Chapter 3

I looked at Paul in a daze. He had just betrayed me.

I never imagined that someone I had spent three months earnestly mentoring would actually team up with Peter and Skyler to frame me together.

“I knew something was off about him. Why else would a patient come after him specifically?”

“Right. The patient bore no grudges against him. He was supposed to save his life. But instead, he deliberately taught his mentee the wrong thing? Would he try to get the rest of us killed, too?”

“Even his own mentee couldn’t stand it anymore. What kind of garbage human being is this?”

“Aren’t the hospital management here? We want answers! If this hospital keeps doctors like him on staff, who in their right mind would ever come here?”

An uproar erupted. Security did their best to maintain order, but they could not suppress the agitated crowd.

I shouted, “I never taught you the wrong protocol! What proof do you have that it was me?!”

“You did the exact same thing in the last operation. I pointed it out to you in the operating room, but you rolled your eyes and yelled at me.

“I’ve got surveillance footage to prove it!”

Paul showed the footage. I was stunned.

It showed a surgery I had just performed. Because of my previous medical dispute, the management had even reviewed my surgical procedure and confirmed it was flawless.

So how had it changed in the footage that Paul showed?

A man emerged from the crowd and started weeping.

“I knew your surgical protocol was problematic. Why else would my dad still be stuck in bed right now?”

He pointed at my face and yelled, “You’re a heartless excuse for a doctor! Don’t you have a father? Why did you have to destroy mine?!”

Paul explained to everyone, “This is the family member of the patient who suffered from Dr. Alcott’s surgical error. Back then, they had already suspected something was wrong with his procedure and wanted an explanation. But he physically assaulted them!”

“Does this man even deserve to be called a doctor? Is the hospital really so desperate for staff?”

“We came to your hospital seeking treatment. We put our lives in your hands because we trusted you. In response, you hired someone like this? Is this how you honor our trust?”

“Pay up! Compensate the family! We demand an apology!”

“Everyone, I found the old video footage. Look! This unethical doctor physically assaulted the patient’s family! He even cursed that the patient would never recover.”

I had no idea where they had obtained that footage. But amid the chaos, I heard my own voice, cursing that the patient would never heal.

In truth, the family had asked me whether their father could go home immediately after surgery. I explained he needed a full week of bed rest before being discharged.

They claimed they had consulted experts. According to them, a patient in their father’s condition should be able to go home right after surgery. They insisted I must have made an error during the operation. They accused me of keeping their father in the hospital just to line my own pockets.

I tried to explain that experts only provided estimates. The actual recovery always depended on the patient’s individual condition.

But they refused to listen. They doubled down, insisting I had made their father’s condition worse. Following that, they lunged at me, grabbing and tearing at my clothes.

The matter had escalated all the way to Albert. I had simply gone along with the situation and volunteered to be suspended, but the words in that footage were definitely not mine.

Just as I was trying to figure out how to explain myself, Paul spoke up indignantly. “Chester, I looked up to you as my mentor. I wanted to learn from you. But you didn’t care about the patient’s well-being, you created conflict with the family, and even after being suspended, you returned here with zero remorse!”

“Suspended? So that’s why he said he hasn’t been at the hospital. He got suspended.”

“But look at him. He has no remorse whatsoever. He should be fired.”

I guffawed in cold fury. I turned to Paul, who was radiating self-righteousness.

“If you knew it was wrong, then why did you follow the same surgical steps? At the end of the day, this is on you, isn’t it?”

Before Paul could respond, Peter spoke up from the floor. “He’s just a young man. He raised his concerns with you. But because of your gaslighting, he was led to believe your actions were right. That’s what caused this disaster.

“At the end of the day, you’re the one to blame. With people like you practicing, countless families will end up like me and this man's father.”

With just a few sentences, Peter had successfully shifted the blame back onto me.

“Chester, you don’t deserve to be a doctor. You don’t even deserve to be called a human being. I’m divorcing you, and I mean it.”

Suddenly, Skylar looked terrified. She quickly let go of Peter and stood up.

Following her gaze, I saw a familiar figure. It was the wealthy woman who had been supporting Peter for years.

The moment she stepped into the crowd, Peter began to cry. “Honey, it’s this doctor. He tried to ruin me!”

The memory of being stabbed in the past sent a shiver down my body. As the wealthy woman approached, I stepped backward repeatedly. I watched as her designer bag swung toward me, about to land.

A pair of silver handcuffs snapped onto her wrists instantly.

The officers had arrived just in time. I had almost died at their hands again.

Several officers restrained Janet, telling her to calm down. They addressed the crowd. “We received a report of a disturbance. Who called the police officers?”

I felt a weight lifted off my chest. I slowly raised my hand. “I did.”

The onlookers stared at me in surprise. They apparently had not expected me, the apparent villain in this situation, to dare call the police officers.

An officer asked me, “What happened here?”

I pointed at Peter. “This man is causing a medical disturbance.”

“Nonsense! He has no medical ethics. His malpractice has ruined two people’s lives!

“Two families! This is a major malpractice case. Arrest this unqualified doctor!”

The officer frowned and looked at me. “What’s really going on here?”

“I can tell you what’s going on!”

A frail, elderly voice interrupted. The crowd turned to look. An old gray-haired man was walking slowly toward us.

“Dad? You... you can walk?”