Chapter 3

"Divorce?" Jerome's face darkened instantly, his eyes burning with restrained anger. "Miranda, Freddie's death was just an accident. Are you really divorcing me over something like this?" "Something like this?" Miranda's head spun. Her mind flashed back to the day Fred was born. Back then, Jerome had held the newborn gently and carefully, speaking softly as he soothed him. He promised to give him the best life and a future free of worry. But now, Fred had died on the operating table after his kidney was taken, and treatment was delayed. And to Jerome, it was just a small matter. Miranda shot to her feet, her bloodshot eyes full of accusation and hatred. "Jerome, how can you—" With a loud band, the hospital room door was suddenly thrown open. A swarm of reporters stormed in, cameras flashing and microphones thrust forward. They surrounded her in seconds. "Dr. Payne, a video of you pulling out a patient's ventilator tube is circulating online. What were you thinking?" "Was this the first time you've done something like this, or have there been countless others? Were those children who died in the hospital really beyond saving?" "We heard your own son died during surgery. Could it be that your sins brought this upon him?" "How can someone like you still work as a doctor? Are there hidden powers protecting you?" The crowd shoved Miranda roughly, pressing microphones into her face. They gave her no chance to speak and forcefully knocked her to the floor. Miranda struggled desperately until Jerome's sharp shout cut through the crowd. "Everyone, move aside!" He pushed through the crowd and walked toward her, ready to help her up, when an angry voice suddenly rang out from the doorway. "Miranda, what did you do to my son?" Madison stormed in with several bodyguards, charging straight at Miranda, and delivered a harsh slap across her face. "Did you mess up the surgery? Why is my son still running a fever and crying in pain?" Miranda's face burned from the slap, but thinking of the operation, she forced herself to answer through her anger and hatred. "My procedure followed all medical protocols. There were no violations. Your son is only six, and kidney transplants carry extremely high risks. Postoperative complications like these are normal." "Still making excuses!" Madison slapped her again. "If you hadn't messed up the surgery, if you hadn't pulled out his ventilator, this wouldn't have happened! People like you don't deserve to be doctors!" She shouted, "Hold her down!" At Madison's sharp command, the bodyguards behind her immediately restrained Miranda. "Let me go!" Miranda struggled violently, her eyes bloodshot. "Madison, it was clearly you who illegally took—" Before she could finish, a bodyguard kicked her hard in the back of the knee. Miranda screamed and crashed to the floor, landing painfully on her knees. The media erupted in excitement as camera flashes went off nonstop. Several reporters even started livestreaming. Madison spoke with righteous fury, "Today, I will deliver justice and pass judgment on a heartless doctor like you. I will break your hands so you can never harm anyone again." As she spoke, a vicious glint flashed in her eyes, and she raised an iron rod high above her head. Staring at the cold metal gleaming under the lights, Miranda felt her heart leap into her throat. She instinctively looked toward Jerome, her voice sharp and filled with terror. "Jerome, save me—"