Yolanda clutched her face, staring at me in disbelief. Her eyes were red, a mix of shock and anger, though she tried to keep up her helpless act.

“You… you hit me…”

I slapped her again, sending her stumbling. My tone was cold. “Yes, I hit you.”

“Yolanda, I can’t stand incompetence. If you’re so clueless, go back and get your act together. Don’t come here and mess things up!”

“You knew I had a scalpel and still charged at me like that. Were you trying to hurt me or kill the patient?”

Her eyes flashed with hatred, but she forced herself to look hurt and said in a small voice, “I was just trying to stop you from making things worse.”

“The patient was stable before. It was only after you reopened the chest that their condition deteriorated.”

I pointed at the blood-soaked gauze. “Stable? You left gauze inside the patient during stitching. How is that ‘stable’?”

“Do you only understand the severity when someone’s life is in danger?”

“Did all your training go to waste?”

Yolanda, twisting her clothes, looked pitiful. “It’s not that serious. The patient didn’t die, did they?”

I was furious. “Is it only serious when someone dies? That’s a human life we’re talking about!”

Yolanda pouted and threw herself into Vincent’s arms, crying dramatically.

“Waa… I’m really sorry… I didn’t mean to… I’ve always been this clumsy…”

“Waa… Vincent, she hurt me so much…”

Vincent shot me a disapproving look. “Wendy, that’s enough! You’re frightening Yolanda.”

I was fuming. “If you’re so aware of your own incompetence, then stay out of trouble and don’t make things worse for everyone else!”

Yolanda grumbled, “I’ve already apologized. What more do you want from me?”

I scoffed. “An apology? Do you think a few tears and a weak apology can fix a life? Do you really think your apology means anything?”

“And you, always playing the delicate little thing. How old are you? Haven’t you learned how to communicate properly?”

“Yolanda, stop pretending to be cute. It’s just gross!”

I turned to Vincent and said coldly, “Your lapses in protocol and Yolanda’s incompetence almost caused a major disaster and worsened the patient’s condition. I’m going to report this exactly as it happened.”

“And Yolanda, you’d better figure out how you’re going to explain this to the patient’s family.”

“There’s no way she’s passing her internship with such a lack of professionalism and respect for life.”

Someone like her is a danger to this hospital.

Yolanda was my intern, but from the moment she started at the hospital, she’d treated me like an enemy, constantly at odds with me.

I thought about it carefully and realized her hostility probably began the moment she learned that Vincent was my boyfriend.

One person deliberately stirring trouble, the other just going along with it.

They were a match made in heaven, it seemed.

With that thought, I turned on my heel and walked away, ignoring Vincent’s dark expression.

Behind me, Yolanda’s wailing voice echoed.

“Waa… Vincent, why does she have to target me like this…”

Less than half an hour later, a nurse came to find me.

“Doctor Ellison, the department head wants to see you in his office.”

She looked worried and leaned into a whisper, “It seems Yolanda said something that made the department head really angry. Be careful.”

As I made my way to the office, I noticed nurses whispering and pointing at me.

I caught snippets of words like “offend” and “director’s daughter.”

The director’s daughter?

Frowning, I entered the department head’s office.

The moment I stepped inside, a pen flew straight at me.

I barely dodged it, but it struck my temple, sending a sharp pain through my head. It was a close call, just inches from my eye.

The department head slammed his hand on the desk and glared at me. “Wendy! What on earth are you thinking?”

“You treat patient lives like a game, trying to grab the spotlight during surgery and causing a major error that nearly killed the patient.”

“If Yolanda hadn’t intervened and fixed your mistake, you’d be responsible for a death today!”

“And on top of that, you dared to hit someone. You’ve completely overstepped!”

“Apologize to Yolanda, immediately!”

Three years ago, when I first graduated and started my internship at the hospital, it was the head who took me under his wing. I respected him deeply and saw him as a mentor.

In my previous life, when the patient’s family came to the hospital in an uproar, he knew the truth but still conspired with Vincent to throw me under the bus.

He demanded my dismissal without giving me a chance to defend myself.

Even though I was prepared for his bias toward Yolanda’s lies, experiencing it again still stung.

Vincent stood to the side, avoiding my gaze, his expression conflicted.

Yolanda, almost deliberately, pressed her arm close to Vincent’s, looking smug like a rooster that had won a fight.

Her eyes seemed to show her victory.

Look, your mentor, and your boyfriend, both are on my side.

I met her challenging gaze and asked coldly, “Apologize? Why should I? I haven’t done anything wrong!”

“Yolanda, did I really make a major mistake in the surgery that nearly killed the patient?”

Yolanda responded with a sugary smile and a soft, innocent tone, playing the role of the magnanimous victim. “Yolanda, even though you made a big mistake and inexplicably hit me, I’m not bothered. No need to apologize.”

“But the patient is innocent. They were already suffering from their illness. I hope you can show some professional ethics in the future and not harm patients.”

The director added with a scowl, “Wendy, look how generous and understanding Yolanda is. You should learn from her!”

Watching their charade, their distortion of the truth was nauseating. I sneered, “Learn? Learn to lie through her teeth, to be hypocritical, to twist facts, and to use others' misfortunes for her gain?”

