On the day of the difficult-case consultation assessment, I had three core pathological data points maliciously tampered with.

My husband Liam, who was one of the review experts, tore up my attending physician qualification certificate in front of everyone:

“If you can’t even interpret a pathology report correctly, you might as well go to the records room and be a clerk!”

His “white moonlight”—the newly rotating intern Vanessa—covered her mouth and laughed quietly:

“Sister Clara has focused on internal medicine for too long. It’s normal for her surgical diagnostic thinking to become rigid.”

They didn’t know that the heir of the richest family had suddenly developed an acute, rare condition and was urgently searching for someone capable of performing the surgery.

And the only attending physician qualified to conduct precise surgical operations and formulate the rescue plan had just had her credentials revoked by their own hands.

When the emergency bell rang sharply through the outpatient building, I was slowly organizing old medical records.

The dean dragged Liam into the records room, roaring:

“The patient’s identity is special. There are only three documented cases worldwide! Who can lead the rescue now?!”

Liam—now already my ex-husband—turned toward me, cold sweat streaming down his face, just as I finished packing the last file folder.

I raised the registration form in my hand and handed it to him:

“I’m sorry, Director, but right now… I’m just a clerk.”

——

At the City Hospital’s annual top-tier surgeon assessment review meeting, the big screen was rolling through the year’s best complex surgical cases. When the name “Vanessa” suddenly appeared, the pen in my hand slammed onto the table with a sharp crack.

That was the surgical case I had stayed up three nights in a row to prepare— the one I had led as the hospital’s first zero-complication procedure — and now it had become the achievement of my husband Liam’s beloved “white moonlight,” Vanessa.

“Clara, mind the occasion.” Liam sat in the center of the review panel, his gaze cold as a blade. “Vanessa’s case data is thorough, the operation records complete. Her selection is well deserved.”

Wearing a white coat, Vanessa stood on the stage, the hem of her skirt lifting slightly. The look she cast my way carried a mocking challenge. “Sister Clara, maybe you’re just exhausted and remembering wrong? I personally organized every page of this surgical record.”

I shot to my feet and strode toward the big screen, pointing at the record. “Remembering wrong? Liam, look closely! First, the surgery is marked as Wednesday, but it was actually Friday. Second, the key step lists the wrong anastomosis technique — a beginner’s error that could kill a patient!”

Gasps rippled across the room. The reviewers bowed their heads, flipping through their materials.

Vanessa’s face turned pale. She instinctively hid behind Liam. “Liam, I… I was just nervous. Maybe I made a small mistake when sorting the documents…”

“A mistake?” I gave a cold laugh and pulled the original photocopies from my bag. “These two points are core data— neither can be wrong. Tell me, was that ‘a small mistake’?”

But Liam slapped my hand away, sending the papers scattering across the floor. He rose, towering over me, his voice echoing through the hall. “Clara, show some generosity. Stop making things difficult for an intern. Vanessa is new. Occasional errors are normal. You, however, insist on attacking her publicly— do you have any professional integrity at all?”

“I’m unreasonable?” I stared at him in disbelief. “This is my work! You were the one who said you’d submit it for me so I could focus on my next surgery— and then you turned around and changed the authorship to Vanessa!”

Just then, I remembered the conversation I overheard in the lounge earlier—

“Liam, are you really going to switch Clara’s case for me? If she finds out…”

“What are you afraid of? I already altered the surgical record. All the reviewers are my people. Once you get the top-tier surgeon qualification, we can finally be together openly. Clara has held the title of Mrs. Miller long enough. It’s time she stepped aside.”

Those words stabbed into my heart like poisoned ice.

“Liam, do you dare say this wasn’t your plan?” My fists tightened until my nails dug into my palms. “You stole my achievement for her. You falsified medical records. Are you even worthy of being a doctor?”

Liam’s face darkened, panic flickering before rage swallowed it. “Clara! You’re completely irrational! You’ve publicly slandered the review committee and disrupted the assessment process. From this moment on, your medical license is revoked!”

