Severed Scalpel: The Surgeon's Vengeance

Tags: Spoiled Charity Case, Falsified Medical Records, Framed, Awakening and Revenge I personally operated on the underprivileged student my husband sponsored. Never did I imagine that my hands—revered across the medical world—would meet their Waterloo. A catastrophic surgical error occurred. The scholarship student was left brain-damaged. To make me atone, my husband severed the tendons in my wrists and had my medical license revoked. He even forced me to get a caregiver certificate so I could wait on her hand and foot, tending to her every daily need. I threw myself into atonement, cooking three meals a day, slaving away like a beast of burden. Until one day, I found the falsified medical records hidden by my husband. Scalding boiling water spilled over the back of my hand, and both of my arms began to tremble uncontrollably. Fortunately, with my wrist tendons severed, the sensation of pain was dull and distant. Justin Vance stared at me with pure disgust. "Aren't you supposed to be a top surgeon from Johns Hopkins? You can't even pour a simple cup of tea!" His mother, Evelyn, rolled her eyes at me. "If she were really that brilliant, our sweet Chloe wouldn't have been turned into an idiot!" A year ago, Chloe Miller—the poor college student sponsored by the Vance family—suffered a sudden cerebral hemorrhage. I was a leading specialist in neurosurgery. She was an honor student from an impoverished background. Moved by her situation, I voluntarily petitioned the hospital board to be the lead surgeon and personally covered all her medical expenses. Back then, the press sang my praises: *“Mrs. Vance, a Heart of Gold: Financing and Operating to Save a Young Life—A True Modern Healer.”* Justin had beamed with pride, holding my hand. "Thank God for you, Natalie. Otherwise, the Vance family's reputation for philanthropy would have died with my generation!" Yet that very surgery, my greatest pride, ended in total disaster when Chloe woke up with the mental capacity of a toddler. The Vance Group's stock plummeted to rock bottom. To control the narrative and save face, Justin publicly adopted her as his younger sister and revoked my medical license. That night, Evelyn forced me to my knees in the family study, whipping my bare back with a heavy riding crop for half an hour. "You humiliated the Vance name!" "An Ivy League medical degree? You're nothing but an incompetent fraud!" I wept frantically, pleading through gasps of air. "Mom! The surgery couldn't have gone wrong! I spent an entire month reviewing every scan! I could perform that procedure in my sleep! There has to be a mistake!" Justin rushed in, falling to his knees beside his mother, shouting desperately, "Mom, please stop! She's human, mistakes happen! Just spare her!" Evelyn didn't stop. She lashed him too for defending me. My skin split, blood soaking through my clothes, and I vomited stomach acid until blackness swallowed me whole. When I woke up, a bucket of ice water splashed across my face. Blinding camera flashes instantly captured my battered, broken state. Reporters shoved microphones into Justin's face. "Mr. Vance, she's your wife! Aren't you going to hold her accountable?" "A brilliant young woman was turned into a vegetable under her knife! Doesn't your family bear any responsibility?" "Some philanthropists you are! It's all a PR stunt!" "Today it's Chloe Miller, who will it be tomorrow?!" "The public demands justice! The Vance family owes everyone an explanation!" Justin clenched his fists, his eyes bloodshot as he stared into the cameras. "I will give everyone here full closure today. On behalf of my wife, I apologize to Chloe and the public." "I will not only personally sever the tendons in her operating hands, but I will also ensure she spends the rest of her life repenting for her crime." I stared at him in utter disbelief. Could these horrific words really be coming out of Justin's mouth?! The only reason we stood together at the altar was because I had spent sixteen straight hours in the OR saving his grandfather from the brink of death! How could he do this to me? More importantly, I was a surgeon. Without the tendons in my hands, what was left of me?! Medicine was my life, my dream, my entire identity! I shook my head violently, my voice ragged as I desperately appealed to the love he once claimed to have. "Justin, you can't do this to me! You said it yourself... you said it was just a tragic accident!"Tears mixed with blood seeped into my mouth. It tasted