Chapter 2

It wasn't until my body had gone numb from the pain that I finally heard voices coming from above me.

"We've got to get this manhole cover installed today. Someone already warned us back then that this was dangerous."

A flashlight beam swept down, and the blinding light struck me in the face.

"Someone's down there!"

"Someone fell down the manhole! Quick! Call 911!"

The sounds of footsteps, the crackle of walkie-talkies, and the crowd's chatter poured down into the pit.

"Call the police first!"

"Shine a flashlight down there! Is she still breathing?"

Slightly relieved, I closed my eyes and pretended to be unconscious.

Just then, lines of text suddenly flickered in my vision again.

[Isabella's got some nerve. She was so close to giving birth, yet she still had an affair with another woman's man. That's why she lost the baby.]

[She's afraid her husband will kill her if he finds out the truth. That's why she wants to use Kayla as a scapegoat.]

[Isabella bribed the nurse in the operating room to give a false testimony. She wants Kayla dead.]

[Once Kayla's dead, the miscarriage will be swept under the rug. The Clarks will even offer Isabella additional compensation to make it up to her.]

Seeing that, I couldn't help but snort in laughter. It was a good thing I trusted the scrolling text and gave myself a chance to survive.

If walking into the operating room meant that I wouldn't get the chance to turn things around, then what if I never entered the room at all?

"Isabella, I would like to see how you're going to frame me now," I thought.

I waited for some time before someone rescued me from the maintenance hole.

When the light hit my eyes again, I frowned and let out a pained groan at just the right time. I opened my eyes a little, keeping my gaze unfocused. Blood mixed with muddy water trickled from the corner of my mouth.

"Can you hear me? Are you alright?"

I weakly hummed in response, my brows furrowed. My eyelids fluttered as I struggled to open my eyes.

The crowd surrounding me held up their phones.

"She looks terrible! She's covered in blood!"

I was lifted onto a stretcher and wheeled straight to the emergency room. Along the way, I ran into other doctors and nurses, as well as patients I had treated before.

"Isn't that Dr. Robinson from the OB-GYN department? Oh my goodness! I can't believe she's hurt!"

"I heard she fell into the maintenance hole. That's awful!"

The medical team cleaned my wounds and stitched me up. I also underwent X-rays and a CT scan.

I ended up with three stitches on my head, a minor fracture in my right leg that required a cast, and a mild concussion revealed by the CT scan.

Once the entire procedure was over, news of what had happened to me spread throughout the emergency department.

Finally, two police officers came by and sat in front of my bed, ready to take my statement.

"Dr. Robinson, could you walk us through how you fell into the maintenance hole?"

I leaned against the headboard. Even though my voice was weak, it came out clear. "I just finished a surgery and left the hospital when I got a call from my best friend, Isabella White.

"She told me it was an emergency and that she was about to give birth. She wanted me to deliver the baby. I was in a hurry and didn't look where I was going. That's how I fell into the hole."

The officers nodded and pulled up the surveillance footage of the street.

In the video, I was hurrying back to the hospital alone. In my haste, as I was rushing past the maintenance hole, my body suddenly lurched, and I fell right in. No one had any contact with me before or after.

"It looks like you fell into the maintenance hole by accident. We can rule out any intentional harm." The police officer snapped his notebook shut.

I suddenly braced myself against the edge of the bed and tried to sit up. "My best friend is still waiting for me in the delivery room! I have to get there now!"

"Dr. Robinson, you're seriously injured. You can't go anywhere."

"She's my best friend!" My eyes reddened. "I have to be there with her! Otherwise, I'll never forgive myself!"

The police officers couldn't talk me out of it. The nurse sighed as she wheeled me to Operating Room Three.

A crowd had gathered outside Operating Room Three, and a tall man stood out among them. He was Isabella's husband, Don Magnus Clark.

The others were members of the Clark family. There had to be at least 20 or 30 people waiting outside the operating room.

Just as the nurse wheeled me forward, the door to the operating room opened, and a hospital bed was wheeled out.

Just as Magnus walked over excitedly, a piercing cry rang out from the hospital bed.

"I'm sorry, honey! I was so useless! I failed to protect our baby!" It was Isabella.

The once bustling corridor instantly fell silent.

"What happened?" Magnus' voice was trembling.

Isabella kept crying. "I trusted Kayla too much. I thought she'd help me deliver the baby safely. I didn't think… I didn't think her mistake would cost our baby's life…"