In my previous life, I am reunited with the Duran family.

To protect the adopted girl, my brother, Adrian Duran, frames me for causing her illness to flare up. My parents believe him and throw me out of the house.

Not long afterward, I die from illness on the streets.

When I open my eyes again, I am back on the day I am brought back to the Duran residence.

Adrian stands before our parents and points at me. "Mom, Dad, she's not my sister."

The Durans look at me with disappointment before turning around and leaving.

I stand there silently and do not take out the crystal pendant that can prove my identity. Instead, I quietly walk back to the orphanage.

20 years later, I become one of the country's leading cardiologists.

The man sitting across from me hands over a medical file and speaks in a trembling voice. "Doctor, please... please save my sister."

I pause when I see the name. My gaze settles on his worn and exhausted face.

After staring at him for a long moment, I finally look up and say, "I won't be taking this patient."

Adrian Duran froze. "What did you just say?"

I closed the medical records and slid the file across the table back to him.

"I will not accept this patient."

The entire consultation room fell silent. Adrian stared at me, the frown on his face deepening.

Adeline Duran might look pale while sitting in her wheelchair, but she still seemed to have a lot of energy in her.

It had been 20 years since, and they looked like they'd been living a good life. Adrian was the eldest son of the Duran family, and naturally, he was now the successor to the massive Duran Group. Meanwhile, Adeline had become the family's most precious apple of their eyes.

They probably would also never recognize me, the bespectacled head cardiologist before them, as the real Duran heiress that they once kept out of their home.

"I know that you're the most authoritative cardiologist in the city, and it's not easy for us to get an appointment with you. But you don't have to worry about the money. You can charge us whatever amount you want as long as you can save my sister," Adrian said, placing a black card on my desk.

I looked down at the card before looking back at him again.

"The hospital has rules, and I will not admit her because her condition is not within my treatment scope."

"What do you mean by that?" Adrian asked, stunned again. "I've inquired about you, and you've even managed to save patients with advanced heart failure. But Adeline only has a heart murmur and occasional cramps. And you're saying that you can't treat her?"

Adeline coughed twice and tugged at Adrian's sleeve. "Forget about it, Adrian… I don't want to see you lowering yourself like this on my behalf…"

The look on her face was exactly the same as when she accused me of pushing her down the stairs in my past life.

Adrian felt a pang of heartache and grabbed her hand. When he looked at me again, his eyes were as sharp as knives.

"You think that the money isn't enough, do you, Dr. Knight? Then, let me try another way.

"If you take Adeline in as your patient today, Duran Group will donate 30 million dollars worth of hospital equipment to your cardiology department. Is that enough?"

Several interns behind me gasped, but I didn't even lift my eyes to look at him.

"Mr. Duran, I only admit my patients based on their illnesses, not their money. And I will not treat your sister's illness. Kindly take your black card and get out of my office."

Adrian laughed coldly. He sneered, his eyes filled with utter contempt.

"So, you're not confident that you can cure my sister? And you call yourself a top expert and top authority in cardiology? I bet it's all just empty talk!"

"Don't argue anymore, Adrian… My chest hurts…"

"Adeline!"

Adrian panicked as he quickly called his bodyguard over to wheel her out. When they reached the door, he turned back to me and glared.

I touched the cold crystal pendant in my pocket after they were gone.

…

Early the next morning, I'd only just completed my rounds when the hospital dean, Dr. John Gallagher, who used to always have a smile on his face, barged into my office with a dark look on his face.

"You're fired, Dr. Stella Knight."

I stopped writing my reports and looked up at him.

"What's the reason for it?"

"Reason?"

Dr. Gallagher scoffed. "What kind of attitude did you show Mr. Duran yesterday? Don't you know that all doctors have a duty to treat all of their patients? You don't have any conscience or professional ethics at all! How dare you refuse to treat a critically ill patient!"

My gaze shifted downward, landing on the brand-new Rolex watch on his wrist.

It wasn't there yesterday.

I understood at once.

"So, how much did he 'donate' to you?" I asked calmly.

