The first thing I did after being reborn was add penicillin, a drug the patient was severely allergic to, into his pre-surgery medication administration record.

The hospital leadership exploded.

“Have you lost your mind?”

“Are you trying to kill the patient?”

I smiled as I accepted the suspension notice they handed me.

In my previous life, I had been the lead cardiac surgeon for this operation. Back then, I refused a request from my wife, Shannon Wright, whose childhood friend, Jonah Hill, wanted to use my patient as ‘practice’ during the surgery.

Right there in, Shannon threw a tantrum and demanded a divorce. In the chaos, she ripped out the patient’s blood transfusion line and even knocked over the blood bags, causing the wealthy patient to die on the table. However, they pinned the entire medical malpractice scandal on me. With the security footage wiped clean, I was sentenced to death in the end.

My parents sold everything they owned and gathered eight million dollars. They gave the money to Shannon, begging her to hire a lawyer and help overturn my case. Instead, she told them that she and Jonah had been having an affair. From the very beginning, I had only been their scapegoat.

The shock shattered my parents. While driving home in a daze, they lost control of the car and plunged off an overpass bridge. Both of them died on the spot.

Now, when I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the very day of that wealthy patient’s surgery.

“Dr. Lane! The preoperative note for Mr. Nichols hasn’t been signed yet. Your assistant, Jonah, has been waiting for ten minutes!”

The head nurse’s shout jolted me awake.

When I opened my eyes, I realized I was sitting in a chair inside the cardiothoracic surgery office. The clock on the wall pointed to 11:00 a.m. The surgery for the wealthy businessman, Henrik Nichols, was scheduled for 2:00 p.m., which was only three hours away. In my hands was Henrik’s medical file. A coffee stain from this morning still marked the cover.

Cold sweat instantly soaked through the back of my white coat. My fingers trembled as I gripped the file. I had been reborn back to the very day of the surgery.

Before I could fully process it, the office door suddenly swung open. Shannon walked in holding a cup of tea. Her collar hung slightly crooked, and her cheeks were flushed.

Jonah followed right behind her. On his wrist, hidden under his sleeve, was a silver bracelet. It was the one Shannon had bought me last year as a birthday gift, which had disappeared one day, and she claimed she must have lost it while cleaning.

“Milo,” Shannon said as she placed the tea on my desk.

“For Henrik’s preoperative IV infusion, let Jonah do it. He’s about to qualify for independent prescribing rights, and he just needs one successful case. Think of it as helping him out.”

“No.” I opened the medical file, my tone leaving no room for negotiation as I said, “Neither of you will participate in this surgery. I’ll speak to the hospital director myself.”

Shannon’s expression darkened instantly.

She slammed the teacup down on the desk and snapped, “Milo! Don’t push your luck! All Jonah will be doing is dispensing the medication. Why are you making such a big deal out of it? And now you’re saying we can’t even be part of the surgery? Who do you think you are? And later during the operation, let him hold the scalpel too. He needs some hands-on practice.”

I was so angry that I could feel my temples throbbing.

“A patient’s life isn’t something you use for practice. If someone dies, who takes responsibility?”

“So what if someone dies? He’s just some old man. If he dies, he dies. At least it lightens the burden on society. Honestly, letting Jonah practice on him would be his honor!”

I stared at her, speechless. How had I ended up marrying someone so brainless?

Not wanting to waste another second arguing, I turned and headed for the door.

“Milo!” Shannon shouted after me. “If you stop Jonah from participating today, I’ll divorce you right now! The city hall is only two subway stops away. We can go and file the paperwork immediately!”

Jonah quickly stepped forward and grabbed her arm, pretending to calm her down.

“Shannon, don’t act on impulse. Milo is just thinking about the patient.”

However, the look he shot me was provocative. His eyes were clearly saying, “You wouldn’t dare refuse.”

I ignored him and looked straight at Shannon and told her, “If you want a divorce, fine. Once the surgery ends, we’ll go and file the papers immediately.”

Shannon froze. She clearly hadn’t expected me to agree. In the past, whenever she threatened divorce, I would always coax her and give in. However, this time was different.

