Alex’s mother Rose had only a simple cold, but was killed by a nurse named Lily who administered the wrong IV. I went to the hospital demanding answers, but was thrown out every single time. Just as I was about to file a complaint with the state medical board and request a malpractice investigation, Alex—the hospital’s chief physician—threw a box of ashes at me: “I’m the hospital’s most authoritative expert. What does it matter that your mother only had a cold? If I say she had a terminal illness, then she had a terminal illness.” “Besides, your mother’s body has already been cremated. If you keep making a fuss, everyone will think your mother had a terminal disease and deliberately came to the hospital to cause trouble just to extort money.” “Take these ashes and get lost. Stop harassing Lily.” That’s when I realized—Alex thought all along that it was my mother who had died. I pushed the urn back toward him: “I’m not qualified to take these ashes.” Alex thought I was refusing. His voice suddenly rose sharply: “The person’s already been cremated—what more do you want?” “Mata, get this straight. Your mother was just an unemployed vagrant. Is her life worth tarnishing our hospital’s reputation with a medical malpractice case? The hospital’s already agreed to handle this privately—that’s already your lucky break, so don’t push your luck!” I shook my head: “You’ve got it wrong. What I mean is, these ashes should be yours to keep.” Alex’s brow furrowed deeply, his face full of disgust: “Are you out of your mind?” “These are your mother’s ashes. What do they have to do with me?” “You think I’m like you, needing to live the rest of my life holding onto a box of ash?” Alex came from a single-parent home. His father died young, and Rose raised him through tremendous hardship. To help him achieve his dream of becoming a doctor, Rose worked multiple jobs a day, wearing her body down with all kinds of health problems. Alex saw it all and had always cared deeply for Rose. At first, I didn’t understand why when Rose had her accident, Alex didn’t even come home. He devoted all his energy to protecting Lily, the person directly responsible. I never imagined it was because he thought the person who died was my mother. I looked at Alex with complete seriousness: “Alex, I suggest you keep these ashes safe. Otherwise, you’re going to regret it.” Alex didn’t take me seriously: “It’s just a box of ashes. What’s there to regret?” “Now that your mother’s already been cremated, all the evidence is gone. What are you going to use for an investigation? Just take your stuff and stop making trouble!” Rose wasn’t my biological mother. But a perfectly healthy person was killed by a simple cold treatment, then branded as having a terminal illness and trying to extort money—and her own son even signed off on having her body hastily cremated. Thinking about what she went through, my heart ached for her. “Alex, since you know the hospital wants to cover up the accident, how could you bear to sign off on immediate cremation? Don’t you think that’s cruel?” Alex’s lips curled: “It was your mother, not mine. Why would I feel bad about it?” “Besides, she’s already dead. Cremating her quickly prevents complications and helps the hospital settle things down.” “It’s her own fault for having such a weak body. Dying from a simple cold, and getting Lily suspended for investigation!” Looking at Alex’s self-righteous attitude, I found it hard to imagine what his reaction would be if he knew the dead person was his own mother. Seeing my silence, Alex continued: “Honestly, I always thought your mother’s constitution meant she wouldn’t live long anyway. Even if nothing happened this time, she definitely wouldn’t have lasted much longer.” “The hospital’s willing to give some compensation—you should be grateful!” “Just take the ashes, and tomorrow buy some things to bring to the department and apologize to Lily. Then we can put this behind us.” With that, Alex left the urn and turned to leave. Watching Alex’s resolute departing figure. I suddenly realized that the renowned doctor who once vowed to save lives had completely rotted from within. This marriage needed to end.