bitter beyond words. Justin couldn't meet my gaze. His lips trembled as he choked out, "Natalie, I'm sorry... Chloe needs justice. The public needs an answer. My hands are tied!" "But you still have me. I swear, I will take care of you for the rest of your life!" The moment the words left his mouth, he pinned my arms down with brutal force and ordered the hired doctor to sever my wrist tendons. Under the glare of flashing lights and hundreds of watchful eyes, I was stripped of my dignity and the thing I treasured most in this world. I would never hold a scalpel again. I would never save another life. "Don't worry, honey. No matter what you become, I will never divorce you." Drained of strength and losing blood rapidly, I slipped into unconsciousness. When I woke up, the news had gone viral across the internet. *“Malpractice Surgeon Has Tendons Severed! Billionaire Husband Apologizes on Behalf of Disgraced Doctor!”* *“A Win for the Underdog: Justice Served for the Poor Honor Student!”* *“Money and Privilege Can’t Bury the Truth Anymore!”* Justin had released a formal public apology under my name. He claimed it was the only way to quell the public's fury. But I hadn't made a mistake. Why was I the one apologizing? I stared intently at Justin, my voice hoarse with despair. "Deep down... do you really believe I botched it?" Justin pulled off his shirt, revealing bruised, lacerated flesh. "I begged Mom for mercy. I pulled strings with board directors to keep you out of prison. But look at this! Look at what the official report says!" I opened the manila envelope. Inside was the clinical malpractice review. Surveillance footage, the anesthesiologist's testimony, surgical logs—everything pointed conclusively to me as the sole cause of the catastrophic failure. Tears streamed down his face as he pulled me into his arms. "It's okay, baby. Everything is handled now. No one will come after you." "So what if you can't practice medicine? Your husband will provide for you forever." True to his word, Justin took me on trips around the world and spared no expense consulting top specialists to see if my nerve damage could be repaired. Aside from the horrific event itself, it almost felt like nothing had changed. "Wipe it up! There's water all over the floor! What if Chloe slips and falls?!" Evelyn's sharp, irritated screech snapped me back to reality. Chloe stood nearby, clapping her hands with a vacant, childish grin. "Mommy, is she playing doggie? Look at her crawl! That looks like so much fun!" Evelyn nodded, her face softening. "Do you want to watch her do it?" "Yes! Yes, please!" Evelyn kicked my side. "Are you deaf? Crawl! You owe Chloe this! If it weren't for your butchery, she’d be graduating from an Ivy League school right now, making her parents proud!" I bit my lower lip hard, digging my fingernails into my palms. *Just endure a little longer.* Once Justin came home, I would demand a divorce. The front door swung open, and Chloe ran toward him squealing with delight. "Justin! Justin! You're finally home! Chloe missed you so, so much!" He shifted his briefcase to scoop her up with one arm, pulling a wrapped present from his pocket. "Look what I brought you, sweetie!" Chloe planted a wet kiss on his cheek, giggling shyly. "Thank you, Justin! I have a show for you! Watch Natalie crawl like a dog!" I had confronted Justin about Chloe more times than I could count. "She's a grown woman, Justin, not a toddler! Can you please set some boundaries?!" "So what if she's a woman? You're the one who trapped her brain at the age of five!" he would fire back. "I'm doing this to atone for *your* sins! Are you really going to be petty and jealous over a mentally disabled girl? Have you lost your mind?" I grabbed the cleaning rag, tossed it into the trash bin, and kicked the can aside. "Justin, you're home early. Good. Come to the bedroom. We need to talk."The moment he walked into the bedroom and shut the door, I cut straight to the chase. "I want a divorce. I'll walk away with nothing. Not a single cent." "I've spent this past year atoning day in and day out. I can't stay in this house anymore." Without hesitation, Justin snatched the divorce papers from my hands and ripped them to shreds. "Has Chloe recovered? No! Then your debt isn't paid!" "Let me make one thing clear: until she is fully healed, you aren't going anywhere!" "Walk away with nothing? Even if you paid me, it wouldn't cover the hundreds of millions the Vance Group lost because of your screw-up!" My knees gave out, and I sank onto