A Wife’s Wrath in Operating Shadows

On my birthday, my mother-in-law had barely been wheeled out of surgery when she was rushed straight into the ER again.

Then, a newly posted video from an intern went viral. In it, the intern held a scalpel and sliced open my mother-in-law's abdomen, while the surgeon who was supposed to be leading the operation, my husband, was nowhere in sight.

'People say an intern has no business being in the operating room? That's all right. My man, the department head, indulges me.'

My husband's coworkers reacted warmly, saying the two of them made quite a pair.

I forwarded the video to the hospital director without hesitation.

…

Before long, my husband called. His breathing came hard and uneven, his voice breaking between words.

"I forgot your birthday. Big deal. Did you really have to run to the director and accuse me of breaking hospital rules? I'm done with you and your ridiculous tantrums. Even if my mom takes your side this time, I'm still divorcing you."

He hung up before I could say a word.

What he didn't know was that his mother would never take my side again.

Because the patient who hemorrhaged and died after being operated on by that intern was his mother.

The Body They Pushed Out

The doctor pressed a pen and a consent form into my hands, urging me to sign. "We did everything we could. Once you sign, you can take the body."

They had already wheeled the body out of the ER, but the doctor in front of me kept pushing for a signature, refusing to address the fact that they had illegally swapped out the lead surgeon.

I let out a cold, mocking laugh. "I'm not signing. I'm requesting a medical-malpractice review."

The doctor's smile tightened with embarrassment as he tried to persuade me. "Dr. Fletcher said the patient died from a postoperative complication. The surgery itself was fine."

I held my ground, and he finally relented.

A notification pinged in my work group chat. Jenny Channing, the intern, had tagged me, writing, "Dr. Winters, I'm so sorry. In my video caption, I typed 'man' instead of 'mentor,' and it made you misunderstand."

Colleagues immediately jumped in to smooth things over.

"It was just a typo. No need to make it a big deal."

"If my mentor had been as good as Dr. Fletcher during my internship, letting me get hands-on in surgery early, I'd be bragging too."

"Dr. Fletcher and Jenny have a normal mentor-trainee relationship. Dr. Winters, why would you assume something so ugly?"

These were the same people who always came running to me whenever they messed up a case and needed someone to clean it up.

But the moment they sensed that my husband—our department head, Andrew Fletcher—favored Jenny, they didn't hesitate to tear me down and prop her up instead.

And now, even though they all knew Jenny was illegally allowed on the operating table, they still lied through their teeth to defend her.

I typed back, cool and sharp. 'You know the truth whether it was a typo or not.'

Seconds later, I was muted. The group owner was my husband, Andrew. I closed my eyes, the bitterness pressing hard against my chest.

I left the hospital to prepare the paperwork for the malpractice review. I barely made it down the hallway before the circulating nurse from that surgery rushed over. "Dr. Winters! Something's wrong with the operation Dr. Fletcher let Jenny handle!"

I looked at her calmly. "And?"

She dropped her gaze, her voice shrinking. "The surgery may have gone wrong, and now the patient's family is requesting a malpractice review. Dr. Fletcher wants you to take the fall."

For a moment, I thought I'd misheard.

It was Andrew, trying to support Jenny, who carelessly let her perform the surgery.

Now that a malpractice had happened, he was determined not to be held accountable, and he wanted me to take the fall for both of them.

For Jenny, he was willing to abandon not only his duty as a physician but his wife as well.

The worst part? He still didn't even know whose body had been wheeled out of the ER.

I went cold all the way through. "I won't agree to this! If he dared to do it, he should take responsibility!"

I stepped around the nurse and walked off.

Not long after, Andrew video-called me. The moment I picked up, he shouted furiously, "Do you think you're the same as me? I'm the department head, and you're just a regular doctor. If you lose your job, so what? Clara, have some conscience! Jenny's just starting her career. You can't ruin her whole future out of selfishness!"

I almost laughed. Not enough conscience?

The hospital had planned to make me department head, and I gave that promotion to him.

After we married, I gave him everything I had, and somehow, he still thought I lacked conscience.

When he saw the disappointment in my eyes, he realized he'd gone too far and immediately softened his tone, trying to apologize.