His Sister's Scattered Ashes

My sister was in a serious car accident, so I called my husband, Julian, a top cardiac surgeon.

He promised to perform the surgery himself.

Instead, he tasked a medical intern, Ava, with a high-risk, experimental procedure.

Meanwhile, he was off editing a research paper she was about to publish.

"Julian… The valve repair… I messed up. The patient's aorta ruptured."

"Her heart… it stopped," Ava sobbed, collapsing into Julian's arms.

Julian glanced at the flatline on the monitor.

He simply embraced her, his voice a low, steady murmur.

"Don't be afraid. I'll handle it."

Then, Julian strode out of the operating room and informed me, his voice devoid of emotion.

"The surgery failed. Go make the arrangements."

"How could it have failed? She was conscious when she came in!"

A tidal wave of grief and rage crashed over me, and I lunged for the operating room doors.

But Julian shoved me back.

"I said it failed. It's over. Her injuries were too severe."

He impatiently straightened his white coat.

"She was so badly hurt, there was never much hope. Chloe, stop making a scene."

With that, he walked away, his arm wrapped around Ava.

I stared as they walked away, clinging to each other.

Ava glanced back, giving me a triumphant, taunting smirk.

I couldn't help but smile.

Did he really think that was my sister on the operating table?

————————

1

"Chloe, I know this is hard to accept, but… my condolences."

My assistant, Maya, sighed softly, her eyes full of sympathy.

But I met her gaze calmly. "Why should I be grieving?"

Maya froze, clearly thinking I was delirious with grief. The pity in her eyes deepened.

"Chloe, if you think there's something suspicious about the surgery," Maya said hesitantly, "should I have the family's legal team file a suit against the hospital?"

"A lawsuit against the hospital can wait," I said. "But I do need the legal team. To draft a divorce agreement."

I lifted my head, my gaze settling on Julian and Ava in the hospital café.

For someone who had just taken a life, Ava showed not a single trace of guilt.

She was resting her head affectionately on my husband's shoulder.

Julian playfully pinched her nose.

They were parading their affection, clearly in high spirits.

I had to wonder: if Julian knew the person in the morgue wasn't my sister, but his own cherished little sister, could he still be smiling like that?

Just then, a hospital administrator hurried over with a document.

"Since the patient died during surgery, Mrs. Vance needs to sign the death certificate."

I refused, my voice like ice.

What did his sister have to do with me? I was about to be his ex-wife.

"Mrs. Vance, I understand how you feel, but you need to think this through. Dr. Vance is your husband!" the administrator reminded me with a frown. "Making a scene will be catastrophic for Dr. Vance's career."

I let out a cold laugh, noted the name on his chest tag, and gestured for my lawyer to handle all communication.

Seeing this, the administrator's face soured. "Fine," he snapped. "If you won't cooperate, I'll have to get Dr. Vance to come talk to you himself!"

When Julian first joined Westwood Medical Center, I'd used my family's foundation to donate millions in equipment to his department to help him get established. Everyone from the board down to the janitors knew how deeply I loved him.

That must be why this man felt so bold threatening me.

But any love I'd had for Julian was dead now.

Threatening me with *him*? The thought was laughable.

That evening, I was holding the divorce agreement my lawyer had drafted, about to send it to Julian, when I saw a new post on his intern Ava's private social media.

The photos showed a restaurant on Malibu beach, red wine, steak, flickering candles, and their two hands overlapping to make a heart.

One photo showed Julian from behind, hunched over a monitor in his office, falsifying an electronic medical record.

"Messed up big time in surgery today. If my mentor hadn't covered for me, I'd have lost my license for sure."

"I owe him big time. I guess the only way to repay him is to give him... me."

A string of kissing emojis followed.

I chuckled softly and hit 'like'.

Screenshot. Save.

Another piece of evidence in hand.

I casually emailed the divorce agreement to Julian.

"Take a look. If you have no objections, come home and sign it."

Less than a minute later, my phone rang. It was Julian.