the floor. Ever since Chloe fell ill, my life had devolved into an inescapable hell. At first, Justin and Evelyn maintained a veneer of civility. Over time, their patience wore completely thin. Using Chloe's fragile condition as an excuse, they eventually demoted me to her personal live-in maid. Cleaning up her waste, feeding her meals, wiping her down—I was forced to handle every degrading task myself. And whenever Evelyn was in a foul mood, she made sure to discipline me using their ruthless "family rules." Justin knelt beside me, his thumb gently tracing the scars on my wrists. Perhaps realizing his tone had been too harsh, his expression softened. "Honey, I know how hard this is on you. Just hold on a little longer, okay? The reason I've been away so much lately is that I'm consulting top neurologists abroad." "Once Chloe gets better, everything will go back to the way it—" Before he could finish, a piercing wail echoed from the hallway. Chloe stood outside the door, her hands covered in blood, shards of broken porcelain sticking to her palms. Evelyn rushed over, glaring at me with venom. "Look what you've done! Chloe saw the mess on the floor and tried to pick up the broken pieces to help!" "Such a sweet girl, and look at her now..." Justin turned toward me, his brow furrowing with utter irritation. "Can't you even manage a simple cleanup?" "Go get the first-aid kit and bandage her up!" While I patched up her cuts, Chloe stayed quiet. Instead of crying, she leaned in close and whispered with exaggerated sweetness, "Natalie, don't be scared. It's not your fault. I was clumsy." Justin smiled warmly at her words. "See, Natalie? Even after everything, she doesn't hold a grudge against you. Everything started because of your mistake, and you still want to run away?" "If you pack up and leave now, won't that just prove to the world that you're an unrepentant coward?" His words hit hard. Ever since the malpractice scandal, I had lost everything. I had quietly submitted applications to research clinics and small community practices, but every single one rejected me on the spot. Once I finished wrapping Chloe's hands, Justin took my arm and led me back into our bedroom. "Let's have a baby, Natalie. Once our child is born, you won't feel so empty and exhausted all the time." I flinched and pushed him away. Ever since that fateful surgery, we hadn't been intimate once. Before he could say another word, Evelyn pounded frantically on the door. "Natalie, get out here right now! Chloe started her period and panicked! She’s crying hysterically and won't let anyone near her except you!" I rushed into the guest bathroom. Chloe sat on the floor, fresh blood staining her sweatpants. Tears streamed down her face as she looked up at Justin, sobbing like a terrified child. "Justin, I'm bleeding... Am I going to die? I'm so scared!" The metallic stench of blood hung heavy in the air. Justin grimaced at the messy scene. "Natalie, clean her up." Nausea churned in my stomach, and I shoved past Justin, my voice trembling with exhaustion. "I'm your wife! Isn't waiting on her day and night enough?" "Now you expect me to handle her intimate hygiene too? The Vance family is worth billions—can't you afford a single professional nurse?!" Perhaps my tone was too sharp; Chloe shrank back, trembling like a leaf, shaking her head frantically. "No... no stranger! I don't want anyone else! I only want Natalie! I'm scared!" Justin spread his hands helplessly. "You see that, Natalie? She only trusts you.""I'm a man, it's not appropriate for me. Mom is getting too old for this kind of physical labor. You're the only one who can do it." Swallowing the rising bile in my throat, I forced myself to walk her through cleaning up and changing. The second everything was finished, I gripped the rim of the bathroom trash can and dry-heaved violently. Every single time I had to look at Chloe, an uncontrollable wave of revulsion washed over me. Exhausted to the bone, I dragged myself to bed and collapsed under the covers. As usual, Justin lit the soothing lavender diffuser on my nightstand and held my scarred hand as we drifted to sleep. If Chloe's tragedy had never happened, we would still be everyone's idea of a power couple. Now, everything was warped beyond recognition. I fell into a heavy, drugged-like slumber, but jolted awake past midnight. The space beside me was cold and empty. It was barely half past twelve. From down the hallway, faint, rhythmic sounds of heavy breathing and muffled moans drifted through the