Chapter 5
The doctors' faces drained of color, their expressions filled with stunned disbelief.
"Nate! What on earth are you thinking?" A chief physician advanced, his voice tense with urgency. "If Rick doesn't make it through that operation, the fallout will ruin this entire hospital!"
A female physician seized Nate's arm, whispering anxiously, "Nate, please consider your future. You're the hospital's finest talent. Is risking everything for some reckless woman really worth it?"
Another doctor chimed in, "She's just a housewife! What expertise could she possibly have? This is madness, Nate. Don't let yourself be pulled into this disaster."
Amidst the chorus of concern, Katherine's eyes sparkled with hidden satisfaction.
Adopting a facade of sympathy, she said, "Dr. Andrews, I understand your loyalty to Emma through Jason, but this isn't some trivial spat. We're talking about a man's life hanging in the balance."
She then faced Emma, her voice thick with feigned pity. "Just admit your mistake, Emma. No one will fault you for stepping aside now."
Emma locked eyes with Katherine, a chill, derisive smile curling her lips.
"If you're so confident," Emma challenged, "why don't we raise the stakes with a bet?"
Katherine blinked, clearly taken aback. "A bet?"
The doctors burst into renewed uproar.
"She wants to bet? Does she think this is some kind of game?"
"Nate, can you believe this rubbish? Will you really stand by such folly?"
Fueled by the crowd's indignation, Katherine raised her chin arrogantly. "This is Grace Memorial Hospital, Emma, the finest medical team in Glexdale. And you? You've spent years in the kitchen, not the OR. What makes you think you can succeed where they've failed? Swallow your pride before it's too late."
Emma met her gaze steadily, the contempt in her eyes growing sharper. "All talk and no action. You're just afraid to back up your words with a real challenge."
"Afraid? Me?" Katherine snapped, fury flaring. "Fine! If you lose, you'll run naked around the hospital block ten times! Let everyone see what a laughingstock you are!"
Emma's answer was calm and immediate. "If I win, you'll confess here, in front of everyone, how you had an affair with a married man and got pregnant."
Katherine's face paled briefly, but steeling herself with thoughts of the impossible surgery ahead, she hissed, "Deal!"
Backed by Nate's personal promise and a hurried, surprisingly clean credentials check, the hospital was forced to permit Emma to proceed.
The OR buzzed with frantic energy as preparations ramped up.
Right when Emma headed to scrub in, Jason stepped forward to block her way.
Her voice was icy as she asked, "What do you want?"
"Emma, don't let spite drive you," he murmured. "The Millers hold too much power. You won't win. I've searched everywhere for Solacer for my grandfather, but to no avail. Only someone like that legendary doctor could manage Rick Miller's case. You're not that person. Please, stop."
Emma met his eyes, her stare so piercing it felt like a blade. "You have no authority to dictate my actions."
Without a second thought, she brushed past him and entered the OR.
Jason watched her go, his brow furrowed deeply, a knot of worry tightening inside him.
Katherine approached quietly, her tone soothing. "Jason, she's only acting on impulse..."
"Enough, Katherine," he replied sharply, his voice harsher than usual.
Without looking back, he strode away.
Back inside the surgical observation room, the atmosphere was thick with tension. Every monitor reflected the anxious eyes of onlookers.
Emma stood composed by the table, her steady presence lending her the air of a professional surgeon.
Soon enough, the surgery commenced. She arranged Rick carefully on the table, her movements precise and assured.
"Anesthesia ready. Scalpel here. Hand me the tools."
Her instructions to Nate came low and exact.
Her hands did not tremble—her initial incision was crisp and sure.
But as she peered deeper into the brain's complex labyrinth, her brow tightened in concern.
The situation was far grimmer than she had initially expected.
In the observation area, doctors exchanged uneasy glances and fidgeted anxiously.
"Even the most skilled surgeons might falter in this delicate procedure."
"We never should have allowed this. Our careers are on the line."
Emma, however, remained laser-focused, her eyes never leaving the monitor as she analyzed every detail.
Then she spotted it—a tiny fragment, foreign and embedded deep within the tissue.
"Zoom in. Closer."
The image was magnified, revealing the minuscule intruder.
With unwavering precision, her tools navigated the delicate, hazardous area. Moments later, she carefully extracted the minute object intact.
Suddenly, the dynamics shifted, and praise filled the room.
"Incredible! To identify such a precise location by sight alone and remove it with such finesse? Her hands must be impossibly steady."
"Rick's cranial injuries were already precarious. Extracting such a minute object from tangled adhesions was an extraordinary feat."
"Her expertise is unmatched. There's scarcely another surgeon like her anywhere on the planet."
While awe and whispers buzzed inside, a new group gathered outside the OR doors.
Leading them was a man who carried himself with an authoritative presence, parting the crowd effortlessly.
Handsome, with an intense but controlled demeanor, his expression was stern and commanding.
The hospital director hurried up, flustered and breathless. "Mr. Miller, your grandfather was in critical condition. We had no choice but to act immediately."
But Brayden Miller's focus wasn't on the director's explanation. Instead, his eyes were locked on the figure inside—the woman bent over the patient, utterly immersed in her work.
His voice was quiet but sharp, slicing through the noise.
"Who is she?"
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