Yolanda's eyes were wide with indignation, tears welling up as she clung to Vincent’s chest, her voice taking on a pitiful tone. “Vincent, she’s bullying me again…”

I ignored Yolanda’s thinly veiled provocation and raised an eyebrow.

“Vincent, you were the lead surgeon and present throughout the operation.”

“You saw firsthand whether I mishandled the instruments, caused the patient’s severe bleeding, or left a piece of gauze inside the patient, nearly leading to a major medical disaster.”

I locked eyes with him, waiting to see him twist the truth right in front of me.

He shifted uncomfortably, instinctively avoiding my gaze, his demeanor awkward.

After three years together, he knew me well, and I knew him just as well.

His guilt was palpable.

But feeling Yolanda snuggle closer, he squared his shoulders, as if to claim the moral high ground.

“Wendy, not only are you refusing to admit your mistakes, but you’re also trying to tarnish Yolanda’s reputation. I’m deeply disappointed in you.”

“Fine, remember today’s falsehoods. You might regret them later.”

I smiled.

He didn’t realize that every slanderous word would turn into ammunition for my revenge, and soon enough, he’d face the repercussions.

The department head pounded the desk, making it shake. “Enough!”

“I was ready to overlook this, especially since Yolanda went to bat for you, but how dare you be so confrontational in front of me!”

“You have no sense of professional ethics and are unfit to practice medicine! I’m reporting you to the dean and recommending your dismissal!”

I responded calmly, “I believe you’ve forgotten that the entire surgery was recorded.”

“The truth will be clear once we review the footage.”

The head’s face faltered, his eyes shifting to Yolanda, who suddenly looked alarmed and distressed.

She subtly tugged at Vincent’s sleeve, giving him a knowing glance. Then, her eyes filled with tears, and they began to fall one by one.

With a heart-wrenching sob, she pointed at me, her voice quivering with feigned grief. “Wendy, I know you’ve never liked me. From the start of my internship, you’ve been out to get me.”

“Now you’re trying to destroy me. Is that what you want? To drive me to my breaking point?”

“Fine, if it’ll make you happy, I’ll prove my innocence by… by ending it all…”

She buried her face in her hands, her cries echoing as she stormed out, attracting the attention of everyone in the hospital.

“Yolanda!”

The head leaped up to follow her, but as he passed me, he raised his hand, ready to strike. “You heartless woman! Look at what you’ve done to Yolanda!”

“Go and beg her to forgive you, right now!”

I grabbed his hand as he swung at me and threw it off forcefully, locking eyes with him.

My intense gaze seemed to shake him, and he, clearly unnerved, backed off and rushed out in a hurry.

I smirked and paused the recording on my phone.

Yolanda's performance was too good to be seen by just me.

The footage from the operating room was bait. Anyone with a grudge would definitely take it.

In my past life, I vowed not to let anyone who falsely accused or wronged me go unpunished. This time, I would make sure of it.

When I reached the rooftop, it was already packed with onlookers.

Yolanda clung to the railing, looking as if she might tie herself to it.

Despite the crowd’s pleas, she remained silent, her tears making her look heartbreakingly innocent.

I scanned the crowd and, as I expected, didn’t see Vincent.

He was probably busy dealing with the footage.

I couldn’t help but smile wryly.

Just like last time, Yolanda’s stunt was meant to draw attention and force Vincent into deleting the critical evidence.

Her life was her leverage, used to manipulate me into confessing guilt publicly. Even if

I tried to explain later that my confession was just to save her, with the evidence destroyed and Vincent’s testimony against me, there would be no way to defend myself.

As soon as I stepped onto the rooftop, the drama that had been meticulously staged for me began.

Yolanda’s sobs grew even more frantic.

“Wendy, why are you doing this to me?” she cried. “Waa… If it’s what you want, I’ll do it. I’ll jump! Is that what you want?”

The unfounded accusations suddenly put me in the spotlight.

Here was a tearful damsel in distress, while I stood there with my arms crossed, looking cold and indifferent.

Naturally, I was cast as the villain, the one who drove her to the brink.

Especially since Yolanda had already spread her version of the story before I even got to the department head’s office.

Almost everyone was convinced that I had bullied an intern, made critical mistakes during surgery that nearly led to a major medical disaster, and then shifted all the blame onto Yolanda.

Now, I was accused of using my authority to force her to jump from the roof.

The department head was pale with fear, desperately trying to calm Yolanda down.

He even suggested that I should kneel and beg for her forgiveness, admitting to all the “crimes” I supposedly committed.

If I didn't comply, it was as if I was directly pushing her towards death.

With everyone watching, I couldn’t just let her jump.

That would be illegal.

So, I put on a face of concern and urgency, trying to talk her down.

“Yolanda, come down! I promise I’ll take the blame for you!”

“I admit I left the gauze in the patient, and it almost killed them. It has nothing to do with you. The patient being in the ICU isn’t your fault!”

“I’ve admitted to everything. Please, just don’t jump…”

It was all an act, just another scene in this twisted play.

I stepped closer, pretending to care while she flailed her arms, shouting that I was forcing her to her death.

As soon as I saw the opportunity, I grabbed her hand tightly.

“Yolanda!”

I heard Vincent’s pained and trembling voice from behind.

As if desperately trying to hold onto her, I made it look like I was trying to prevent Yolanda from falling.

In reality, I gave her a hard shove and whispered in her ear, “If you really want to jump, then go ahead.”