Theater: NovelMaster | Language: English | NEW
Synopsis
On the eve of the major surgery, I stepped down as the lead surgeon.
My colleagues in the department immediately scoffed, whispering that I was useless.
"And he's supposed to be an elite fellow from a top-tier medical school? Probably bought his degree online."
"Running away at the first sign of trouble? He doesn't even deserve to wear a white coat!"
In my past life, I gave up a spot in the National Clinical Skills Competition just to take on this high-risk surgery.
Yet, because the co-lead surgeon broke surgical protocols, a catastrophic medical accident occurred on the table.
Natalie, my own sister and the Department Head, pushed all the blame onto me.
Even Chloe, my girlfriend, stood firmly by the other doctor's side, publicly denouncing my surgical skills.
Overnight, I went from an admired medical prodigy to a disgraced pariah.
Unable to prove it wasn't my mistake, I was fired from the hospital and faced criminal charges.
My parents, who once bragged about me to everyone, pointed their fingers at my face and screamed,
"We don't have a murderer for a son!"
Crushed by severe depression and betrayal, I jumped from the hospital roof.
When I opened my eyes again, I was right back to the day before the surgery.
"This case is extremely complicated. The board decided to hand the lead position to you. Think you can handle it?"
In the office, Natalie smiled and placed the patient's chart in front of me.
Looking at that familiar file, my hands trembled slightly.
Taking a deep breath, I pushed it away and shook my head firmly.
"I just finished my fellowship and still need to get used to the workflow here. I'm not ready for a major operation like this."
In my previous life, this exact surgery dragged me straight into hell.
And Natalie—the loving sister sitting right in front of me—was the one who pushed me off the cliff.
Back then, I accepted the task without hesitation and operated alongside Julian, another attending surgeon in our department.
Julian was completely off his game, making blunder after blunder during the procedure.
Despite my constant warnings, he caused irreversible damage.
Even though I had done nothing wrong, a nightmare descended upon me.
Natalie pinned every single error on my head to protect Julian.
I became a monster overnight, despised by everyone and stripped of my medical career.
Unable to bear the overwhelming despair, I ended my own life.
Natalie frowned, a flash of disappointment in her eyes.
"This is a rare opportunity. I fought hard with the board to get this for you. Why are you backing out?"
I slid the chart back across the desk with a faint smile.
"My skills are limited. I can't take on such a heavy responsibility."
Hearing this, Chloe, who was standing nearby, instantly snapped at me.
"Ethan, can't you man up for once? If you keep being this timid, how are you ever going to move up in your career?"
Looking at her exasperated face, I wanted to laugh.
Both of them pretended to care about me so much.
In reality, neither of them gave a damn about me compared to Julian.
I stood up and looked directly at Chloe.
"Julian went to an Ivy League med school and has way more experience than me. He should lead this surgery alone."
The agony of my past life was still fresh in my mind.
Now that I had a second chance, I would never walk into their trap again.
Both Natalie and Chloe froze.
Then, Chloe grabbed my arm, softening her tone into an encouraging whisper.
"That's exactly why you need this! You should look up to Julian and strive to be an outstanding doctor like him."
Whenever she said Julian's name, her eyes lit up with an excitement she couldn't hide.
Swallowing my disgust, I pulled my arm away.
"I have the National Clinical Skills Competition coming up. I need to prepare. I don't have time for this surgery."
The real reason they desperately wanted me in that operating room was simple:
They both knew Julian didn't have the skills to pull off such a complex procedure on his own.
If it succeeded, Julian would get all the glory on his resume. If it failed, I would be the perfect scapegoat.Seeing their suspicious looks, I pulled an official acceptance letter from my bag and set it on the desk.
"What? You don't believe me?"
The moment Chloe saw the document, her face twisted with anger.
"Why didn't you tell Julian about such an important competition?"
"Are you scared he'd outshine you and take first place?"
Natalie's expression darkened as well.
"We all work in the same department, Ethan. Why are you so secretive? I've never seen anyone as selfish as you."
I stared at them in disbelief. "I barely know Julian. Why would I owe him that?"
Even though we worked in the same department, Julian was arrogant to the core. He always looked down his nose at newcomers like me.
Over the past six months, we hadn't exchanged more than three private sentences. And somehow, that was my fault?
Chloe grew even more furious.
"Don't you know how Julian is by now?"
"As his colleague, shouldn't you take the initiative to build a good relationship with him?"
Without waiting for my answer, Chloe pulled out her phone and dialed the competition committee, trying to register Julian on the spot.
Natalie walked straight out the door to check on Julian in person.
Watching them scramble, a bitter taste filled my mouth.
In their eyes, I was nothing more than an outsider.
A few minutes later, Chloe hung up the phone.
Registration was already closed; Julian couldn't sign up.
Panic washed over Chloe's face. She paced back and forth, muttering under her breath.
"If Julian misses this competition, it will ruin his promotion track!"
"No, I have to fix this for him."
Suddenly, her eyes locked onto me, gleaming with an idea.
"You already have a reserved spot, right? If you withdraw and give your slot to Julian, he can go!"
Her words made my stomach churn. My breath hitched in my chest.
"Julian's future matters, but mine doesn't?"
During all the years I spent with Chloe, I treated her like she was my entire world.
Yet, to her, I wasn't worth a single hair on Julian's head.
Chloe stepped closer, putting on a sweet, pleading voice she rarely used with me. "Ethan, Julian is older than you. Just let him have it this time!"
"You're still young. You'll have plenty of chances later!"
Looking at her desperate attempts to cater to another man, I scoffed inwardly.
