Blood on His Hands, Vengeance in Mine

...

Herman pressed the speakerphone, and Giselle's angry voice came through the phone.

"If you don't come and make it up to me, I'm going to get really mad."

Herman tried to comfort her. "Just wait a bit. I'll come to you right after I finish this surgery."

Giselle snorted, "If you're not here in five minutes, I'll get rid of the baby in my womb."

The news of her pregnancy hit me like a ton of bricks.

In my previous life, I had thought that it was only after I went to prison that Herman and Giselle got together.

I never expected that they had already been secretly involved and even had a child together.

I hadn't fully recovered from the shock when I saw Herman rush out in a hurry.

I acted quickly, grabbing his arm. "You can't leave. The surgery can't wait."

He glared at me, yelling, "Didn't you hear what Giselle just said? She'll get rid of the baby if I don't get to her. If I don't go now, it'll be too late."

I frowned. "What about the patient?"

He brushed it off. "I'll be back as soon as possible. A few minutes won't make a difference."

I stared at him in disbelief.

A heart transplant surgery was a race against time. Every minute counted. The patient's life was at risk with every second we delayed.

In my previous life, the patient had died because we lost too much time.

I couldn't let that tragedy happen again. I stood my ground, refusing to let Herman leave.

His patience ran out, and he snapped, "Are you trying to get Giselle to abort the baby on purpose?"

Before I could respond, he gave me a forceful shove.

I lost my balance and fell to the ground, my back slamming hard against the operating table.

My grunt didn't make him look back. He just stormed out of the room.

My colleagues rushed to help me up.

"Are you alright? Dr. Fisher went too far. He favors Giselle and hurts you like that."

"I've always suspected something was going on between them. I can't believe they even have a kid together."

I waved a hand. "This isn't the time to talk about that. I need to get him back."

Compared to the surgery, his betrayal was secondary. I couldn't let that tragedy happen again.

As I reached the hallway outside the operating room, I was surrounded by a group of people.

"Doctor, how is he? Did the surgery succeed?"

I recognized them as the mayor's family. Just as I was about to speak, his elderly mother pleaded, "Doctor, please, you must save my son."

His wife, who was seven months pregnant, cried. "Doctor, I'm begging you. They say only your hospital can perform the surgery. Please, you have to save him."

I reassured them solemnly, "Don't worry. We will save him."

By then, Herman was nowhere to be seen. I had to return to the operating room.

Everyone quickly gathered around and looked behind me. "Where is Dr. Fisher?"

I shook my head. "I couldn't catch up to him."

The anesthesiologist panicked. "The patient is under general anesthesia, and his chest cavity is still open. We have to proceed with the surgery. Once the anesthesia wears off, he'll be in unbearable pain."

Another colleague chimed in, "Dr. Fisher is the only person in the whole city who can do this surgery. Flying in an outside surgeon will be too late."

I took a deep breath. "I'll do the surgery. Herman and I were classmates. If he can do it, so can I."

But everyone rejected the idea.

"You're still just an assistant doctor. According to hospital regulations, you can't perform surgery."

"It's better to call Dr. Fisher back."

Seeing their insistence, I swallowed the words that Herman wouldn't be coming back.

Instead, I dialed Herman's number.