“You have no right!”

“I’m the head of the review panel!” He snatched my license and tore it cleanly in half, throwing the pieces at my feet. “Starting today, you’re banned from ever stepping into an operating room again.”

Vanessa nestled into his side and whispered, “Sister Clara, don’t make a scene. Losing your license isn’t the end. You can just be a homemaker.”

Around us, gazes held sympathy, mockery, and curiosity. I looked at the adulterous pair, the scattered original documents, the shredded license— and suddenly, I laughed.

Ten years of marriage. I had walked with him from naïve medical students to his status today as review chairman. I gave up overseas training opportunities, countless promotions, and even stayed at his hospital bed for seventy-two hours straight when he was ill.

And in return, I received stolen credit, a stripped license, and betrayal.

I bent down and picked up the photocopies piece by piece, my movements slow but unwavering.

“Liam. Vanessa.”

I lifted my gaze, stripped of all warmth. “What you owe me, I will take back — every bit of it, with interest.”

With that, I turned and walked out of the review hall without looking back.

Just as I stepped outside, Gregory’s personal assistant Quinn sent an urgent message:

“Ms. Clara, Mr. Gregory’s CT scans have been sent to your inbox. At this precision level, only you have the confidence and skill to perform the microsurgery. Please arrange the operation within three days.”

I didn’t respond.

My achievement was stolen. My license revoked.

Since that’s the case—

This surgery should be handed to the so-called “rising star,” Vanessa.

The records room.

I was placing the previous years’ sorted surgical archive files in order according to their numbers when suddenly a deliberately raised, coquettish voice came from outside the door, breaking the dead silence of the records room.

“This is the place. You all need to study carefully. Don’t end up like some people, ruining a perfectly good hand of cards and finally being stuck in a place like this dealing with waste paper.”

My fingers tightened slightly around the medical files, and I lifted my eyes.

Vanessa was wearing a perfectly tailored white coat, a badge reading “Associate Chief Surgeon” pinned to her collar, her long hair coiled into an elegant bun. Behind her stood two interns holding folders, their faces full of flattery. She stepped on thin high heels, walking through the record-packed room as if it belonged to her alone. The sharp tapping of her heels on the floor was piercing and utterly out of place in the heavy quiet of the room.

“Sister Clara,” Vanessa walked to the desk and looked down at me, her eyes filled with undisguised ridicule. “It hasn’t even been that long since I last saw you, and how have you fallen to this point already? You used to be so impressive in the City Hospital’s surgical department, and now you’re buried in this pile of junk every day. What a waste of talent.”

I lowered my eyes and continued sorting the files, unwilling to respond. I knew perfectly well why Vanessa came— merely to flaunt her current status and sprinkle salt on my wounds.

“Hey, Sister Clara, why aren’t you talking?” Vanessa reached out and deliberately brushed the ink bottle on the corner of the desk. With a loud clang, the deep blue ink instantly toppled, spreading across the desk and soaking most of the stack of files I had just finished organizing.

The black stain quickly bled across the paper, blurring the text like layers of ugly scars.

I jerked my head up, a sharp glint flashing through my eyes, my hand gripping the edge of the table so hard my nails nearly embedded themselves into the wood. I had spent the entire morning sorting that stack, checking each page’s numbering carefully— and now it was all ruined.

“Ah, I’m so sorry,” Vanessa covered her mouth, wearing an expression of “innocence,” though her eyes brimmed with triumph. “My hand slipped. But it’s fine. These useless records probably weren’t worth your effort anyway. Ruined is ruined.”

As she spoke, she lifted her silver high heel and viciously ground it onto several pages scattered on the floor. The ink mixed with dust from the sole of her shoe, pressing the papers into unrecognizable messes, the words completely unreadable.

The two interns behind her immediately echoed:

“Dr. Vanessa is right. These old records weren’t very useful anyway. Dr. Clara… you shouldn’t take it so seriously.”

