I had just hung up on yet another frantic, life-or-death call from Liam, and before my fingertip even lifted from the screen, I heard a harsh commotion rise from downstairs. I walked to the window and lifted a corner of the curtain—my heart dropped instantly.
Liam and Vanessa had actually brought a group of reporters, along with several familiar neighbors, blocking the entrance of the apartment building.
“Clara! Come out!”
Liam tilted his head back and roared upward, his voice drowned beneath the rapid clicking of reporters’ cameras.
“The patient is still in critical condition! You have the coagulant formula—either hand it over, or come with us to the hospital to operate!”
Vanessa stood beside him in a white coat, eyes rimmed red, wiping tears for the camera.
“Sister Clara, I know you’re still angry at me, but a human life is at stake. You can’t gamble with a patient’s life because of resentment! Everyone’s watching—you can at least pity that poor patient and help save him!”
Reporters surged forward, microphones practically pressed against Liam’s face.
“Dr. Liam, is it true Clara intentionally hid the life-saving formula?!”
“Dr. Vanessa, are the previous accusations true?”
“What is the patient’s current condition?”
The neighbors began whispering among themselves too. Some recorded videos on their phones, some pointed and muttered:
“Never thought she was that kind of person—letting someone die is too cruel.”
“I used to think she was a good doctor—didn’t expect her to hold grudges like this.”
I took a deep breath and tightened my grip on the phone in my pocket—Sharon had just messaged saying the patient’s blood pressure had dropped again. I originally planned to wait for the right moment, but now I had been forced into a corner.
I grabbed my coat and headed downstairs.
The moment I stepped out the unit door, Liam seized my wrist.
“You finally came out!”
Liam’s eyes were bloodshot, his tone carrying an unquestionable force.
“Come with me! It’s not too late to rush to the operating room now!”
“Let me go!”
I struggled hard.
“It was Vanessa who shattered the coagulant. It was the two of you who spread rumors to ruin my name. What gives you the right to order me?”
“Sister Clara, how can you say that?”
Vanessa immediately squeezed forward, pretending to mediate.
“I know you’re upset, but this isn’t the time to talk about that! I’m begging you, please come with us!”
Her hand appeared to rest gently on my arm, yet her fingertips were secretly gripping a fruit knife hidden in her sleeve.
The blade pressed coldly against my wrist.
I reacted instantly and tried to pull away, but Vanessa suddenly tightened her hold and lunged forward. At the same time, her wrist twisted—
Sound of tearing—
A sharp sting exploded across the back of my right hand as the blade sliced through my skin.
Blood sprayed instantly, dripping down my fingertips onto the cement ground, staining it dark red.
“Ah!”
My entire body trembled in pain. My right hand curled up reflexively—
It was the hand I used to hold a scalpel.
The hand that defined my life as a surgeon.
The searing pain shot through my nerves like a thousand needles.
I stared at the blood pouring out, my heart filling with disbelief and utter despair.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
Vanessa immediately released me.
The fruit knife clattered to the ground.
Her eyes filled with tears as she cried to the reporters:
“I didn’t mean it! I was just trying to pull Sister Clara along, and the fruit knife in my pocket must’ve slipped out! It’s all my fault!”
Liam stared at the blood streaming from my right hand, his pupils contracting sharply.
A moment of shock flashed across his face—
He knew exactly what this hand meant to me.
But Vanessa quickly threw herself into his arms, trembling as she sobbed:
“Liam, I really didn’t mean it. I was just too worried about getting Sister Clara to save the patient…”
“You—!”
My voice trembled from pain as I clamped my left hand over the wound, but blood still seeped through my fingers relentlessly.
“Vanessa, you did that on purpose!”
“Sister Clara, how can you slander me like this?”
Vanessa’s tears flowed harder.
“Why would I intentionally injure your hand? We’re both doctors—I know how important that hand is to you…”
The reporters, sensing blood like sharks, began firing their cameras wildly.
Flashes blinded my eyes.
“Dr. Clara, is what Dr. Vanessa said true?”
“Are you accusing her because you refused to perform the surgery?”
“The wound looks deep—will it affect your future as a doctor?”
The neighbors’ whispering grew sharper.
“Maybe Clara didn’t want to save the patient and decided to blame someone else?”
“Dr. Vanessa seems kind—she doesn’t look like someone who’d hurt anyone on purpose.”
Liam’s momentary shock was quickly drowned out by Vanessa’s tears.
He held her and spoke to me in a cold voice:
“Enough! Vanessa already apologized. She didn’t do it intentionally! The priority now is saving the patient. Get your hand treated first—we’ll talk about the formula later!”
“Liam!”
My whole body shook with fury, pain and chilling disappointment twisting together.
“My hand has been ruined by her! And you still defend her? Have you forgotten that this hand is not only my life— it's also your brother’s only hope of survival!”
Just then, a sharp screech of brakes cut through the chaos.
More than ten black sedans stopped in a perfect line.
The doors opened simultaneously, and a group of men in black suits, radiating an oppressive aura, surrounded a middle-aged man as he stepped out.
He was tall and straight-backed, his suit immaculate, his expression completely devoid of emotion.
His eyes were cold as frost—
This was Shawn, chairman of the Shen Group…
And the critically ill patient’s elder brother.
His gaze swept across the crowd, pausing on the reporters’ cameras, then landing on the blood pouring from my right hand, before finally settling on Liam and Vanessa.
The look in his eyes was so sharp, so heavy with authority that the noisy scene fell silent instantly.
Even the reporters stopped clicking their shutters instinctively.
Vanessa hid behind Liam, trembling, all her earlier arrogance and pitiful act collapsing.
Even Liam clenched his fists, unable to speak under Shawn’s icy pressure.
Shawn walked closer with steady steps, his gaze never leaving my bleeding hand.
Then his voice rolled out, low and thunderous:
“Who did this?”
