While I was seeing patients in my clinic, Ellie Wilson, the most beautiful girl from my college class suddenly rushed in and dropped to her knees in front of me.

"My dad has early-stage cancer. Please, you have to save him. I know you're an expert in this field."

Out of kindness, I agreed.

Then she begged me to front the cost of the surgery, saying her family was poor and she would repay me in installments once she started earning a salary.

I agreed again.

However, the day before the operation, her father, Sebastian Wilson, died in the hospital room.

The police stormed into my office and arrested me on charges of murder. Faced with what they claimed was irrefutable evidence, I couldn’t defend myself.

In the end, I was sentenced to death and died in prison.

When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day Ellie knelt before me in my clinic.

Thud.

The sound of knees slamming against the floor made my hand jerk, the pen scratching across the medical chart mid-sentence.

When I looked up, that familiar face was already kneeling in front of my desk.

Ellie Wilson. The girl everyone used to call the belle of our college class.

Tears streamed down her face, delicate and trembling as her voice broke. "Dr. Bentley Cooke… Bentley… my dad has early-stage cancer. Please, you have to save him. I know you're an expert in this field."

My fingers tightened unconsciously around the pen.

This scene felt far too familiar.

In my last life, I had been moved by this exact expression on her face. I had softened and agreed to help her. Not only did I personally take on the surgery, but I even fronted the operation costs for her.

And what happened in the end?

Her father, Sebastian Wilson, died in the ward for no apparent reason.

When the police stormed in, she didn’t defend me. She stood off to the side and pointed at me.

"It was him. He was the last one to go into the room last night."

The surveillance footage showed the same thing. That night, I was the only one who had entered the room.

The evidence was overwhelming. I had no way to defend myself.

On the day the death sentence was handed down, she kept her head lowered in the courtroom. From beginning to end, she never looked at me once.

And now, I was reborn.

"Dr. Cooke…" Ellie’s voice pulled me back to the present. She was still looking at me with those tear-filled eyes.

"Also, could you help cover the surgery cost for now? Once I start working, I swear I’ll pay you back in installments."

They were the exact same words as before.

I took a slow breath and closed the medical chart in front of me. "I'm sorry. My schedule is fully booked."

Her expression froze instantly.

I added, "And your father’s condition requires an expensive surgery. It’s not something you can afford."

Ellie stared at me, clearly not expecting a refusal. She quickly grabbed onto my white coat. "Bentley—Dr. Cooke—please, I can pay you back in installments. I swear I will—"

"Next patient." I pressed the call button without hesitation and called out toward the door.

Nurse Natalie Shaw stepped in at once. With professional politeness, she guided the still-stunned Ellie out of the room.

I watched as Ellie kept turning back every few steps.

The look in her eyes shifted from pleading, to shock, and finally, to a trace of coldness I had never seen before.

I thought that was the end of it.

Until that night, when I was scrolling through my phone, and a trending headline suddenly jumped out at me: "Heartless Doctor Rejects Daughter’s Plea."

In the video, Ellie was kneeling in the hospital hallway, crying so hard she could barely speak.

"My dad is only in the early stages of cancer. He can still be saved. But Dr. Cooke wouldn’t even give him a chance."

The caption read: "Father with late-stage cancer denied treatment by unethical doctor."

The comment section had exploded.

"Doctors are supposed to have compassion. What a joke."

"Someone like this shouldn’t even be allowed to practice medicine."

"Let’s crowdfund. We can’t let good people lose hope."

At the very top was a comment from a well-known charity influencer: "Fundraiser launched."

I clicked the link.

$200,000 had been raised for the surgery in just three hours.

My phone suddenly vibrated. Someone had tagged me in the department group chat.

"Dr. Cooke, you’re trending."

I turned off the screen and walked to the window. The inpatient building glowed under the night sky, every floor lit up.

Behind one of those windows lay Ellie’s father. In my last life, he had died in his hospital room the night before the surgery.

The next morning, I froze the moment I reached the entrance to my clinic.

Ellie was sitting in the waiting area. Two overstuffed duffel bags rested beside her.

When she saw me, she immediately stood up, a victorious smile spreading across her face. "Dr. Cooke, I’ve got the surgery money."

She held up her phone. The progress bar on the fundraising page was completely full. "Now… can you operate on my dad?"

After finding an excuse to shake Ellie off, I hurried straight to the hospital director’s office.

I placed the annual leave application form I had prepared in advance on his desk, then turned and left the hospital without looking back.

That group of old foxes at the hospital feared public opinion more than anything. With the story blowing up online, the director would definitely pressure me into taking the surgery.

That was why I had already decided last night to go on leave.

I switched my phone to airplane mode and headed straight for my hometown, Ashford Hollow.

On the drive, I kept replaying every detail from my past life.

When I left Sebastian’s hospital room, he had clearly been fine. So how did he die overnight? And why had I been labeled the murderer?

No matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn’t find an answer.

Meanwhile, Ellie’s story was still spreading like wildfire online. The comment section was full of moral outrage.

"A doctor who refuses to save lives should have their license revoked."

"Someone like that doesn’t deserve to wear a white coat."

I turned off the screen and tossed my phone aside.

In my last life, I had been pressured by that exact wave of public opinion into taking the surgery, and it had ended with me being sentenced to death.

This time, I would never touch her father’s case.

Two days passed.

Everything was calm. I lay on the wooden bed in my old house, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Occasionally, the sound of dogs barking drifted in from outside the window, but it was far more comforting than the wail of sirens at the hospital.

That sense of peace lasted exactly two days.

