Call It Murder!

My mother-in-law was rushed to the hospital with sudden chest pain and sent straight into emergency surgery. However, my wife, who was the head of the thoracic department, insisted that her clueless young male apprentice be the lead surgeon instead.

The apprentice stood in front of the operating table. He couldn’t even recognize half of the surgical instruments laid out before him.

He pouted and fidgeted a little. “I forgot again…”

My wife just smiled indulgently at him. Even though the patient’s chest had been opened, she patiently spent ten minutes explaining the instruments to him before the surgery finally began.

In the end, the apprentice’s hand trembled, and he accidentally punctured the tumor. Terrified, he let out a sharp scream and threw himself into my wife’s arms. To console him, my mother-in-law’s only chance at survival was gone, and she died right there on the operating table.

My wife walked out of the operating room, supporting her badly shaken apprentice, and glanced at me indifferently.

“Before you take your mother’s body away, provide an affidavit of non-prosecution to the hospital. Your mom couldn’t have been saved anyway. Anthony is still young. His future can’t be ruined because of your mother.”

Only then did I realize that she thought the person lying on that operating table was my mother.

I chuckled and said, “I'm afraid I'm not qualified to do that.”

Laura Johnson clicked her tongue impatiently.

“Are you refusing to do it? Be grateful. If you won’t provide an affidavit of non-prosecution, what are you planning to do instead? Cause a scene at the hospital?”

Anthony Stilton slowly lifted his head from Laura’s shoulder, looking weak and pitiful.

“Ms. Laurie, please don’t be angry with Felix. His mom just died, after all. It’s normal for him to feel upset…” As he spoke, he began pounding his chest in anguish. “It’s my fault the patient couldn’t be saved. I’m useless. If my medical skills were better, then no one would have died…”

Laura looked heartbroken. There was a softness in her eyes that I had never seen before.

“Anthony, you’re too kind. Don’t blame yourself for everything. With his mother’s condition, no matter who operated, she couldn’t have been saved. How could this possibly be your fault?”

Then, she turned toward me, her gaze cold.

“Felix, do you have to push the kid so far? Come on, provide an affidavit of non-prosecution. And while you’re at it, get him a thank-you bouquet for Anthony to show your gratitude. Write him a note that says he’s a kind-hearted healer with the compassion of a true doctor. Got it?”

I nearly lost control of my expression. This was completely absurd. When Laura heard that I had brought my mother-in-law to the hospital, she rushed over immediately with Anthony in tow. I had thought she was worried about her mother’s condition and wanted to perform the surgery herself. Instead, she let an intern, someone who had only been at the hospital for two months, take the lead as the lead surgeon.

Now the patient was dead, and the family was supposed to thank the doctor? However, since Laura herself seemed to think her mother deserved to die, what was there left for me to say?

I suppressed a smile and nodded repeatedly. “Of course, I agree not to pursue the matter, but this isn’t something I can decide alone. How about this? I’ll record a short audio clip of you confirming that you agree as well. That way, it’ll be easier for me to handle the hospital paperwork.”

Laura looked at me as if I were an idiot.

“Are you stupid? That’s your mother, not mine. What does your mother's dying have to do with me?”

For a moment, the expression on her face felt strangely familiar. Then, I remembered that not long ago, I had seen my mother-in-law’s medical report of her tumor diagnosis in her room. She had begged me again and again not to tell Laura because Laura was at a critical stage in her career, and she didn’t want Laura to lose focus because of her illness. Yet somehow, Laura eventually found the report anyway.

Seeing the pleading look in my mother-in-law’s eyes, I had no choice but to lie. I told Laura that the report belonged to my own mother. However, only now did I finally understand the strange expression she had shown at the time; she had been gloating.

Seeing that I remained silent while stubbornly holding up my phone to record, she finally spoke impatiently, “Fine, fine. I, Laura, agree not to pursue the matter. Happy now? Now move aside. Can’t you see Anthony is exhausted from performing surgery?”

Anthony shrank deeper into my wife’s arms. With those clear, foolish-looking eyes, he smirked in my direction, as if trying to provoke me.

Laura shoved past me and glanced sideways at me.

“Stop behaving as if the world did you wrong. With your mom’s condition, even if she stayed alive until the end of this year, she wouldn’t have made it past next year.”

She wasn’t wrong. I just hoped that when she found out the one who died was her mother, she would still be so carefree.

While the hospital staff transferred the body to the morgue, someone from the medical administration department came to speak with me. The hospital was put in a difficult position. After all, Laura was both the lead surgeon and a family member of the patient.

Before they could say anything, I provided an affidavit of non-prosecution along with the audio recording of Laura’s agreement. The doctors all stared at me in shock.

After leaving the administration office, I headed toward the morgue. Halfway there, I ran into Laura and Anthony walking hand in hand. When she saw that I was on my way to claim the body, she immediately stood in my way and slapped a piece of paper against my face.

“Sign it.”