The fiercely independent woman who never bowed to anyone was acting like a schoolgirl with a crush—all for Julian.
Too bad for her, I wasn't the naive fool from my past life anymore."Ethan, Chloe is right. You're young. Give the spot to Julian."
Just then, Natalie walked back in, with Julian following right behind her.
I looked up and caught Julian's smirk.
His eyes were filled with mockery, silently laughing at my supposed weakness.
I shook my head firmly. "Neither of you has the right to decide my life."
Without another word, I grabbed my coat and walked out the door.
To my surprise, over the next two days of the competition, neither of them bothered me.
Checking Instagram during a break, I saw an announcement: Julian had taken on the surgery entirely by himself.
I thought that would be the end of it.
But as soon as I returned from the competition, Natalie and Chloe ambushed me in the hallway.
Their faces were pale with panic.
"Ethan, you have to save Julian! If you don't help him, his life is over!"
I instantly knew what happened: the surgery went wrong again.
I crossed my arms and looked at them coldly. "How am I supposed to save him from a botched surgery?"
This time, I wasn't even in the building. There was no way they could pin it on me.
Or so I thought, until Natalie dropped her bombshell.
"I've already arranged everything. You just need to say you were the lead surgeon and take the fall for him."
"You're relatively new here. Even if an error occurred, the disciplinary board will go easy on you."
Her words hit me like a bucket of ice water.
I was her biological brother. Yet she was casually asking me to ruin my life for Julian.
If I took the blame, my medical license would be revoked, and I could end up in prison.
The trauma of my past life flashed before my eyes.
I refused on the spot.
"He's a licensed surgeon. He messed up, so he needs to face the consequences. Why the hell should I take the fall?"
Chloe grew frantic.
"Aren't colleagues supposed to support each other?"
"If you help Julian through this, we'll all be grateful to you forever!"
Her shameless manipulation snapped the last thread of my patience.
"You care so much about Julian, but did either of you give a damn about me?"
"Don't forget—you're my sister, and you're my girlfriend!"
My voice cracked with suppressed rage.
In my past life, their obsession with Julian drove me to jump off a roof. Did they really think they could push me to my death all over again?
Natalie's face hardened, her tone cold and commanding.
"Ethan, this isn't up for debate. I've already falsified the records to cover Julian. You have to take this hit."
With that, she slammed a thick stack of papers onto my desk.
They had actually fabricated evidence placing me in the operating room.
The paperwork was so flawless that anyone looking at it would believe I performed the surgery.
The lengths they went to for Julian was terrifying. I had truly underestimated how depraved they could be.
Yet, instead of panicking, I looked at them with a calm smile.
"Aren't you worried I'll send all of you to prison for this?""Ethan, what the hell are you talking about?"
"I'm your sister! If you dare pull a stunt like that, Mom and Dad will never forgive you!" Natalie threatened, glaring at me.
To her, I had always been spineless. Whenever she raised her voice, I used to crumble.
She couldn't fathom why I was suddenly pushing back.
I laughed bitterly.
"Oh, now you remember we're family? As my sister, you're setting me up to take the fall for a stranger. Do you even deserve to call yourself my sister?"
"From this moment on, I'm done with both of you. Don't push your luck."
I was completely done with their toxic games.
If they tried anything, I wouldn't hesitate to drag them straight into court.
Seeing that Natalie couldn't intimidate me, Chloe stepped in, playing nice.
"Ethan, don't say that. Natalie won't let you suffer for nothing."
"Julian promised that if you take the blame, he'll give you fifty thousand dollars."
"With your current salary, it would take you at least three or four years to save that much! You're winning either way."
I nearly burst out laughing.
Knowing Julian from my previous life, the guy was an online gambling addict who could barely pay his rent.
Fifty thousand dollars? He didn't even have five hundred in his checking account.
That money was clearly coming out of Natalie and Chloe's own pockets.
Besides, the fallout from this malpractice was fatal. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been driven to suicide in my past life.
Even now, they were still lying through their teeth to trick me.
Their obsession with Julian had turned them into monsters.
I looked at them coldly.
"Fifty grand to buy my entire career? You think I'm that cheap?"
"One year of my medical school tuition cost more than that."
Before they could argue, I sat down and ignored them, sorting through my paperwork.
Both Natalie and Chloe glared at me with vicious hatred, looking ready to rip me apart.
I didn't care.
I had already recorded our entire conversation on my phone.
If they dared cross the line, I would blast the audio everywhere and watch their reputations burn.
Just as I was thinking this, the office door was kicked open.
Julian barged in, grabbed me by the collar, and snarled, "How the hell did you get the OR surveillance footage?"
I pulled his hands off me and smiled calmly.
"If you screw up, you own it. What's wrong with pulling the security tape?"
Having lived through this once, I wasn't stupid.
Before heading to the competition, I had asked a trusted friend in security to pull and back up the timestamped footage of Julian entering the operating room alone.
No matter how they tried to pin it on me, that video proved my innocence.
Hearing this, Natalie stepped forward. "Ethan, accessing security footage without authorization violates hospital policy. Delete that video immediately, or I have every right to fire you."
Looking at her cold face, a smirk spread across my lips.
"Be my guest."
Thanks to my stellar performance at the clinical competition, I had already received multiple offers from top public teaching hospitals.
Their benefits and prestige blew this private clinic out of the water.
I reached into my drawer, pulled out a resignation letter I had prepared days ago, and slapped it on Natalie's desk.
"Here's my resignation. Sign it."
Chapters (4)
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Watch & Promotions
- Search this code in the NovelMaster app:
542034Open NovelMaster → Search code → Find the title