Dr. Gallagher's face changed. Then, he hollered at me in fury and said, "What nonsense are you spouting! This is a decision made by the hospital's board of directors!

"Now pack up your things and get out of here!"

I didn't say a thing. Instead, I took off my doctor's coat, folded it neatly, and placed it on the back of my chair. Then, I picked up the car keys on my desk and turned to leave.

Adrian was waiting in the middle of the hospital lobby, standing by a pillar there with a pair of sunglasses on his head and a hand in his pocket.

It was clear that he was waiting for me.

When he saw me walking out with a cardboard box of my things, he took off his sunglasses and gave me a smug grin.

"Say, aren't you getting off work a little too early today, Dr. Knight? Weren't you pretty stubborn when you rejected me yesterday? Oh, no, how did you end up getting fired over it?"

He then leaned in closer to me and said in a low voice, "Not a single hospital in the entire country will ever dare to employ you again, Stella Knight."

He then looked at me, waiting for me to express my shock or disbelief and fall to my knees to beg him for mercy.

However, I did none of that.

I just stared back at him quietly.

He frowned, as if he weren't satisfied with my response.

"I can give you a way out of this, however. You will come to the Duran household and be Adeline's private doctor. You will be on call 24 hours a day. And if you manage to treat her illness, then I can promise you that you won't have to worry about another day in your life again.

"So, what do you say?"

I suddenly chuckled. "Adrian Duran."

He was stunned.

"Did you really think the Durans were the only wealthy and influential family in the whole world?"

I didn't waste another breath on him and strode right out of the hospital, leaving him behind.

He didn't know that I wasn't just the deputy dean of this hospital, Gemmington Central Hospital, or just a well-known cardiologist in the city.

I was also a nationally appointed cardiologist and the only adoptive daughter of Sylvester Knight, the most esteemed and highly respected cardiologist behind Gemmington's biggest medical company, Knight Medical Group.

I was only working here as a cardiologist to hone my skills and complete the training assessment that Dad set for me.

The true national authority in medicine was the Knight family, and nobody else.

And yet, Adrian still thought that he could blacklist me from this industry?

What a joke!

That night, while scrolling on my phone, I suddenly realized that my name was trending on social media.

I was also included in a couple of trending hashtags on X, like "#LeadingCardiologistRefusedCriticalPatients", "#StellaKnightAcceptsBribes", "#EthicallyChallengedColdBloodedDoctor", and more.

A video was also wildly circulating online. It showed Adeline in a wheelchair, her face pale and haggard, clutching at her chest, while Adrian pleaded with me by her side to treat her.

"Dr. Knight, please save my sister… We've brought the money…"

The camera then cut to me, showing my cold expression as I said, "I will not treat your sister's illness. Kindly take your black card and get out of my office."

Immediately after that, an account claiming to be an "insider" revealed in a pinned comment, saying, "I'm working at Gemmington Central Hospital, and I can confirm that this is true! Dr. Knight is a horrible doctor, and she also accepts bribes by the side!

"She claimed that the bribe amount from the Durans was insufficient, and that was the reason why she refused to treat their daughter! But the dean already found out about it and has already fired her this afternoon!"

The rest of the comments under that were all insults and curses directed at me.

"That bitch! How could a vicious woman like her even be a doctor at this point?"

"Even capitalists have more conscience than she does! This doctor is so heartless. She needs to be thoroughly investigated!"

"I heard that she'd been banned across the Internet. Serves her right! Scum of the earth like her deserves to die!"

Adeline then posted on her social media accounts, showing a photo of her wrist receiving an IV drip, her skin pale and bluish. The caption read, "My life might be counting down now, but I still believe that there's light in this world. It's not Dr. Knight's fault. It's just my bad luck."

Hundreds of people rushed into my direct messages, insulted me with filthy words, edited photos of my tombstone, cursed my entire family, and more.

I just scoffed internally. Dr. Gallagher was the one who accepted the bribe from them to fire me this afternoon, and yet, he turned the arrows toward me instead and accused me of his own crime.

