My husband's childhood sweetheart needed surgery, and he insisted that I be the one to operate on her.

I followed every medical protocol, doing everything I could to save her. However, after she was discharged, she accused me of medical malpractice and claimed I’d left her permanently disabled.

I turned to my husband, hoping he’d speak up for me, but he curtly said, “I told you not to act recklessly. Now look what’s happened.”

To my shock, the hospital surveillance footage also showed that I hadn’t followed the correct surgical procedure. I couldn’t defend myself.

In the end, I was stabbed to death by her super-alpha husband.

Even as I died, I still couldn’t understand—how did the footage show my surgical steps were wrong?

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Joanna was admitted for testing.

"Dr. Adams, I'm requesting to be suspended. They're accusing me of lacking medical ethics! I absolutely refuse to condone such improper accusations!

Dr. Alec Adams, the head of my department, had been trying to persuade me not to argue with the patient's family. Still, I firmly chose to step down.

My husband, Quinton Surrey, barged in angrily. "I don't agree with this at all! How are you going to be considered for promotion if you're suspended? Fiona Xavier, what's gotten into you this time?" He was a doctor too, but we worked in separate departments.

I replied in a sharp tone. "I shoved a patient's family member. Shouldn't I be suspended? If I have no medical ethics, how could I even consider going for a promotion?"

Quinton stomped his foot in frustration beside me.

"Fiona, I know the patient's family's attitude toward you made you impulsive. Just apologize to Dr. Adams, and this matter will blow over."

I deliberately gritted my teeth, further elevating the conflict. "Dr. Adams, this is a medical scandal. Why should I tolerate it?"

Alec's expression darkened. "What do you want then?"

"As I just said, I'll just take the suspension and go home to reflect!"

Quinton stood off to the side, visibly exasperated. "Have you completely lost your mind?"

He pointed at me, clearly ready to shout, when someone outside the room called out, "Dr. Surrey, a patient named Joanna Chance is here to see you."

Quinton shot me a glare and stormed out.

I turned to Alec and said calmly, "Since I'm suspended, I'll go home now."

Joanna was Quinton’s childhood sweetheart. She’d been admitted for a stomach issue and was scheduled for tests today. In my previous life, this was the day she was diagnosed with appendicitis. It wasn’t a major surgery, yet Quinton insisted I perform it because Joanna didn’t trust anyone else.

After the surgery, she ended up paralyzed. She cried and accused me of practicing medicine illegally, claiming I’d caused a catastrophic medical accident.

I begged Quinton to speak up for me, but he replied curtly, "I know you’ve always been jealous of Joanna, but crippling her? How is she supposed to live from now on?"

Public opinion immediately turned against me. Even the hospital’s surgical room surveillance showed that I hadn’t followed proper procedure.

No matter what I said, I couldn’t clear my name.

Suddenly, Joanna’s ultra-alpha husband lunged at me from the crowd and stabbed me to death.

I died without ever understanding why she had become paralyzed or why the surveillance showed my steps were wrong. All I saw was the internet cheering for the outcome of the medical scandal.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Joanna was admitted for testing.

This time, I requested a suspension just to avoid being involved in her surgery.

The day after my suspension started, Quinton called me.

"Fiona, why didn’t you show up for work? Joanna’s appendectomy is scheduled for this afternoon. She only trusts you."

"I can’t do it. I’m suspended."

"What the hell is wrong with you? I told you to just apologize to the department head, but you had to pull this stunt! If something goes wrong with another surgeon, will you take responsibility?"

"I didn’t do the surgery. Why would I be responsible?"

"How can someone as heartless as you even exist? Joanna trusts you! You better never come back to the hospital!" He snapped, then hung up in anger.

After a week of suspension, I returned to the hospital—and found Joanna collapsed in the corridor, crying.

I was stunned. I hadn’t done the surgery this time. So why was she still paralyzed?

While I stood frozen, the man beside Joanna suddenly raised his phone and started recording me.

Joanna burst into tears again.

"It was her! She practiced medicine illegally and caused me to be paralyzed after a minor appendectomy!"

Immediately, everyone around me looked at me as if they were watching a show unfold.

"How could such a doctor exist? I don't want to be treated in this hospital anymore. What if I die from something as simple as a cold?"

"Get the hospital staff to come out and explain this to us patients!"

"Exactly. Aren't doctors supposed to save lives? How could they paralyze someone?"

All the public outrage was directed squarely at me. I immediately realized that Joanna must’ve already cried her eyes out and told her tragic tale.

Quinton suddenly pushed through the crowd, held Joanna tightly in his arms, and glared at me, his eyes red. "Fiona, how could you be so cruel? You’ve always been jealous that Joanna’s more beautiful than you—was ruining her life really necessary? I want a divorce!"

"Gosh! Even her own husband is calling her out. What kind of person is she?"

"Why hasn’t the hospital fired her yet? Where’s the management?"

As the voices around me rose in anger, I finally spoke. "Joanna, I wasn’t even working during your hospitalization. I never touched your surgery. Why are you accusing me of illegally practicing medicine and ruining you?"

The moment I said that, everything fell silent. How could a doctor who wasn’t even on duty be the one who harmed her?

The commotion had grown so loud that it attracted both security and hospital management. Alec came over and asked what had happened.

I explained everything from start to finish. Alec frowned and said, "This has nothing to do with Dr. Xavier. She hasn’t stepped into the hospital in the past week."

As soon as Alec spoke, the crowd’s attitude shifted.

"Wait, she didn’t do the surgery? Then why was the patient targeting her?"

"Yeah! The hospital should make the real surgeon come out and explain this!"

