"But the hospital has rules. As deputy chief, he has to lead by example—he can't cut the line."

"You're family—you should be thinking of him. You need to avoid any appearance of impropriety…"

I was so anxious my words came out jumbled.

"Fine, fine, fine! Dad! I'll wait in line! But we still need money for the surgery!"

"Please—I'm begging you—transfer me $100,000 so I can pay the fee. Otherwise Mom will die!"

The only response was a cold, indifferent voice:

"Sara, our family is not a piggy bank for your parents to drain."

I shouted, "It's not my mom! It's my mother-in-law—Dominic's real mom, your wife!"

"If you don't believe me, come to the hospital and see for yourself! Please!"

Mr. Harding Sr. snorted coldly. "At this hour, Paige is definitely out doing her square dancing."

"Don't think you can scam my money to subsidize your family!"

My heart plunged into an ice pit.

I sank onto the freezing floor, hugging my knees, crying helplessly.

At that moment, a nurse approached the doctor, her expression grim.

"Deputy Chief Harding called. He said if this patient can't pay, move her to a hallway bed."

"Or have them transfer to another hospital."

"She absolutely cannot receive special treatment just because she's family—can't take up medical resources…"

Dr. Chavez's face went livid. "How is this special treatment? The patient is critical—she doesn't meet the conditions for transfer."

"If she's moved to a hallway bed, she will die!"

Hearing that, I nearly broke down.

I scrambled up, stumbling forward, grabbed Dr. Chavez's arm, and begged desperately—

"Please, give me a little more time. I will pay the money and wait in line for Dominic to come back and do the surgery!"

Collapsed on the floor, my mind went blank.

The thought that my mother-in-law's life hung by a thread—that her own son, just to avoid any appearance of impropriety, would rather operate on a dog than save her—

made my heart feel like it was being carved with a knife.

No. He wasn't avoiding impropriety.

He just thought it was my mom.

In their eyes, my mom wasn't worthy.

But that was a human life! I had to find a way to save her!

I called my mom to borrow money.

My dad died young. My mom raised me alone, ruining her health from the strain. Now she survived on a meager pension, occasionally doing odd jobs to help with expenses.

The moment she heard my mother-in-law needed money, she didn't hesitate—just transferred everything immediately.

Seeing the amount—$31,800, down to the last dollar—my chest ached.

That money was probably everything she'd saved over years.

Then, swallowing my pride, I borrowed from coworkers, classmates, friends—anyone I could—barely scraping together $100,000.

After paying the first installment, I rushed the receipt to the doctor.

"Dr. Chavez, I've paid. Please arrange the surgery as soon as possible."

"No need to cut the line—just follow the process and queue up!"

Dr. Chavez quickly called a nurse to verify the queue and prepare the OR.

She came back with a grim expression.

"Dr. Harding still refuses to come back. He said… even for family, he has to strictly follow rules and regulations, avoid any appearance of impropriety—everything goes through proper channels."

Dr. Chavez's voice dropped. "Then how many surgeries are still ahead in line?"

The nurse hesitated, glancing at me.

"Dr. Harding… doesn't have any surgeries scheduled today."

Dr. Chavez's jaw tightened. "Didn't you tell him he has no surgeries arranged?"

The nurse's eyes reddened with frustration. "I did, but Dr. Harding said this patient's family bribed us and deliberately lied to him…"

I almost laughed until I cried.

He kept saying "avoid suspicion, avoid suspicion," told me to follow the process—but I was following the process. He still didn't believe me.

Because of that stupid principle, he was going to deny a patient legitimate medical care.

After five agonizing hours and three emergency resuscitations, Dominic and Victoria finally returned.

He was carrying a dog. She had her arm looped through his like they were on a date.

"Dominic, thank goodness you bandaged my puppy and took her out to play! If she'd been emotionally traumatized, I would've been devastated!"

He tapped her nose indulgently. "You little fool. You're just too kind."

The nurse exhaled in relief and immediately rushed him to prep for surgery.

Victoria pouted. "Dominic, I've never scrubbed in before. I want to learn!"

He smiled, hopelessly indulgent. "Fine, fine. You can assist."

Everything in the OR was ready. Anesthesia had already been administered.

Only then did Dominic stroll toward the operating room, Victoria in tow.

When he saw me, his face hardened.

"Sara. Disgusting."

"You bribed the hospital to cut the line and tricked me into coming back. That's a serious policy violation."

I froze, shaking my head frantically. "I didn't! I waited in line like everyone else!"

The nurse rushed to back me up. "Dr. Harding, this patient really did wait her turn. She didn't cut the line."

His expression darkened further. He rounded on the nurse.

"How much did she pay you to cover for her? This hospital has rules. Everyone who pulls strings thinks they have a special reason. What about the patients who follow the rules? Are their lives worthless?"

I was trembling with fury. "Dominic! I'll say it one more time—I didn't cut in line! I didn't bribe anyone!"

