Two Years in Prison for His Crime

Chapter 8 The Blame Falls

Adrian stood in the middle of the chaos, slumped and defeated, taking blow after blow from a man's fists.

Nearby, a wealthy-looking woman jabbered endlessly, her voice cutting through the commotion.

Several nurses ran around frantically.

The department head stood to the side, pale as a ghost. He tried multiple times to usher them into his office, only to be rebuffed.

Outside, circles of patients and their families gathered, making the scene even more chaotic.

Nia stayed on the outskirts, unsure of what was happening. Then, Melody spotted her, eyes lighting up, and pulled her through the crowd.

"Mr. Crowe! It's her! She was the lead surgeon!"

The uproar quieted for a moment. Nia looked at Adrian in confusion.

"What exactly happened?"

The woman's anger flared when she heard Nia speak.

"You don't even know what happened, and you call yourself a doctor? Your hospital is reckless with people's lives! The patient was stabilized, and yet he's dead! Yesterday you said everything was fine, just a few more days in the ICU, and now…now he's gone! Are you messing with us?"

Nia was pushed back repeatedly. Meanwhile, Melody pulled Adrian into a corner, and suddenly Nia understood.

The woman continued her tirade.

"You ruined my father's life! If I don't get a satisfactory solution today, I won't let your hospital off!"

Nia had seen this scene before.

Two years ago, out of love, she had silently taken the blame to protect Adrian's future.

But this time, she would never play the scapegoat again.

Nia turned toward Adrian, who cowered behind Melody. His face was pale, stripped of all his usual decisiveness, shrinking into the corner, silent and helpless.

'This weak, ungrateful man.'

Nia couldn't understand why she had ever loved him, or why she had once risked everything for him.

Taking a deep breath, she spoke firmly.

"Lady, I wasn't the lead surgeon. I was just an assistant with no official position, and I've already resigned. This has nothing to do with me."

Adrian, who had been silent all along, finally lifted his head. He stared at Nia in disbelief.

A surge of panic returned to him. What did she mean by 'already resigned'? Why had he known nothing? Why had she left without telling him?

But Melody immediately interrupted her.

"How can you say that? You did the surgery that day. You changed the medication in the ICU. You dare to say it wasn't you?"

Nia wanted to explain, but then she saw every nurse and doctor around her speak in unison:

"It was her! She was responsible!"

Nia froze, staring around in disbelief. Her gaze shook as it landed on Adrian.

"Adrian… was this my responsibility?"

Adrian's expression froze, and finally, he lowered his head.

At that moment, Nia's heart shattered completely.

Tears streamed down her face as she tried to escape, only to find the furious family blocking her way, fists raised.