The surgical lights blinded me as I watched through the observation glass. Halle's hands trembled as she made the first incision, her movements jerky and uncertain. The anesthesiologist—a veteran nurse I recognized from countless surgeries—leaned forward, her voice tight with warning.

"Blood pressure dropping," she said, her eyes fixed on the monitors. "We need to stabilize him before proceeding."

Halle waved her away impatiently. "I've got this. Dr. Martin trusts me."

Trusts you? I pressed my palm against the glass, my heart hammering. Theodore had never even mentioned Halle's name to me before tonight. How could he trust her with something so critical?

The surgery progressed with horrifying slowness. Halle's movements became increasingly erratic, her confidence crumbling with each passing minute. When she finally reached the heart, her hands shook so violently that I could see the surgical tools rattling.

"Artery," someone whispered from inside the OR. "She nicked the artery."

A stream of bright red blood spilled across Mr. Martin's chest. Halle froze, her eyes wide with panic as she stared at the spreading crimson stain.

"Call for an attending," the anesthesiologist demanded, her voice sharp with urgency.

"No!" Halle snapped, her voice cracking. "I can fix this."

But she couldn't. I could see it in her eyes—the same terrified uncertainty I'd seen in medical students facing their first crisis. She didn't know what to do.

The monitors began to wail. Mr. Martin's heart rate plummeted, the steady beeps becoming erratic and then slowing to silence.

"Flatline," someone called out. "Crash cart!"

Halle stepped back, stripping off her gloves with mechanical precision. Her face had gone completely white, but her voice remained steady as she turned to the team.

"The equipment failed," she said flatly. "There was nothing we could do."

I screamed then, a raw sound that tore from my throat and echoed through the observation deck. No one heard me—they were too busy trying to revive Mr. Martin—but I couldn't stop screaming.

---

The waiting room was eerily quiet when Theodore finally appeared. I sat hunched in a plastic chair, my entire body numb with shock.

He checked his watch first—that expensive Swiss piece my father had given him when we got engaged—before even glancing at me.

"Time of death?" he asked, his voice clinically detached.

I couldn't speak. Halle emerged from the surgical wing, her eyes rimmed with fake tears, her surgical cap askew in a way that somehow managed to make her look vulnerable and brave at once.

"The heart was too damaged," she said softly, her voice breaking. "We did everything we could, but the myocardial tissue was just... it was already failing when we opened him up."

Theodore nodded absently, still scrolling through his phone. "These things happen."

"These things happen?" I repeated, my voice hollow. "That's all you have to say?"

He finally looked at me, his expression a mixture of impatience and mild annoyance. "What would you like me to say, Avery? It's not like he was someone important."

"He was your father!" The words tore from my throat.

Theodore blinked, then shook his head. "No, that was your father. Mr. Clark. The paperwork must be mixed up."

I stared at him in disbelief. He genuinely didn't know. He didn't even recognize his own father.

"Pull yourself together," Theodore said, his tone softening slightly as he glanced at Halle. "You need to draft a commendation letter for Dr. Cook's residency file. Despite the... unfortunate outcome, her technique was impressive."

Halle's eyes met mine over Theodore's shoulder, a flicker of something triumphant in their depths before she quickly looked away.

---

I sat alone in the hallway after Theodore left to "file paperwork." My mind was a blank slate of shock and grief. Mr. Martin was gone. Theodore didn't even know it was his father who had died on that table.

A soft chime drew my attention to the bench across from me. Theodore's iPad sat there, its screen lighting up with a notification.

I shouldn't look. But something—intuition, perhaps, or simply the need to understand what had happened—made me reach for it.

The screen unlocked at my touch. A text message from Halle glowed brightly against the dark background.

*"At least the old moneybag is gone. Now we don't have to hide. Did you see her face?"*

My fingers trembled as I scrolled back through their conversation. Months of messages unfolded before my eyes—explicit photos, cruel jokes about my family's wealth, plans for their future together.

*"Once we're rid of her,"* Theodore had written just three days ago, *"we can finally stop pretending."*

I scrolled further, my stomach churning with each new revelation. They had been planning this—whatever "this" was—for months. And now Mr. Martin was dead, and somehow that was part of their plan too.

The iPad slipped from my numb fingers, clattering to the floor as the full weight of their betrayal crashed over me like a tidal wave.