"And the person on that table waiting for you to save her? That's your mother."

His face remained stone cold. "Even if it's my mother, she waits in line. I won't let someone like you corrupt the system."

"Cancel the surgery. Immediately."

The nurse looked ready to cry. "Dr. Harding, the patient is already under anesthesia. If we don't operate now, it'll be too late!"

Only then, in a grand display of mercy, did he agree to proceed.

But to avoid any appearance of favoritism—to prove just how fair and selfless he was—he refused to operate himself.

Instead, he assigned Victoria as the primary surgeon. An intern who had never held a scalpel in an OR. The other doctors would assist.

"Dr. Harding, this... doesn't follow protocol."

His voice went ice cold. "What protocol? This patient used improper means to jump the line and harm other patients. If I operate myself, that would violate protocol."

No one dared to argue.

During the surgery, Victoria kept asking what each instrument was for. She accidentally severed a blood vessel, causing massive hemorrhage. The patient nearly went into cardiac arrest.

Then she nicked the wrong organ, slicing a gash into the lung.

"Oops! I'm so clumsy! I'm so nervous!"

"Oops! Wrong spot again!"

The rest of the team scrambled desperately to clean up her mistakes and keep the patient alive.

If they hadn't been mid-surgery, every single one of them would have dragged her out of that room.

But Dominic encouraged her with endless patience, reassuring her every step of the way.

Thankfully, he'd handled the most critical part himself—otherwise the surgery would've been a disaster.

When it came time to suture, he cleared the room again. Just him and Victoria, so she could practice her stitches.

I waited outside for hours, anxiety clawing at my chest. Finally, the surgical light went dark. The doors swung open.

Victoria and Dominic stood shoulder to shoulder, pumping their fists in unison.

"Oh yeah! I did it!"

"I'm amazing!"

I rushed forward.

"Dominic, how is she? Did Mom's surgery go okay?"

He glanced at me, eyes cold.

"You should be thanking Victoria. She performed the operation. She saved your mother's life."

I froze.

Victoria performed the operation?

She was an intern. Fresh out of school.

Before I could process it, a nurse burst out of the OR, face white as a sheet.

"Dr. Harding, something's wrong! The patient's abdomen is distended, blood pressure's crashing—she's critical!"

My heart, which had just started to settle, shot back into my throat.

The nurse was shaking.

"During instrument count, we found a veterinary scalpel."

"The missing blade—it's still inside her."

My legs buckled. I hit the floor.

Victoria stuck out her tongue like a child caught sneaking candy.

"Oops! I was wondering where my scalpel went. Must've gotten mixed in during surgery!"

Dominic's jaw tightened. He knew exactly what this meant—a catastrophic malpractice incident.

"Prep the OR. I'll do it myself."

No more excuses about conflict of interest.

Mom crashed twice on the table.

Two more hours. Finally, it was over.

But when he walked out, his instructions to the nurse were ice-cold.

"Patient's stable. Transfer her out of the ICU immediately."

The nurse hesitated.

"But... she just had two major surgeries. Multiple resuscitations..."

"Protocol."

His tone left no room for argument.

"She already jumped the queue once. Now she goes to the hallway."

I stood frozen, unable to believe what I was hearing.

"Dominic, that's your mother!"

"She just came back from the brink of death, and you're putting her in the hallway!"

He scoffed.

"If every doctor gave special treatment to family, what about regular patients?"

"If you hadn't insisted on cutting the line, Victoria wouldn't be exhausted from assisting two back-to-back surgeries!"

"Your mother staying in the hallway is her punishment for queue-jumping."

"You'll kill her!"

I screamed, completely unraveling.

He had her moved anyway.

It was past midnight. The hallway had no monitors. No nurses standing by.

I knelt beside her bed, gripping her hand.

"Mom, hold on. I'm going to find another doctor. I'll get you a room."

I ran through the hospital like a madwoman, begging anyone who would listen.

When I came back, a crowd had gathered around her bed. CPR in progress.

It was too late.

Mom didn't die on the operating table.

She died by her own son's hand.

Dominic stood there in his surgical mask, barely registering who the body belonged to.

Expressionless, he took the organ donation form Victoria handed him and signed his name.

Victoria's eyes were red, tears streaming.

"I can't believe my first surgery failed. Will this go on my record?"

I almost laughed from the sheer rage.

Someone was dead. And all she cared about was her spotless résumé.

Dominic held Victoria, his voice soft:

"It's not your fault. If someone hadn't broken the rules and cut in line, the patient wouldn't have died."

He turned to me, his gaze cold.

"Sara, you killed your mom. Since she's dead, let her die with some value. Let them harvest her heart and liver—consider it atonement for your selfishness."

I laughed.

I reached over and pulled off Mother-in-law's oxygen mask, exposing her face.

"Dominic, open your damn eyes and look. Your mom is the one who's dead."