When I Left, the Hospital Went Under

Chapter 4

It was 10:10 in the morning.

I sat in the electromyography examination room at the medical check-up center, holding still while the doctor ran a nerve conduction test on my hand.

My phone, buried in my bag, buzzed incessantly.

An incoming call from Felix appeared on my screen.

I did not answer.

Less than ten seconds after the call dropped, Ivy's number popped up, calling again.

After I rejected five calls in a row, a voice message pinged through from her side.

I tapped it open and turned on the speaker.

"Eunice, help!" Ivy shrieked, her voice cracking with raw, terrified panic, thick tears clogging every word. "I cannot find the size two hemostat!"

"The patient's aorta ruptured," she continued, sobbing. "Blood is spraying everywhere. I cannot get it to stop. Please, hurry over and save me. I am begging you!"

Even through the phone, the shrill, staccato beeping of the heart monitor blared clearly, nonstop alarms screaming in the background.

Right after that, Felix called again. This time, I picked up.

"Eunice, get your ass into this operating room right now!" Felix roared into the phone, his voice loud enough to c***k the speaker.

Behind him, I could hear the frantic pounding of nurses' running feet and the sharp clatter of surgical instruments hitting the floor.

"Get a taxi here and stop the bleeding blind within ten minutes," he demanded.

"Otherwise, I will make sure you never put on a white coat again. Do you hear me?" he added.

I pulled the phone a few inches away from my ear, my gaze drifting to the confirmed diagnosis sheet the doctor had just handed me.

"Do you have a pretty bad memory, Mr. Harbor?" I asked, drawing out my words slow and steady.

"Yesterday, I signed off and handed over my position as first assistant to Ivy," I continued. "I have the confirmed handover video and the third-party witness signature to prove it."

The sound of something shattering came from the other end of the line, followed immediately by Ivy's screaming.

"Mr. Harbor, the patient's blood pressure has plummeted to forty!" Ivy screamed, her voice totally broken with panic. "We do not have enough blood bags!"

Felix heaved for breath, his voice dripping with poisonous venom. "Eunice, you could save this patient before, and you can still save him now," he said.

"Get a taxi and get to this hospital right now," he continued. "If you do not come back and Mr. Lane dies on that operating table, this is your fault for refusing to save a dying man! Do not think I will not charge you with professional misconduct and throw you in jail!"

I laughed.

"Mr. Harbor, I am currently hooked up to EMG electrode pads, undergoing a full neurological workup right now," I said.

My voice stayed calm, not a single tremor of emotion breaking through.

"According to the state health regulations, until my test results come back, I am classified as a 'suspected case of neurological abnormality'," I explained.

"I am strictly forbidden from entering a sterile operating room, let alone touching a scalpel. Are you really forcing me to break hospital protocol?" I asked.

Dead silence fell over the other end of the line, the only sound the beeping of the heart monitor, growing fainter and fainter.

"Mr. Harbor, you gave Ivy this position," I spoke every word slow and clear. "She took on all the responsibility that comes with it."

"Now that something has gone wrong, you suddenly remember I exist?" I continued. "You two can just handle this yourselves. Good luck."

With that, I hung up straight away and powered my phone completely off.