I stormed through the hospital corridors, my heels clicking against the polished floor like a ticking bomb. The iPad felt heavy in my hand, its screen still glowing with their betrayal. My entire body trembled with rage, but I forced myself to move faster.

The on-call room door was ajar. I didn't bother knocking.

Theodore had Halle pressed against the wall, his mouth on hers, her leg wrapped around his waist. Their bodies froze when I slammed the door open.

"You forgot something," I said, my voice eerily calm as I hurled the iPad at Theodore's head.

He caught it with practiced ease, his eyes narrowing as he saw the unlocked screen. Halle's face drained of color.

"Avery—" she started, but I cut her off.

"Save it," I hissed, my voice shaking now. "I've seen everything."

Theodore's expression shifted from surprise to something colder, more calculated. He set the iPad down on the counter and straightened his tie.

"Well," he said, his voice dripping with disdain, "now you know."

"You killed him," I whispered, tears burning behind my eyes. "You let him die."

"He was just an old man," Theodore replied with a shrug. "And honestly, I'm glad he's gone. Now I can finally cash in on the Clark estate."

I stared at him in disbelief. "What?"

"Oh, come on, Avery." His laugh was sharp and cruel. "Did you really think I married you for love? Your family's money paid for my education, my career, this hospital position. Now that your father's dead, I inherit everything."

Halle giggled from behind him, her hand trailing down his chest. "Told you she'd be devastated."

Something broke inside me then—not my heart, but the chains that had kept me bound to this monster. I yanked my wedding ring off and threw it into the biohazard bin.

"You have no idea what you've done," I said quietly, my voice steady now. "No idea at all."

---

The next morning, I returned to the hospital early. The morgue attendant looked confused when I asked about Mr. Martin's body.

"Gone?" I repeated, my stomach sinking. "What do you mean gone?"

"Dr. Martin signed the release papers last night," he explained, checking his clipboard. "Said he was handling the arrangements personally."

My blood ran cold. I knew exactly where Theodore would be.

The teaching theater was on the fourth floor, its doors usually closed to all but medical students and staff. Today, though, I could hear voices from inside—Theodore's clinical tone and Halle's high-pitched laugh.

I pushed the door open.

The scene before me was worse than anything I could have imagined. Theodore stood behind a dissecting table, a group of wide-eyed students gathered around him. On the table lay Mr. Martin's body, his chest cavity open and exposed.

"We're demonstrating the pathology of failure," Theodore explained to the students, his voice detached as he pointed to the heart. "Note the extensive damage to the myocardial tissue."

Halle stood beside him, giggling as she held a surgical saw. "Like butter," she said, her eyes gleaming with malicious delight.

I couldn't breathe. The room spun around me as I watched them mutilate the body of the man who had been more father to me than Theodore ever was.

"Theodore," I choked out, my voice barely audible.

He looked up, annoyed at the interruption. "Not now, Avery. Can't you see we're in the middle of something?"

I turned and vomited in the corner, my body rejecting the horror before me.

---

Three days later, an email went out to the entire hospital staff. Theodore had organized a "Celebration of Life" party on the hospital roof.

"In honor of Arthur Clark," the invitation read, "beloved father of Avery Martin, we invite you to join us for a celebration of his life and legacy."

I read it in my office, my hands shaking with fury. He was already positioning himself as the grieving son-in-law, master of the Clark fortune.

The final paragraph made my blood boil: "As a special tribute, we will be releasing fireworks created from Arthur's cremated remains, ensuring his memory lights up the Seattle sky forever."

He had cremated Mr. Martin without permission. Without even notifying me.

---

Halle's TikTok video appeared that afternoon. She danced in the morgue, her scrubs unbuttoned one button too many, a hand resting on Theodore's shoulder as he watched from behind the camera.

"Out with the old, in with the bold #DoctorBae #NewChapter," the caption read. She had tagged me.

The video had already gotten thousands of views by the time I saw it.

With trembling fingers, I forwarded the link to Marcus Williams, my family's attorney, along with screenshots of Theodore and Halle's texts.

"File this with everything else," I wrote. "And send copies to the hospital board."

Marcus's reply came almost instantly: "Are you ready for what comes next?"

I looked at the video again—Halle's smug smile, Theodore's possessive hand on her waist—and felt something cold settle in my chest.

"Yes," I typed back. "I'm ready."