried, clutching the front of his shirt. "Amy can't die because she hates me and my daughter. She wants us to lose our child. She wants us to be just as miserable as she is." Her voice trembled with fear as she spoke.

I shook my head with a faint smile. Even now, Tamara was trying to twist the story and make herself the victim. Some things never changed.

I turned my attention back to the director. "I think I need to go and rest," I said, gently pressing my fingers against my temple. "I can barely think straight right now."

I turned to leave. 

"After all these years, you are still just as cruel." David’s voice stopped me in my tracks. I slowly turned around to face him. His expression had hardened, and there was nothing but anger in his eyes.

"You are really going to let an innocent child die because you're holding on to a grudge?" he asked coldly. "A grudge that was your own fault, by the way. If you can behave like this, then you don't deserve to call yourself a doctor. You are not fit for this profession."

The director's gaze shifted between the two of us, his face filled with confusion. It was obvious he had no idea what was going on.

"Could you excuse us for a moment?" David said to him. The director hesitated before nodding. 

He walked away, but not very far. I could still see him lingering nearby, clearly worried that something was wrong.

I took a slow step toward David until only a short distance separated us. "Do you remember telling me that I would never amount to anything in life?" I asked calmly. His throat bobbed as he swallowed. 

"So..." I continued, "you expect that same 'nothing' to save your precious daughter?"

He stared at me in silence, not a single word came out of his mouth. I gave a small nod. "That's exactly what I thought."

I lifted my chin and looked him straight in the eyes. "You are a wealthy man. I'm sure you have enough money and connections to find another surgeon. I suggest you use them, because not all the money in the world is enough to make me operate on your daughter."

His jaw tightened, the anger in his eyes burned even brighter. "I will make sure you lose your medical license because of this," he said through clenched teeth. "You will never practice medicine again. I will destroy your career." I smiled, it was the smile of someone who no longer feared him. "Even if I never perform another surgery for the rest of my life, I'll be just fine," I said. "I have enough wealth to support generations after me. I own research laboratories in different parts of the world. Your threats don't mean anything to me."

Those days were long gone. The days when people could use fear to control me. The woman standing before him wasn't the broken Hayley he used to know. I was Doctor Nicole Davies now, I didn't care about anyone's opinion anymore.

The only reason I had returned to New York was for Jayden. And if anyone tried to stand in my way, I wouldn't hesitate to show them exactly what happened when they pushed me too far. I turned and started walking back toward my office.

I had barely taken a few steps when David spoke again.

"Anything," he called after me, his voice no longer filled with arrogance. "I will do anything you ask. Just, please save my daughter."