Chapter 139

NOAH I went straight to my consultation room and closed the door behind me. I sat down in my chair and forced myself to steady my breathing. Then I buried myself in work. I handled every scheduled appointment on my list, and whenever there was a gap between patients, I instructed the nurse to send in walk-ins. I reviewed charts, signed reports, and dictated notes without pause. As long as I stayed occupied, there was no room for anything else. “Next patient,” I said. The nurse opened the door and called the next name. A man in his early thirties walked in with his wife. He moved carefully, one hand pressed against his chest. “Doctor,” his wife began, her voice tight with worry, “he woke up in the middle of the night with sudden chest pain. It was sharp. He said he couldn’t breathe.” She hesitated before asking, “Dr. Morgan… is it serious?” I studied the imaging on the monitor, scrolling through the scans. “There’s a structural abnormality that requires surgical intervention,” I said ev