silence. Justin worked late often, usually sequestering himself in his home office. Evelyn was a heavy sleeper who never woke before dawn. And Chloe couldn't even manage basic personal hygiene. So who on earth was making those sounds? Holding my breath, I crept barefoot down the corridor toward the half-open door of the private lounge. The scene before my eyes hit me like a plunge into freezing water. It was Justin and Chloe! She was straddling Justin completely naked, her chest heaving as she ground against him, murmuring in a seductive, perfectly articulate voice. "Did you tell that washed-up hag to carry your baby yet? I'm way too young. If my stomach gets stretched out with stretch marks, you won't enjoy fucking me as much." Justin held her tight, kissing her bare neck and collarbone hungrily. "I brought it up. She refused. She even demanded a divorce." "She hasn't produced an heir yet—what's her rush?" "You little vixen... you really enjoy watching me service someone else?" Chloe nestled against his chest, her tone dripping with mock sweetness. "Of course it hurts, babe. But to give your family an heir, I'm willing to play along a little longer." Justin kissed her forehead tenderly. "Don't worry. The moment I get her pregnant and secure the estate trust, I'll miraculously 'cure' your condition, kick her to the curb, and marry you properly." My eyes widened in sheer horror, every muscle in my body shaking violently. Five years of agonizing penance. Five years of enduring humiliation and being stripped of all human dignity. Enduring the filth of nursing Chloe day after day... only for it all to be a meticulously staged farce. And my own husband—the man who claimed to protect me—had conspired with her all along to orchestrate my ruin! It felt as though my heart had been carved out of my chest with a dull blade. The man sleeping beside me every night had set me up, framed me, and watched me suffer with a smile. I stumbled silently back to bed, staring at the ceiling until dawn. Justin slipped back under the covers just before sunrise. Wrapping his arms around me, he whispered into my hair, "I love you, Natalie." Was it lingering guilt from his clandestine hookup, or just a psychological reflex to keep his cover? Today was Justin's birthday. He had initially said he wanted a quiet, low-key gathering at home without inviting the city's elite. Now, I had other plans. I woke up at the crack of dawn, sending out formal digital invitations to every prominent business partner and socialite in town, and hired an event crew to lavishly decorate the estate. When Justin finally came downstairs, I placed a warm bowl of traditional longevity noodles in front of him. Looking into his eyes with artificial tenderness, I said, "Thank you, Justin. If it weren't for you standing by me all these years, I never would have survived. Your birthday deserves a real celebration. I took the liberty of inviting our friends and partners—they'll be arriving this evening." Justin paused, then smiled and nodded. Ever since the malpractice scandal, he had refused to host public birthday parties, claiming he wanted to shield me from the media's invasive cameras. I had naively thought he was protecting my feelings. In reality, he just wanted privacy to fool around with Chloe beneath my nose. Before the guests arrived, I helped Chloe into a clean dress. When she stripped down, dark purple hickeys covered her inner thighs and waist. Feigning innocence, I offered to call the house doctor, but she merely flashed me a childish grin. "Bug bites! Chloe not scared! Doesn't hurt!" *A bug?* Does a bug leave love bites all over your backside? By five in the afternoon, the grand ballroom was packed with high-society guests and corporate titans. Justin was in high spirits, basking in the congratulations. Even Evelyn refrained from berating me, remarking under her breath, "Well, looks like you finally managed to do something useful for once." Amid the clinking of champagne flutes and choruses of "Happy Birthday," I walked up to the podium and picked up the microphone. "Good evening, everyone. Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to celebrate my husband's birthday. Tonight, I have a very special surprise prepared for him." With a calm smile, I clapped my hands twice. The heavy double doors swung open, and a squad of federal agents marched into the ballroom, heading straight for Justin. "Justin Vance? You are under arrest for corporate fraud, cross-border smuggling, and money laundering. Please come with us."