Chapter 59 A Life Lost
After such intense mental strain, it was easy to fall asleep once he relaxed.
Chase was jolted awake by the urgent ringing of his phone. Sitting up, he paused for several seconds before realizing it was his phone ringing.
He pulled it out and glanced at the screen.
It was the professor.
“Professor, what’s wrong?”
“Get back here now! Simon made a mistake during surgery–he hit an unremoved thrombus and ruptured a blood vessel. The patient’s bleeding uncontrollably. Blood pressure and oxygen levels are crashing. We need you back to try and save them!”
Chase jumped up and ran downstairs. “On my way. Have them prep adrenaline. I’ll inject it as soon as I get there.”
Simon’s unstable emotions had finally caused real trouble. During surgery, despite the senior professor trying to calm him, Simon lost his temper. His heavy hand directly sliced a blood vessel.
The patient was elderly, already struggling with unstable blood pressure and oxygen levels. Now with massive bleeding, it was a race against death.
Simon attempted some emergency measures, but they didn’t work.
By the time Chase changed back into scrubs and rushed to the OR, the patient’s heart monitor showed a flat line. Chase paused for only a second before stepping up, exchanging positions with Simon without a word.
Simon’s face was ashen, soaked in sweat.
It was his mistake. Every second of it recorded on the operating room cameras. The senior professor standing nearby would testify to it.
If they couldn’t save the patient…
His career would be over.
But Simon was too proud to ask Chase for help. He could only stand there and watch as Chase calmly took over and ordered the adrenaline injection.
A surgery that was supposed to last five hours with a seventy–one percent success rate dragged into nine hours because of Simon’s blunder–and in the end, they still lost the patient.
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Chapter 59 A Life Lost
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Chase said nothing, quietly stepping off the platform.
No one could save Simon now.
+8 Pearls
The senior professor led Simon outside to announce the patient’s death, while Chase sat silently in the locker room, hands scrubbed clean of blood, exhausted and slumped in a chair.
The fatigue from hours of surgery clung to him. He hadn’t expected Simon’s resentment to cost a life.
In truth, once Chase finished his part of the surgery, the patient had basically been saved. Orthopedic surgery was supposed to be minor.
But still…
Blanc came in, standing behind him. “The patient’s family is crying outside.”
“After today, Simon can’t stay at the hospital,” Chase said quietly.
The hospital would have to explain the failure to the family, but they couldn’t admit it was due to a doctor’s personal emotions. They would have to find reasons within the patient’s condition. It wasn’t about evading responsibility–it was about survival. If word got out that a doctor’s bad mood had killed a patient, Cloud Hospital’s reputation would be destroyed.
Chase’s first meeting as chairman came sooner than expected. Drained, he sat at the head of the conference table, familiar colleagues on both sides.
Each department head began presenting their opinions.
“Simon’s emotional instability is a real problem. But he’s been at Cloud Hospital for decades. Directly firing him… maybe we could transfer him to logistics instead? No more surgeries.”
The senior professor slammed his hand on the table. “That was a human life!”
Someone from anesthesiology spoke up too. “After the first half of the surgery, we basically declared it a success. That old man had been coming to this hospital for five or six
years. He
He even used to have his daughter–in–law bring snacks for the staff. We can’t just brush this under the rug.”
Everyone argued back and forth until finally, someone turned to Chase.
“What does the chairman say?”
The senior professor adjusted his glasses. “The surgery was recorded. It’s clearly Simon’s fault. The hospital can’t take the blame. But Simon… he’s finished.”
“No transfer to logistics,” Chase said coldly, his voice carrying a chill as he lifted his eyes to stare at everyone who had tried to defend Simon.
“We are doctore. From the moment we stand on that onerating table, we hold lives in our bande
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Chapter 59 A Life Lost
Simon.”
D
+8 Pearls
The firing would require formal procedures, even notification to Wendy’s side.
The celebratory dinner Chase had planned never happened. When he returned home, the darkness of the empty house weighed heavily on him.
He hadn’t been at Cloud Hospital long–just a few months. He didn’t know the patient personally. But from what he had heard, the old man had been kind, never giving anyone trouble, never bothering the nurses.
Such a good person. Chase had given him a path to survival, a chance to live out his final years peacefully. And still–it had ended like this.
His conflict with Simon should never have cost someone else their life.
At that moment, Chase realized maybe it wasn’t so bad to sit in the chairman’s seat after all. At least he could stop mistakes like this from continuing.
During the meeting, many people had said Simon had “worked hard” for the hospital and deserved leniency–that he should be given some easy logistics job for his last few years before retirement.
But Chase couldn’t agree.