Alec looked down at Joanna, still sitting on the floor, her legs motionless. He seemed just as shocked by her sudden paralysis but remained calm. "Miss, we’ll investigate this medical incident thoroughly. But you need to find the person who actually performed your surgery."

Joanna’s tears streamed down her face. "It was Fiona’s apprentice who operated on me! She said Fiona taught her everything she knows about surgery!"

I was stunned and looked toward Elaine Darcy, who had just arrived. She was assigned by the hospital to study under me. Elaine had always been obedient and well-behaved, and this wasn’t her first time handling surgery on her own. How could something like this happen?

When I looked at her, I saw that her eyes were already swollen from crying. "How could something so serious happen?" she whispered.

"Dr. Xavier, I followed your surgical procedures. I told you I thought something was off, but you scolded me. You insisted on the wrong method, and that’s what caused all of this!"

Looking at Elaine, who had suddenly turned on me, I was a bit dazed. I never expected that the person I had taught with all my heart for three months would help Joanna and Quinton frame me!

"I knew something was wrong with her. Why else would the patient go after her?"

"Yeah, the patient has no grudge against her and even counted on her to be saved. But she deliberately taught her apprentice the wrong thing. Is she trying to kill us?"

"Even her apprentice couldn't stand it. What a terrible person!"

"Isn't the hospital's director here? Give us an explanation! Who would come to your hospital when you have a doctor like her?"

A commotion broke out instantly. The security guards tried their best to maintain order but still failed to suppress the restless crowd.

I shouted, "I never taught you any wrong procedure. What evidence do you have to prove that I taught you that?"

Elaine retorted, "It was the sequence of your last operation. When I reminded you in the surgery room, you even rolled your eyes and scolded me! I have the surveillance footage to prove it!"

When Elaine played the surveillance footage, I was completely stunned. I had just done that surgery, and the process was spot-checked by the hospital director because of the medical scandal. It was correct. Why was it different in Elaine's hands?

A woman came out of the crowd. Pointing at my nose, she sobbed as she yelled, "I knew it! I knew there was something wrong with your surgery procedures. Why else would my mom still be in bed? You heartless doctor. Don't you have a mother? Why harm mine?"

Elaine explained to everyone, "This is a family member of the patient who was incorrectly operated on by Dr. Xavier. They felt that something was wrong with Fiona's surgery and wanted an explanation, but Fiona beat them up!"

"How is someone like her qualified to be a doctor? Is the hospital short-staffed?"

"We come to your hospital for treatment and put our lives in your hands because we trust you. How are we supposed to trust doctors like her?"

"Compensate! Compensate the patient's family. We need an apology!"

"Guys, I found the video. This unethical female doctor beat up the patient's family first! She even cursed the patient never to recover."

I had no idea where they got the video, but I heard ‘my’ voice cursing the patient amid the chaos. The truth was that the patient's family member had asked if the patient could go home immediately after the operation. I replied that the patient needed to rest for a week before getting out of bed. The family member claimed they had consulted a specialist who said their mother could go home directly after surgery and that I was keeping them longer because I had made a mistake and wanted to profit off it.

I explained that the specialist was only estimating, and the specific situation depended on the patient’s condition. But the family member insisted I had worsened her condition and even tried to grab me.

The matter was brought to Alec's attention, and I took the opportunity to request a suspension, but I never said what was in that video.

Just as I was thinking about how to explain, Elaine added indignantly, "Dr. Xavier, I regarded you as my senior and learned from you. But you disregarded the patient's health, clashed with their family, and were even unrepentant after being suspended!"

"Suspended? No wonder she said she hadn't been in the hospital lately. Turns out she was suspended."

"And she doesn’t even look sorry! Someone like her should be fired!"

I was so angry. I laughed and looked at the righteous Elaine. "Since you knew it was wrong, why did you still perform surgery in that same order? Shouldn't this be your fault?"

Before Elaine could reply, Joanna, still on the ground, said, "She’s young and gave you her opinion, but she thought it was right because you are her teacher! That led to today’s disaster. In the end, you are the one at fault. With people like you, there will be thousands of families like mine and this lady’s in the future!"

Joanna had successfully shifted the conflict back onto me.

Quinton also joined the fray. "Fiona, you're not worthy of being a doctor, let alone a human being! I must divorce you!"

Then, suddenly, his eyes filled with fear. He quickly let go of Joanna and stood up.

Following his gaze, I saw a familiar figure—Joanna’s super-alpha husband, Liam.

As soon as Liam emerged from the crowd, Joanna began crying. "Honey, this is the doctor. She wants to ruin me!"

The pain of being stabbed by a knife in my previous life made me tremble. Seeing the aggressive Liam approaching, I stepped back quickly. His raised fist was about to fall when—click—silver handcuffs were suddenly fastened on his wrists.

The police had arrived just in time. Liam nearly killed me again.

Several police officers held Liam down, telling him not to cause trouble. Then, one asked the crowd, "We received a call about a disturbance here. Who called the police?"

After holding it in for so long, I finally let out a breath and slowly raised my hand. "I did."

The onlookers looked at me in shock, as if they hadn’t expected the supposed villain to be the one who called the police.

The officer turned to me. "What happened?"

I pointed at Joanna. "Someone’s causing a medical scandal here."

"She’s talking nonsense! She has no medical ethics and illegally harmed two patients!"

"It concerns two families. This is a major medical scandal! This unscrupulous doctor should be arrested!"

The officer frowned and looked at me. "What's going on?"

"I know what's going on!" A weak elderly voice rang out. Everyone turned to see a gray-haired elderly woman slowly walking over.

"Mom? You... you can walk?"