The nurse froze, horror painted across her face. “I—I’m so sorry, Doctor Hades! I didn’t mean to! I was just trying to help!”

A senior doctor snapped at her, “Help? After all the surgeries you’ve assisted with, you still don’t know better? You’ve just exposed her wound in the middle of a procedure!” The nurse stammered, her face as pale as a ghost, “I—I didn’t mean to, I swear!”

Katelyn didn’t wait. She moved quickly to the sink, scrubbing her wound with almost mechanical precision. Her heart raced as her mentor’s repeated warnings from medical training echoed in her mind. She couldn’t afford to let surgical attire get damaged.

A single scalpel cut could result in an infection—or worse, amputation.

The nurse sobbed. “Please, Doctor Hades—I didn’t mean—”

Katelyn turned, her glare cold enough to freeze the room. “You better hope this doesn’t cause complications. If it does, you won’t hear the end of it from me.”

Without another word, she left the operating room. The nurse crumpled to the floor, shaking, while the rest of the team moved around her, indifferent to her tears.

Katelyn headed straight to the pharmacy for an antibiotic injection.

The scalpel that had cut her was the same one used on Jamison, likely carrying countless bacteria and viruses that could enter her body through the wound. As she sat in the quiet room, bandaging her hand, unease crept into her thoughts.

Why had the nurse rushed in like that, scalpel in hand? As much as Katelyn didn’t want to think about it, the movement had felt more deliberate than clumsy.

She gazed at her bandaged wound, her expression a mix of emotions. If the patient didn’t have any infectious diseases, the surgery could proceed seamlessly with a quick switch of gloves and scalpel. However, the lead surgeon would need to be replaced, as their injury could jeopardize the success of the operation.

? g?ν?

But Jamison had a lot of problems, to say the least.

Katelyn took a deep breath, trying to clear her mind of the chaos swirling within. Maybe it was time to take a closer look at what this nurse had been up to.

Vincent hadn’t left the hospital yet; he was waiting for Katelyn. Noticing her step out with a bandaged hand, he trailed after her, confused, and soon discovered she was getting an antibiotic shot.

“What happened to you?” he asked.

Before she could answer, shouts rang out in the hallway.

“Where is Doctor Hades?” The voice on the other end was sharp, panic threading through every word.

Katelyn turned to Vincent, asking him to help open the door. She shouted curiously, “I’m right here! What happened?”

The caller’s urgency gnawed at Katelyn’s mind, pulling her focus toward Jamison. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something had gone wrong. But the surgery had gone well, and the other doctors were fully capable of taking charge of the follow-up care.

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