Chapter 1

"Congratulations, you're pregnant!"

I gripped the positive pregnancy test. After five years of failed IVF, I finally had the news Julian, my surgeon husband, dreamed of.

Just as I reached the corner of the surgical wing, my phone buzzed.

It’s a text from Julian: “Hey babe, I know you’ve had a long shift in Peds. Go home and get some rest. I’ve got an emergency surgery tonight. Don’t wait up.Love you.”

Through the small rectangular window of OR 3, I see Julian—the man who just sent that "loving" text—grab an intern by the waist and pull her into the dark room.

It’s Chloe Reed, the girl who’s been shadowing him for three months.

The pregnancy report slipped from my fingers and hit the floor.

Heavy, rhythmic grunting echoed from the room.

“You’re so reckless, Julian,” Chloe’s voice giggles, breathless and sharp. “It’s broad daylight. What if someone sees us? You’re up for that Senior Attending promotion. You could lose everything.”

“God, you’re such a brat,” Julian groans, his voice thick with a lust I haven’t heard in years. “You know exactly what you’re doing to me. Besides, I’ve got this room locked down. Nobody comes here. Now, shut up and give me what I want.”

“Oh, like last time?” she taunts. “When you couldn’t even wait for the patient to be stitched up before you pinned me against the instrument table? I want you now, Julian. Right now.”

I look down at the pregnancy test. This baby was supposed to be our miracle.

Instead, its father is using the very table where he saves lives to betray his wife.

I don’t cry. I don’t scream. I went numb.

If they want excitement, I’ll give them a show the whole hospital will never forget.

I pull out my phone and open the hospital’s main group chat—the one with over five hundred doctors, nurses, and administrators.

My fingers are steady as I type.

“Security alert: Thief in OR 3. Multiple suspects. Send everyone now!”

The responses are instantaneous.

“On my way! I knew it! Half the inventory of ultrasound probe covers went missing last week!”

“I’m in the lounge, coming now!”

“Don’t let them get away! Those new laparoscopy kits are worth a fortune!”

I lean against the wall, watching the "Seen" count climb. Inside the OR, the sounds of their passion continue, oblivious to the storm gathering in the hallway.

Then, Chloe’s voice drifts out again, slightly confused. “Julian, why is my phone blowing up? It hasn't stopped buzzing for a minute.”

“Forget the phone,” Julian snaps, his voice ragged with frustration at being interrupted.

“It’s probably just the Director calling another pointless board meeting. He’s obsessed with the hospital’s new accreditation. Let the old man rot in his office. Focus on me.”

He was talking about my father—the Director who fast-tracked Julian's career.

“Good,” I whisper to the empty hallway. “Keep talking, Julian.”

I pull up my contacts and find my mother-in-law’s number. Julian’s parents are in town, visiting from their small rural village.

They’re obsessed with their "doctor son" and his prestige.

“Mom, Dad, come to OR 3 quickly!” I text. “Julian collapsed in the surgery wing! Hurry!”

They reply instantly.

They’re already downstairs in the lobby with a thermos of homemade soup. They’ll be here in five minutes.

I turn and walk toward the nurses’ station, my heels clicking sharply on the linoleum. The Head Nurse looks up, startled by my expression.

“Sophie? Are you okay? You look pale.”

“I’m fine,” I say, my voice a flat line. “The security feed for OR 3. Send the last ten minutes of footage to my personal email.”

The nurse whispered, "The cameras in OR 3 are down, Sophie. Julian specifically requested this room for 'private study.' We thought he was being dedicated."

I almost laugh. Dedicated. High-minded. What a joke.

I look back at the heavy double doors of OR 3. The hallway is starting to fill with the sound of running footsteps.

Security guards, curious residents, and nurses are all converging on the spot.

Julian, you wanted excitement? You’re about to become the biggest star this hospital has ever seen.