I'd already experienced the exact same treatment in my past life.

Adeline had another one of her "episodes", and Adrian then publicly accused me of worsening her condition, posting a maliciously edited video of me online and spreading lies about me online, slandering me and destroying my reputation altogether.

I called Adrian.

It took a couple of rings for him to finally answer the phone.

His smug, contemptuous voice came from the other end.

"Aw, what is it? Has Dr. Knight finally decided to come to her senses after all?"

I ignored his opening line. Instead, I said, "I will agree to treat your sister, Adrian Duran."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. Then, Adrian's arrogant laugh was heard.

"You should have agreed to it earlier if you knew that this was going to happen sooner or later."

I interrupted him and said, "But I have one condition. I want this consultation to be live-streamed online."

Adrian's laughter stopped abruptly.

"Live-streamed?" he echoed, his voice turning cold. "Don't you know that you're being attacked left and right online right now, Stella Knight? And you still think that isn't enough? You want them to curse you even more?"

I glanced out the window, my lips curling slightly upward.

"Wouldn't that be something you want? Millions of people would see me finally giving in and bowing to you and treating your sister's treatment in real time.

"And I could even use the opportunity to admit my faults to the online community and give myself a way out of this."

Adrian fell silent. Seconds later, he let out an extremely pleased hum.

"You're a person of principle, Stella. Fine. Since you want to be openly criticized and humiliated that much, I will grant you your wish."

"One more thing," I said, cutting in. "You must not let Adeline know about the livestream. She's a patient. If she knows that millions of people are watching her, I'm afraid she will get agitated and overstimulated. And if anything happens to her because of that, I refuse to be held liable for it."

Adrian agreed at once without even lingering on the thought.

…

Early the next morning, I arrived at the appointment venue that he picked, which was the VIP ICU room on the top floor of Gemmington Central Hospital.

Two familiar people were standing at the door. It was a couple in their 50s. The man was tall and strong, wearing a dark gray wool sweater, while the woman was wearing a navy blue coat, looking poised and elegant.

They were Jeremy Duran and Florence White, Adrian's parents.

"You must be Dr. Stella Knight," Florence said gently to me.

I nodded. "I am."

She gave me a once-over and nodded slightly.

"I'm Adeline's mother. I've heard of you, Dr. Knight. Adeline is our daughter, and we've brought her up since she was very young. We're all very sincere about inviting you over for her consultation today."

She retrieved a business card from her purse and handed it to me, but I didn't take it. She didn't seem to mind, however.

"If you treat Adeline, you won't have to worry about your reputation or the expenses afterward. And we will also deal with your dismissal from this hospital.

"I can also guarantee to you that Duran Group's resources in the national medical system will all be at your disposal. This is how we would like to prove our sincerity to you."

I glanced at her.

Unfortunately for her, I didn't lack anything she was offering me.

"I'm here for a consultation today, Mrs. Duran. We will only discuss other matters afterward."

Florence's eyes flickered, but she quickly regained her composure a short while later.

Jeremy coughed lightly when he heard me say that. His eyes weren't as gentle as Florence's.

"Dr. Knight, what my wife said is only her intention. But what we mean is that the Durans will not mistreat you if you can cure Adeline of her illness."

He paused for a bit before continuing, "Your reputation is already destroyed. And you're the one who asked for this to be live-streamed. It's also your final chance to turn things around for yourself.

"If you fail to treat her, then the entire country will witness it in real-time, and you will also never find a footing in the medical field anywhere anymore."

I remained standing, holding my gaze with him for three whole seconds.

"I will only be able to tell if I can treat your daughter after taking a look at her, Mr. Duran."

Then, I walked right past him and pushed the room door open.

Jeremy frowned slightly like he was deliberating about something. Then, he followed me in with Florence by his side. They didn't say another word more and sat quietly by the side.

Adrian was peeling an apple for Adeline next to her hospital bed. He glanced up at me before his gaze flickered toward the air conditioner vent and then the decorative ornament on the bedside table.

He had to have hidden the cameras there.