Jonah quietly tugged at her sleeve and gave her a subtle look. With that, she bit her lip, glared at me, and stormed out of the office. Jonah followed behind her. Before leaving, he glanced back at me, his eyes full of resentment.

As soon as they were gone, I immediately got up to look for the hospital director. I told him to remove Shannon and Jonah from the surgical team. I had to save that wealthy man. At the very least, I couldn’t let him die for nothing.

At first, the hospital director said the lead surgeon had the authority to choose their assistants and that he would respect my decision. Yet, a few minutes later, he received a phone call.

When he returned, his attitude had changed. He said Henrik himself refused to allow any replacements. In fact, Henrik warned that if anyone tried to remove those two, he would withdraw his investments from the hospital and make sure the entire staff lost their jobs.

Seeing the hospital director’s hesitant expression, I understood everything. Most likely, my “wonderful wife” had some kind of relationship with Henrik as well. Otherwise, why would he insist so strongly on having the two of them involved?

It seemed I truly couldn’t save him after all. At 12:20 p.m., the preoperative preparation meeting began. I took a deep breath and picked up my pen. Then, on Henrik’s medication administration record, I wrote: penicillin.

“Dr. Lane, that’s wrong!” the head nurse immediately cried out. “Henrik is allergic to penicillin. How can you prescribe that?”

The hospital administrators frowned and tapped the table in irritation.

“Milo, what’s going on with you? We just emphasized the patient’s allergy history yesterday. How could you make a mistake like this?”

“Are you crazy?”

“Are you trying to kill the patient?”

Stunned, the hospital director said, “Milo, you’re suspended for three weeks pending investigation.”

I smiled faintly and replied, “I accept.”

I had just taken the suspension notice from the hospital director when two staff members from the administrative office walked over.

“Dr. Lane, please come with us to the records room. According to hospital regulations, while you're suspended, you’ll need to cooperate with the investigation from the higher authorities. Until their team arrives, you’ll remain here and review the doctor’s code of conduct handbook.”

I didn’t argue. I simply followed them toward the records room. I knew perfectly well they were trying to keep an eye on me, and honestly, that was exactly the effect I wanted.

At 12:55 p.m., one of the staff members pointed to a seat by the window.

“Dr. Lane, have a seat. If you need anything, let us know. We’ll come by periodically to check.”

With that, they shut the door behind them.

The moment the records room door slammed shut, I grabbed the doctor's code of conduct handbook from the desk and began reciting it at the top of my lungs.

“Article One! Doctors must possess sound professional ethics and medical competency, uphold their principles, and fulfil the sacred duty of preventing illness, treating disease, saving lives, and protecting the health of the people!”

Footsteps immediately sounded outside the door.

One of the staff members peeked through the crack. “Dr. Lane, keep it down! You’re disturbing others!”

I ignored him. Flipping straight to the medication safety section, I slammed my palm on the table and read even louder.

“Article Thirty-Six! Before administering medication, a doctor must verify the patient’s allergy history! Unauthorized personnel are strictly prohibited from independently preparing medication! Strictly prohibited!”

At the same time, I quietly pulled out my phone and sent a message to Nurse Tanya at the nurses’ station.

[Tanya, please reconfirm Mr. Nichols’s allergy history with the patient pre-surgery. Make sure Kieren is present as well. Have more than one witness.]

Her reply came quickly.

[Don’t worry, I’ll handle it right away.]

Just as I had read the message, the staff member rushed in and snatched the handbook from my hands.

“Have you lost your mind? Why are you shouting like this?”

I pretended to struggle with him, and my phone “accidentally” slipped from my hand. The screen lit up on the chat window, displaying my conversation with Nurse Tanya about verifying the patient’s allergy history.

The staff member frowned, tossed the handbook back onto the desk, and warned, “Sit quietly. If you cause any more trouble, we’ll call security.”

After he left, I picked up my phone. Nurse Tanya had sent a photo of the signed confirmation form.

I saved the image, grabbed the handbook again, and continued shouting, “Article Forty-Two! In the event of a medical dispute, it must be reported to the medical institution and the health administration department in accordance with regulations, and all medical records must be properly preserved!”