The next day, I drafted divorce papers and went to the hospital where he worked. As soon as I entered the office, I saw Alex—who had severe germophobia—kneeling on one knee, gently applying medicine to Lily’s injured ankle. In his eyes was a tenderness I’d never seen before. The moment Lily saw me, she immediately feigned alarm: “Mata, don’t misunderstand! My ankle’s sprained, and Alex was kind enough to help me apply medicine.” She pulled her foot back and tugged at Alex, her voice anxious: “Quick, explain! I don’t want to be reported again…” Alex patted her back affectionately, softly comforting her: “Don’t worry. She’s here to apologize to you.” Then he looked at me with disgust, his tone cold: “Didn’t I tell you to bring something? Why are you empty-handed?” “At your age, you don’t even know how to apologize properly?” Too lazy to argue, I coldly pulled the divorce agreement from my bag and placed it in front of Alex: “Sign it. We’re getting divorced.” Alex stared at the divorce papers, stunned for a moment. Then his brow furrowed in anger: “What are you making a fuss about now?” “You know my mother… she approves of you. She’ll never agree to our divorce.” “You’re pulling this stunt just to make her criticize me, aren’t you?” So he still had his mother in his heart after all. I produced a bitter smile and said coldly: “Your mother can never criticize you again.” Alex’s expression changed slightly. He asked: “What do you mean?” I remained serious: “Go home and see for yourself.” Alex glared at me impatiently: “Stop being so cryptic with me.” “Your mother’s dead—isn’t that it? Why are you still going on about this?” “Just leave. Don’t embarrass yourself at the hospital. I’m not divorcing you!” Seeing this, Lily—who had been watching the drama unfold—suddenly wiped away non-existent tears and sobbed on cue: “Mata, even though my medical license was forged and my experience insufficient, that day was truly just a momentary lapse!” “Are you bringing up divorce now to threaten Dr. Alex into sending me to prison?!” Lily spoke so pitifully, as if she were the true victim who had suffered all the injustice. Her tear-filled eyes broke Alex’s heart. He pulled Lily into his embrace: “Lily, don’t cry. As long as I’m here, nothing will ever happen to you.” Then he glared at me furiously: “Mata, Lily is so young—is it really necessary to target her like this?” “You think threatening me with divorce will make me stop protecting Lily? Dream on!” “Let me tell you—your mother could only have died from illness. You’ll never get any malpractice compensation, and you’ll never harm Lily in the slightest!” Watching Alex turn hostile against me to protect the person directly responsible for killing his mother. My heart couldn’t help but ache again for Rose. Forget it. Since her own son had taken this stance, what more could I—an outsider—say? I took a deep breath and enunciated clearly: “I’m definitely getting this divorce.” Alex was so angry he tore up the divorce agreement on the spot, threw the pieces into the air, and said through gritted teeth: “You want a divorce that badly?” “Fine! I’ll grant your wish!” “But let me tell you—even if we divorce, I’ll be the one drafting the agreement. I’ll make sure you’re ruined and leave with nothing!” “I’ll make everyone see clearly that you’re nothing but a malicious woman using her own mother’s death to extort the hospital and smear its reputation!” Through the shower of paper scraps, I saw the cruel determination in Alex’s eyes. And the barely perceptible triumphant smile at the corner of Lily’s mouth. In the end, I said nothing. I turned and left the doctor’s office.
After returning home, I quietly began packing my belongings. Just as I was pulling my suitcase down to the apartment complex lobby. A large crowd suddenly swarmed toward me. They were all holding cameras or phones, frantically filming me: “Look, that’s her! She coached her elderly mother to fake illness at the hospital to extort money!” “After her mother died, she used the death to greedily extort the hospital. When that didn’t work, she filed complaints everywhere to smear them! She drove a young doctor who just started working to depression—the poor girl almost committed suicide several times!” “Fortunately, her husband is the chief physician. He stood by principle over family, maintaining the hospital’s reputation and speaking up for the innocent, poor doctor. Otherwise, who knows what that young woman would have suffered!” “Now she blames her husband for not conspiring with her, so she’s threatening him with divorce. She’s even packed her bags and is ready to leave!” Sharp accusations echoed endlessly. Through the crowd, I could see Lily and Alex’s gleeful faces in the background. So this live broadcast was Alex’s method of ruining my reputation? The response was indeed enormous. The on-site broadcasters hurled accusations, and various live streaming channels were filled with endless abuse: “This woman is absolutely terrible! For money, she didn’t even care about her own mother’s life?” “With children like this, what parent could live long?” “Like mother, like daughter. Her mother’s death was probably from taking random medicine and ruining her own health!” “Right! Why is it that everyone else’s cold was fine, but only her mother died? It proves her mother must have had serious problems to begin with!” Public opinion fermented quickly. In moments, my photo hit trending searches across the internet. Labels like “medical troublemaker,” “menace,” and “extortionist” all became synonymous with my identity. As these online broadcasters added fuel to the fire. The onlookers who had gathered at the scene couldn’t help but start throwing eggs and rotten vegetables at me. I stepped through the garbage on the ground, walked through the crowd, and stopped in front of Alex: “Alex, do you really need to go this far?” Alex frowned slightly. Before he could speak, Lily tearfully interjected: “Mata, even though your mother passed away, I’ve been suffering too during this time!” “I’m begging you to let me go—please stop targeting me!” Alex’s eyes flashed with sympathy, then he looked at me with determination: “Mata, you brought all of this on yourself.” “Your mother’s death was entirely due to her own underlying condition. You shouldn’t have kept filing complaints and making things difficult for Lily.” “Lily’s career has been delayed because of this. She hasn’t sued you for emotional distress—that’s already her being kind. Yet you keep going on and on. Your mother had such a vicious daughter—no wonder she died young!” As soon as he finished speaking. My mother suddenly emerged from the crowd and looked at Alex: “Who did you say is dead?”