“Exactly, staying in the City Hospital at all should already make you grateful. Who are you to pick and choose.”

Looking at the destroyed records, I took a deep breath and pushed down the wave of anger in my chest. I knew this wasn’t the time to explode. I needed to wait for the right moment— the moment I would make that pair pay the price.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded in the hallway, and Liam pushed the door open. The faint smell of disinfectant from the operating room still clung to him, clearly showing he had just come down from surgery. As soon as he entered, he went straight to Vanessa’s side, his gaze landing on her “wronged” frown, completely ignoring the mess on the floor.

“Vanessa, what happened?” His tone was urgent, and following Vanessa’s line of sight to me, his expression instantly clouded. “Did she bully you?”

Vanessa immediately clung to Liam’s arm, her voice tinged with tears. “No, Liam, don’t misunderstand. I accidentally spilled the ink. Sister Clara seemed unhappy, I… I didn’t mean to.”

“Unhappy?” Liam let out a cold laugh, his eyes filled with disgust and impatience as he looked at me. “Clara, are you still not giving up? You were transferred here after losing your license, and you still refuse to behave? You’re deliberately making trouble for Vanessa?”

His gaze swept briefly over the ruined files and overturned ink bottle, without even pausing— as if they were worthless garbage.

“What is Vanessa’s status? What is your current situation? Don’t embarrass yourself acting out here!”

I looked at this pair who twisted black and white at will, and the last shred of lingering emotion I had for Liam finally died. I once thought our years together meant something— but I never imagined that in his eyes, I wasn’t even worth those trampled records on the ground.

Suppressing the bitterness and fury in my chest, I suddenly showed a faint, almost numb smile. I didn’t defend myself. Instead, I slowly opened a drawer and took out a divorce agreement I had long prepared, handing it to Liam.

“I’m not unhappy, nor do I have the energy to make trouble for anyone.” My voice was soft, carrying a hint of subtle exhaustion. “Since you think I’m an eyesore here, then I’ll leave. But after all, we are still married. My license is gone, my job is gone, and I may never work in surgery again. You should at least give me some compensation.”

Liam frowned, impatiently taking the papers. “What do you want?”

“The apartment downtown. Put it under my name as compensation.” I lifted my eyes, meeting his gaze calmly. “I don’t want anything else. Sign it, and we’re even.”

Vanessa immediately whined from the side: “Liam, don’t waste time with her. It’s just an apartment. Sign it and let her leave, so she doesn’t ruin the mood here.” As she spoke, she pushed Liam’s arm, urging him to sign.

Already filled with disgust toward me and annoyed by Vanessa’s pestering, Liam didn’t bother reading the document carefully. He skimmed the first line—“Compensation Agreement”—and then picked up the pen, signing his name in bold strokes at the bottom.

He didn’t notice the divorce agreement hidden among the pages. And the name he signed not only transferred the apartment to me, but also ended the five-year marriage between us.

Watching him finish signing, I took the documents back. As my fingers brushed the thin sheet of paper, a complex satisfaction rose within me. I folded the papers neatly and placed them into my bag. Then I bent down, ignoring the destroyed records and spilled ink, and picked up my coat.

“Thank you.” I nodded slightly toward Liam and Vanessa, my tone as flat as discussing the weather.

As I turned, my gaze swept over the black notebook on the corner of the desk, and a glint of icy sharpness flashed in my eyes.

This was only the beginning.

Liam, Vanessa— what you owe me, I will reclaim piece by piece, with interest.

The sound of my heels faded down the corridor, leaving only Vanessa and the interns staring at each other in confusion, and Liam watching my back with a strange, creeping unease rising in his chest.

Just as I held the incubator in my arms, the laboratory door was violently kicked open.

Liam barged in with Vanessa, both of them wearing expressions of undisguised urgency.

“Leave the item behind!” Liam stepped forward and reached out to snatch the incubator. “All research outcomes in the lab belong to the hospital. You have no right to take anything with you now!”