My throat grew hoarse from yelling. However, every ten minutes or so, I would deliberately slam the handbook onto the table again.

Soon, staff members began peeking in one after another, whispering that I must have lost my mind. Ignoring them, I turned and sent a message to the pharmacy.

[Liam, make sure to reserve two boxes of the usual brand of cephalosporins for Mr. Nichols’s surgery. Also, send over some extra blood bags. Tell Gregory from cardiac surgery to keep an eye on things, just in case.]

[Got it, Dr. Lane. I’ll take care of it right away.]

Henrik might be Shannon’s lover, but a life was still a life. Even if my warning were ignored, I hoped those two wouldn’t take it too far. At least, I had done everything I could.

A moment later, Derek, one of the security guards, also messaged me.

[Dr. Lane, I heard you shouting some codes of conduct. Are you okay? Do you need help?]

I replied simply. [I’m fine. Just a little anxious.]

At 1:00 p.m., with only an hour left before the surgery, I suddenly kicked over my chair and pressed the handbook against the door as I shouted, “Shannon! Jonah! You won’t frame me again!”

Nurses’ voices immediately rose outside the hallway.

“Has Dr. Lane gone mad?”

“Maybe he found out that Dr. Wright has been sleeping with several doctors in the hospital.”

“Yeah, getting cheated on like that would break anyone.”

Apparently, I wasn’t even aware that besides her precious childhood sweetheart, Shannon had a third and fourth man on the side.

In that case, I’d let them believe that I had lost my mind from the humiliation and was rambling nonsense.

At 1:10 p.m., a staff member brought in a questionnaire.

“Dr. Lane,” she said, “in ten minutes, Mr. Reid from the hospital administration will come speak with you about the investigation. Please get ready.”

“Alright. I’ll prepare,” I replied.

I took the questionnaire and deliberately took my time filling it out. However, in my mind, I was calculating the timing. The meeting scheduled for 2:00 p.m. would take at least an hour. By then, the surgery would be over.

At 1:20 p.m., Mr. Reid arrived right on time, holding a folder with my records.

“Dr. Lane, we just want to understand the situation regarding the incorrect medication you wrote in Mr. Nichols’s preoperative note. Please explain your thoughts at the time.”

I followed the explanation I had prepared, speaking in a sincere tone, “At the time, there were some issues at home, and I wasn’t in the best emotional state. My mind was a mess, and I wrote the wrong drug by mistake. Later, when I realized the error, I immediately accepted the suspension. I know this was my fault, and I’ll be more careful in the future.”

Mr. Reid nodded, then asked a few more questions about medical safety protocols. The conversation continued until 1:50 p.m. and ended there.

At 2:10 p.m., the door to the records room suddenly burst open.

Nurse Kieren rushed in, crying. “Dr. Lane! Mr. Nichols is crashing! Jonah administered penicillin. He’s in anaphylactic shock!”

I instantly threw down the handbook and ran with her toward the operating room. I nearly stumbled along the way. Just as I reached the door, I saw Henrik start convulsing. His face turned a frightening shade of blue, and his breathing became rapid and shallow.

I rushed forward and yanked out the IV needle while shouting to the nurse, “Dexamethasone! Ten milligrams, IV push! Kieren, go to the pharmacy and get backup epinephrine as fast as you can!”

In the corner of the room, Jonah and Shannon stood frozen. Their faces were pale, their eyes darting nervously.

After thirty minutes of frantic emergency resuscitation, Henrik was still unconscious. A neurologist was called in for consultation and diagnosed him with mild brain damage caused by a penicillin allergy.

I stared at Henrik lying motionless on the hospital bed. A wave of helplessness washed over me. Even after everything, the tragedy from my previous life still couldn’t be avoided.

Just then, the heart monitor let out a long, piercing tone, signalling that Henrik’s heartbeat had stopped. The room fell into an eerie silence. Only Shannon’s crying grew louder and louder.

A few seconds later, she suddenly pointed at me and shouted to the police officers who had just rushed in through the door.

“It was him! Milo told Jonah to use penicillin on purpose! He knew Mr. Nichols was allergic! He was trying to kill him!”