On the third evening, my phone suddenly vibrated. It was a message from my mother, Dr. Eleanor Cooke.

"Bentley, your college classmate, Ellie Wilson, came to see me today. Her father has cancer, and his condition is quite complicated. I reviewed the medical records. It’s tricky, but not without hope..."

My fingers clenched tightly around the phone. My breath caught.

"Mom, stay out of this!" I replied almost instantly. "Her life or death has nothing to do with us!"

A few seconds later, my mother called.

"Bentley! How can you say something like that?!" Her voice carried both anger and disappointment. "I’m a doctor. Saving lives is my duty. When did you become so cold?"

"Mom, you don’t understand..." My throat tightened. "This isn’t that simple!"

"What is there not to understand? You’ve just been scared by the online backlash!" Her tone turned sharp. "I’ve already scheduled the surgery. First case tomorrow morning."

"Mom!" I shot to my feet. "You can’t take this case!"

There was a brief silence on the other end.

Then her voice turned cold. "Bentley, you don’t deserve to be a doctor."

The call ended. All that remained was the cold, empty dial tone.

I drove back to Ravenshire overnight.

Outside the window, the night was as black as ink. The speedometer needle kept climbing.

My mother was the head of oncology. She was highly skilled, but stubborn to the core. She had no idea that Sebastian hadn’t come to the hospital for treatment. This was a trap.

In my last life, his death had been staged as a medical accident. Every piece of evidence had pointed straight at me.

This time, if my mother took over the surgery...

I didn’t dare think any further.

At 4 a.m., I finally arrived at the hospital.

I rushed into the elevator and headed straight for my mother’s office. The hallway was empty. Only the sound of my footsteps echoed through the silence.

"Mom!"

I pushed open the office door, but no one was inside.

A medical file lay open on the desk. It was Sebastian Wilson’s.

I hurried over and flipped to the last page. In my mother’s handwriting, it read: "Pre-operative preparations complete. Surgery scheduled for 8.00 a.m. tomorrow."

My hands trembled slightly.

Thank God. There was still time.

Just then, a rush of hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway.

"It’s him!" A sharp female voice cut through the silence.

I snapped my head up.

Ellie stood in the doorway. Her face was pale, her eyes red.

"Bentley!" she shouted, pointing straight at me, her voice shaking. "You killed my father!"

Before I could even react, several police officers rushed in and grabbed my wrists!

"Bentley Cooke, you are suspected of murdering Sebastian Wilson. You are now under arrest according to the law!"

The moment the cold handcuffs snapped around my wrists, my entire mind went blank.

"That’s impossible!" I struggled and shouted. "I just got back from Ashford Hollow. I haven’t even stepped into the hospital room! How could I have killed anyone?!

"Tell me, when did Sebastian Wilson die?!"

The memory of my past life’s tragedy surged back, and I demanded the answer at the top of my lungs.

Seeing my reaction, the lead officer, Detective Lewis Taylor, the same man who had led my arrest in my previous life, looked at me with clear confusion in his eyes.

Another younger officer sneered. "Arguing is useless. We have solid evidence."

I struggled wildly.

Detective Taylor watched me. After a moment of silence, he spoke, "Sebastian Wilson died in his hospital room at 3.00 a.m. last night."

By now, the hospital hallway was packed with people. They were the same netizens who had donated online earlier.

"It’s him!" a young woman holding a selfie stick screamed, pointing straight at me. "I said it during the fundraiser. Any doctor who refuses to save someone must have something wrong with them!"

The phone in her hand streamed a live broadcast, comments flooding the screen.

"Trash like this deserves to be a doctor?"

"He should be executed on the spot!"

"I heard he even takes bribes from patients!"

The hallway erupted with overlapping shouts.

"Heartless doctor!"

"Murderer!"

A young man in a baseball cap suddenly rushed forward. "Ptui!"

A mouthful of spit landed directly on my face. "That girl got on her knees begging you, and not only did you refuse to save him, but you killed him? You animal!!"

Through the chaos, I saw my mother standing in the crowd. Her face was pale.

"Mom…" My voice caught in my throat. "Please believe me. I didn’t do anything."

"You’ve disappointed me so much." Her voice trembled. "How could you do something like this?"

The hospital deputy director, Dr. Victor Langford, stared at me coldly. "Bentley, the hospital spent years training you, gave you the best resources, and this is what you’ve done?"

"Director!" I struggled forward. The handcuffs clanged sharply. "I was in Ashford Hollow yesterday. I just got back today. How could I possibly—"

"Enough!" Dr. Langford cut me off sharply, his voice echoing through the hall.

"First, you took leave to avoid responsibility, and now you’re standing here making excuses! You’ve completely ruined the hospital’s reputation!"

Around me, my colleagues gathered in small groups, their whispers drilling into my ears.

"He always acted so decent…"

"I heard he takes bribes from patients all the time…"

"I even saw him harassing a nurse once…"

My heart sank, little by little. Things I had never done were now being treated as the undeniable truth.

"Dr. Cooke, I never expected you to be this kind of person."

I turned my head. Dr. Corey Brown from my department was looking at me with open contempt.

"Earlier, that girl knelt and begged you to save her father, and you said she couldn’t afford it. Then, when she finally raised the money, you took leave and disappeared." He shook his head. "And now look, you’ve caused someone’s death."

"You said I took leave," I raised my voice, locking my eyes onto him, "then how could I have killed anyone?"

"The police arrested you. Of course, they have evidence!" He let out a cold laugh. "Did you forget?

"The hospital has surveillance cameras."