Chapter 1

The hospital CEO's mother was critically ill and needed emergency heart valve surgery. I'd spent weeks studying her case, and the chief of cardiac surgery assigned me to lead the operation.

Yet right before the operation, my wife, the surgical coordinator, sent me to wait in the CEO's office under false pretenses.

I missed the operation.

The hospital CEO cornered me outside the operating room, furiously accusing me of lacking professional ethics. He even threatened to report me to the medical board to have my license revoked.

Before I could get a word in, my wife stepped forward to condemn me.

"You have zero regard for patient safety. You don't deserve to be a doctor."

"Dr. Logan Green is far more skilled and qualified than you'll ever be."

Logan Green was her college sweetheart. She had never gotten over him.

That was the moment I realized they had set me up.

The on-call attending took over, and I made sure she had my notes.

Logan was already taking credit for saving the patient's life. I wondered what he'd say if she took a turn for the worse.

The CEO's mother went into acute heart failure. The cardiac surgery team moved her operation up.

Just before I was due to scrub in, my wife, Chloe, called me. She said there was a problem with the chart and told me to meet her in the CEO's office. She assured me the OR had been told where I'd be.

Ten minutes passed. Chloe never showed. When I called the OR, they told me the operation was already underway.

I hurried down to the surgical wing and found the CEO outside the OR, his face dark with fury.

The moment he saw me, he stormed over and grabbed my collar.

"I trusted you with my mother's life! And this is how you repay me? You couldn't even show up for your own surgery! Where's your sense of responsibility?"

I froze. Just then, Chloe stepped out of the OR doors.

She caught my eye and hurried over, pretending to be surprised.

"Mason, where on earth have you been?"

"The surgical team was waiting for you! We turned the hospital upside down looking for you. How could you forget such a critical procedure?"

I stared at her in disbelief.

Forget?

Hadn't she specifically ordered me to wait in the CEO's office?

I opened my mouth to explain, but Chloe cut me off immediately.

"You've always been absentminded, but missing a major surgery just because no one babysat you? How can you call yourself a real surgeon?"

"Dr. Patel took over, and Logan scrubbed in with her. Thank God he was there when we needed him."

Standing there, the truth hit me like a slap in the face.

Chloe had orchestrated the whole thing just to hand her first love, Logan, the spotlight.

Everyone knew who the patient was. A successful operation on the CEO's mother could put a doctor's name in front of the hospital leadership. Plenty of people wanted in on the case.

The chief of cardiac surgery had put me in charge because I'd studied the patient's valve disorder.

I remembered the day the lead surgeon was announced. Chloe had scoffed at me in private.

"Aren't you being selfish? Couldn't you leave this chance to the younger talent?"

"You always claim you don't care about climbing the ladder, yet you jump at every opportunity. You're so hypocritical."

At the time, I didn't realize who she meant by "younger talent."

Now, the answer was staring me in the face.

Chloe had intentionally trapped me in that office so Logan could steal the credit.

I had to wait outside while the operation finished. When the doors finally swung open, Logan was the first one out.

The CEO glared at me one last time before rushing over to Logan.

"The operation went smoothly, sir. Your mother is out of danger," Logan told him. "The team is taking her to the cardiac ICU."

With that, Logan turned toward me with a smug smile.

"Were you held up, Dr. Crawford?" he asked. "It's a serious case to be late for, don't you think?"

I watched him play dumb in cold silence.

Did he really think I didn't know who put him up to this?

Logan turned back to the CEO and lowered his eyes.

"Dr. Patel was the attending on record," Logan said. "But when things got difficult, I was the one who got us through it."

Chloe stood close beside him, completely disregarding my presence.

"You stepped up when it mattered, Logan," Chloe said. "Everyone should know that."