I sidestepped him and shielded the incubator behind me. “This is three years of my work. The formula is handwritten by me, the coagulant was exclusively developed by me, and it has nothing to do with the hospital!”

“What yours and mine?” Vanessa squeezed to the front, her gaze glued tightly to the incubator, her tone sharp. “You’ve already been stripped of your medical license. What’s the point of keeping these? Why not give them to me? I can make them useful— better than letting you waste them!”

As she spoke, she suddenly reached out to grab it, her fingertips nearly touching the case.

I jerked back, watching her warily. “Vanessa, don’t push your luck!”

“I think you just don’t know what’s good for you!”

Enraged, Vanessa suddenly lunged forward, gripping the handle of the incubator with both hands. We began pulling against each other instantly. My strength was steady, and Vanessa failed to grab it for the moment. Pretending her foot slipped, she let her body fall backward while deliberately swinging her arm hard across the nearby lab table.

Crash—

The incubator slipped from our hands and crashed onto the floor. Glass vials shattered instantly, pale blue coagulant splashing out and spreading across the ground. Vanessa, still unsatisfied, deliberately crushed the scattered formula papers under her high heels as she fell, the liquid and shoe prints staining them into filthy fragments, the essential ratios completely blurred.

“Ah!”

Vanessa fell to the ground, her skirt soaked with the spilled reagent. She immediately clutched her knee and cried out, “Liam! Look! Clara pushed me! She destroyed the coagulant and the formula on purpose!”

Liam hadn’t seen anything clearly. He only saw Vanessa on the floor and me standing beside her. He burst with fury instantly.

“Clara! You’re vicious! Vanessa tried to reason with you kindly, and you resorted to violence and sabotaged critical research!”

“I didn’t push her! She fell on purpose!”

My voice was both anxious and furious as I bent down, trying to salvage any remaining legible fragments of the formula. “That was the newest coagulant we developed! Without it, an aortic dissection surgery can’t stop the bleeding at all! You’re going to kill a patient!”

“You still dare argue!”

Liam grabbed my wrist, squeezing so hard it felt like he might crush my bones. “You’re not welcome here. Get out!”

“Liam, wake up!” I struggled, my gaze sharp as a blade. “Can’t you see what Vanessa wants? She wants my formula! If you throw me out now, what you’re destroying is the only chance for countless future patients!”

“Enough!”

Liam refused to listen, dragging me toward the door. “I don’t want to hear another word of your nonsense! You’re just unwilling to accept your transfer and came here to cause trouble!”

He shoved me out of the door.

My back slammed hard against the wall, pain shooting through me as I sucked in a breath. I looked at the disgust and finality in Liam’s eyes, and coldness spread through my chest.

“Liam, you will regret this! What you are destroying with your own hands is your bottom line as a doctor!”

“Regret? The only thing I regret is meeting you!”

Liam slammed the door shut, cutting me off completely. Then he immediately crouched beside Vanessa, lifting her anxiously.

“Vanessa, are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?”

Leaning in his arms, Vanessa secretly lifted her eyes, looking toward me through the crack in the door, a flash of triumphant cruelty flickering in them.

Just then, the hospital broadcast suddenly sounded, a hurried female voice breaking the silence of the corridor:

“Emergency notice! The ER has received a patient with a ruptured aortic dissection. Massive blood loss, condition critical. A top-tier surgeon is urgently needed for immediate consultation! Repeating, a top-tier surgeon is urgently needed!”

The lab door was instantly pulled open.

Liam supported Vanessa as they rushed out, neither of them sparing me even a glance before sprinting toward the emergency department.

I watched their hurried silhouettes, then lowered my head to look at my fingertips, still stained with the spilled reagent.

The corner of my mouth curled into a cold smile.

They didn’t know that what they had just destroyed was the patient’s only hope for survival.

And the opportunity I had been waiting for— the catalyst for my revenge— had quietly arrived at this very moment.