The secret of the operating room
Chapter One
My husband, Mark, pulled the plug on my C-section the day of the surgery, replacing my top-dollar surgeon with his childhood sweetheart, Chloe.
“Honey, Chloe’s residency review is awful, she’s on the verge of getting kicked out. If she can successfully perform this surgery, she’ll get a special exception!”
“Just do her a favor! A C-section is easy peasy! It’s not like she’s gonna mess anything up! Unless you just want some other dude gawking at your bits?”
I shook my head furiously, refusing to let the unqualified Chloe near my incision. But Mark had already signed the consent form, and threatened to leave me without anesthesia if I protested.
In the operating room, Chloe deliberately skipped the anesthesia. I passed out from the pain, only to wake up to more excruciating agony. Chloe, my so-called surgeon, was leisurely using the scalpel to file her nails. “Can’t handle it already? Serves you right for stealing Mark from me!”
I screamed for help, hoping the experts outside could intervene, but Chloe held a scalpel to my throat. “You just don’t want me to succeed! Scream again, and I swear I’ll kill your baby!”
For my baby, I fell silent. But Chloe’s incompetence caused the umbilical cord to wrap around the baby’s neck, suffocating my child. I collapsed into despair.
I woke up to a distraught Mark. He was beside himself with regret, but I felt…a strange sense of peace.
1
“No way! Dr. Smith is the specialist I’ve been waiting five months to see! He’s the best C-section surgeon in town! And I shelled out $20,000 just to get him to do this at this fancy private hospital! You can’t just swap him out like that!”
The intense pain had me drenched in sweat, but I clung to Dr. Smith’s sleeve, refusing to let them remove him. Mark stood by, impatient.
“Money, money, money! Is twenty grand more important than Chloe’s future? This is the best private hospital in the city! If she gets fired, no other hospital will hire her. What about her dreams of being a doctor? You only ever think about yourself!”
I stared at Mark in disbelief. “Mark! I’m your wife! This baby is ours! How can you risk our lives by letting Chloe, someone who can barely pass her residency, operate on me?!”
Dr. Smith added grimly, “Your baby’s breech, and there’s a risk of the umbilical cord wrapping around its neck. If an unqualified person performs the surgery, it could be fatal for both you and the baby.”
The door burst open, revealing Chloe, already in scrubs, looking like a wounded rabbit. Her eyes were red-rimmed, but her expression was resolute.
“Yes, Dr. Smith, you’re very skilled, but you can’t just criticize my skills! And sister-in-law, I know you don’t like me, but I won’t accept you dumping your personal issues onto my career. It’s an insult!”
“If you don’t want me to do this surgery, fine! I’ll leave this hospital, become a nurse somewhere else. It’s better than being unfairly accused.”
Chloe started to remove her scrubs.
Mark grabbed her hand. “Chloe, what are you saying? At least here, I, as an investor, can protect you. If you go elsewhere, you’ll get bullied. You’re too good-natured to survive anywhere else. Stay with me. I’ll always protect you. Don’t listen to them.”
With a gesture, Mark’s security guards escorted Dr. Smith out.
I tried to sit up, but Chloe performing the surgery was a death sentence. I wouldn’t consent.
But Mark looked at me like I was insane. “Lana, it’s just a C-section. Plenty of women in this country deliver babies on the street, you getting one is a luxury! You’re so spoiled! I’ve never heard of one going wrong!”
I scoffed. “You’re a shareholder here! Why doesn’t your hospital just promote her? Just give her a promotion, done!”
Mark’s expression softened, he sighed, “I wish I could, but Chloe…”
Chloe clenched her fists, tears streaming down her face.
“Mark said I could be head of the department, but I refused. I want to earn everyone’s respect fairly! I want to become a top OB/GYN through my skills!”
“Sister-in-law, even if you’re a big-city woman, it’s still undressing for a surgery. You wouldn’t want anyone other than Mark seeing you naked, right? Especially since you specifically requested Dr. Smith, what will others think of Mark? He’s generous enough not to mind, but as his younger sister, I have to defend him!”
Chloe’s voice rose. “I’ve wanted to be a doctor since I was little, to help women avoid these kinds of judgments! I don’t understand, I’m the only female doctor in this hospital. You could have chosen me, but you insisted on Dr. Smith. What secrets are you hiding?”
I looked at Chloe, trying to understand her words, but anger bubbled up, and my stomach cramped violently.
Seeing my pale face, Mark rushed to check on me, then ordered everyone out.
“Honey, you’re in labor! Let’s talk later! Just trust Chloe. She won’t hurt you! Mom and baby’s safety is what matters most!”
He turned to leave.
I used my last strength to grab his hand, whispering, “Another doctor, anyone but Chloe.”
Mark clenched his fist, released my hand, and signed the consent form. “Lana, I know you have issues with Chloe, but she’s right, she’s the only suitable person to operate on you. I, Mark, won’t allow my wife to be seen naked by other men.”
“Any delay is dangerous for both you and the baby, and it will make things harder for Chloe. I won’t let you delay this any longer. If you refuse Chloe, you don’t get any anesthesia.”
My throat tightened, I couldn’t speak. Mark knew I hated pain, yet he was willing to let me suffer for Chloe’s advancement. He felt so distant.
Before I could react, he swiftly cleared the room, and then tenderly hugged Chloe. “Go on, do your best. I’ll always be here for you!”
They embraced, and I passed out from the pain.
Before losing consciousness, I heard Chloe’s sweet voice, “Mark, can I make a request? I want to do this surgery alone, without an assistant, because…”
Mark put a finger to her lips. “Chloe, you don’t need to explain. I trust you.”
When I woke up, it was to excruciating pain.