Seeing my mother suddenly appear before him. Alex jumped in fright. His face turned deathly pale as he looked my mother over for a long moment. Then he stammered in disbelief: “How… how are you…” My mother’s eyes flashed with confusion: “Alex, dear, I’m perfectly fine. How could I…” Mid-sentence, my mother seemed to realize something. She looked at Alex with sympathy and concern: “These past few days must have been really hard on you.” During this time, my mother only knew that I had been running around daily dealing with Rose’s medical accident. But she didn’t know what Alex had been busy with. She assumed he was immersed in grief and hadn’t yet accepted reality. After all, my mother knew Alex had always cared deeply for his mother. When the mother you’d depended on since childhood dies, who could accept it calmly? Hearing my mother’s words, Alex nodded, glancing at me meaningfully: “It has been quite difficult.” Then he looked directly at me, his face full of displeasure: “Mata, is there something wrong with your brain?” “If it wasn’t your mother who died, what’s the point of filing complaints and reports every day, and refusing to let Lily go?” “Do you just hate seeing her doing well?” Faced with Alex’s questioning, I couldn’t help but be curious: “Is that really how you see me?” Alex snorted coldly and said decisively: “What else?” “The facts are right in front of us. It wasn’t your mother who died, yet you’ve filed complaints multiple times and kept pestering—if that’s not targeting Lily, what is?” “Unless you’re doing it for justice?” Lily immediately leaned weakly toward Alex, sobbing softly: “Mata never liked me. She’s deliberately using this incident to target me because she blames me for being too close to you.” “Maybe I should just resign. I’m afraid there’ll be even greater malice waiting for me in the future…” Alex looked at her with heartache: “You didn’t do anything wrong—why should you resign?” “Don’t worry. I’ll definitely get justice for you in this matter!” Then Alex faced the surrounding people and cameras, declaring firmly: “In today’s society, many doctors no longer dare to wholeheartedly treat patients.” “If a condition is complex, we don’t dare treat it.” “If the risk is high, we don’t dare operate.” “Why?” “Isn’t it because we’re forced into this by those extortionist patient families, and people like Mata who help tyrants do evil?” “These scum are best at exploiting people’s sympathy and our professional ethics to gain benefits for themselves!” “How many doctors with benevolent hearts and skillful hands have been ruined by them, their careers destroyed?” “Although Mata is my wife, I’ve always stood by principle over family.” “Today, I’m putting it out there—I, Alex, will use all my knowledge and connections to investigate this matter to the end!” “I will make sure that social parasite who had illness but extorted the hospital, her family and descendants, and morally twisted people like Mata all pay a heavy price!” Alex truly lived up to his reputation as a renowned chief physician in the medical field—his eloquence was indeed impressive. With just a few words, he shaped himself into a hero fighting for medical dignity. The crowd on site and netizens in the live streams instantly became fired up after hearing this. They unanimously applauded: “Way to go, Alex!” “That’s exactly how it should be—make an example of them, let everyone who makes unreasonable trouble be punished!” “Right! Who told them to earn such unconscionable money every day? How many innocent doctors have they harmed?” “The old person who died may be gone, but she definitely still has family and descendants. We need to make those people spit out every penny of extortion money they swallowed!” “They should be ruined and notorious, to serve as a warning to all such scum!” Hearing the chorus of support on site, Alex’s face displayed unprecedented satisfaction. Before this incident, he had handled numerous medical disputes, large and small. But never before had any caused such a huge response. In this moment, he forgot that the old woman’s charge of “terminal illness extortion” was his own slanderous fabrication. He forgot that his original intention in becoming a doctor was to cure illness and save lives. He only wanted to seize this opportunity to be Lily’s protector, to be the justice expert everyone praised. To make an innocently killed old woman notorious. To ruin me completely.
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