The sterile white ceiling greeted me, and below, a horrifying red gash. I was strapped to the table, my abdomen sliced open, blood pooling around the exposed placenta struggling to detach.
Every movement of the baby tore at my wound, sending me into violent spasms. My vision briefly blacked out from the pain.
Chloe had opened my belly without anesthesia!
“Chloe, what are you doing! Why no anesthesia?! Pain! Anesthesia…”
My survival instinct forced me to plead.
Chloe sat on a stool, nonchalantly filing her nails!
I called for help, she finally stood up, frowning. “Quiet! It’s almost the chorus!”
She was wearing Bluetooth earbuds and listening to music!
I struggled to move, but the wound prevented me, so I cried, “Help! Dr. Smith! Help!”
Chloe impatiently removed her earbuds and slapped me. “Shut up! You wanted everyone to come in, didn’t you? You just want to sabotage me! I’ll tell you what, your life and your baby’s life are in my hands. Misbehave, and I’ll kill your child!”
I closed my eyes, breathing deeply, the absurdity overwhelming me.
“Chloe, you said you dreamed of saving lives and helping women! You wanted to prove yourself! You killed my child, you’ll destroy your own dreams!”
Chloe laughed.
“Lana, you believe everything I say! I had to say those things for Mark to trust me with you. But actually, this is my chance to torture you properly.”
“Why did you marry Mark? Why did you try to sabotage us, even have his baby?!”
“He’ll always choose me, you’re just a fling. Trying to trap him with a baby? Dream on!”
My body went cold.
“You planned to kill my child from the start?”
“Of course not. If the baby died, Mark would blame me! I already had a plan. Just wait. After today, he’ll discard you, he won’t even look at you again. If you’re smart, you’ll divorce him, and I’ll let you suffer less, let your baby live.”
But things were beyond her control.
My maternal instinct told me the baby’s heartbeat was weakening.
“Chloe, I’ll do anything, just save the baby. Dr. Smith said the umbilical cord is around its neck, it’s urgent! Save the baby!”
“Shut up!”
Chloe yelled, “Dr. Smith, Dr. Smith! I hate those old-fashioned doctors! What does he know? Did he even see the baby? He just wanted to belittle me! There’s no cord around the neck, the baby is perfectly healthy, it’s asleep!”
“And I know what you’re up to! Once the baby cries, Mark will rush in to save you. You fell into my hands, I won’t let you go easily, I haven’t had enough fun torturing you yet!”
She sneered, and slashed my abdomen again.
I screamed. It felt like my insides were being ripped apart.
The closer she got to my organs, the more intense the pain, my body trembled violently.
“Lana, do you know what you deserve? My residency should have been approved! All because of you! Mark listened to your nonsense, ruining my performance review, putting me on the verge of being fired. This is all your fault!”
I remembered the incident. Before my pregnancy, I’d gone to the hospital for low blood sugar and witnessed workplace bullying.
In the stairwell, a masked girl was beating up another girl. I intervened, and she knocked me down.
Mark had arrived and stopped her. I told Mark to find the intern and penalize her, which led to her failing her review.
The masked girl was Chloe.
“If you hadn’t interfered, I wouldn’t have been penalized! Mark wouldn’t have looked at me that way! He’d never looked at me like that before!”
Chloe, always portraying a virtuous image to Mark, couldn’t report this, so she endured the penalty. Now, she was taking it out on me.
My body was shutting down, my consciousness fading.
The call button buzzed.
Chloe cursed, answered the phone.
Mark’s voice, “Chloe, what’s wrong? Lana seems to be in terrible pain. Something wrong?”
Chloe glared at me, covered the phone, “You’re lucky!”
Then calmly, “No, Mark. Lana’s pain tolerance is high. The surgery is almost done. I’ll stitch her up, you’ll see the baby soon!”
“How’s my baby? Is it healthy? Does it look like me?”
Chloe had an air of confidence, a hint of amusement. “You’ll see soon enough.”
Mark hesitated, “Since she’s awake, give her the phone, I have something to say.”
Chloe raised an eyebrow, happily handed me the phone.
Mark’s voice filled my ear.
“Lana, the head doctor will see you after surgery. Be calm, praise Chloe, thank her for saving your life. Understand? I’m counting on you.”
I could barely hear Mark.
My heart was broken. Seven years of love for Mark died as I gave birth to his child.
I gave a bitter laugh, “Mark, it’s a boy. Go to the nursery, prepare his crib.”
Mark coughed uncomfortably, “Of course, I’ll take care of my son.”
Mark didn’t see Chloe’s face turn pale.
After hanging up, I smiled.
“Chloe, I know what your plan is. You’re going to replace my baby with a fake one, convincing Mark I cheated, silently killing our child.”
“You delayed so I wouldn’t realize. The baby’s life or death was irrelevant to you! You’d just pretend, your people would bring in a replacement, killing two birds with one stone.”
“This hospital only has one room for newborns: the nursery. Mark has perfect memory. With him there, your people won’t dare act. Your plan is foiled Chloe. To save face and your career, you have to save my child.”
Chloe panicked, removed the placenta, frantically untangling the umbilical cord.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
Pain beyond my endurance enveloped me. I refused to pass out, I needed to outsmart Chloe and save my child.
I won. My body felt as if thousands of needles were piercing me, my brain went blank.
Before I fainted, I saw Chloe’s sweating, terrified face.
“What’s happening? Why is it purple? How do I untie this cord? I don’t remember! What do I do?”
“Hey! Baby, don’t die! If you die, it’ll ruin me! Your dad will hate me!”
The door slammed open. Mark stormed in, his face grim, “What did you say?”
I coughed up blood and fainted.
