The Surgeon's Gambit: A Vow of Ruin

The moment my sister, Colette Vance, was rushed into the emergency room, her cranial aneurysm ruptured and bleeding, I was in my office, calmly practicing a basic suture on a surgical simulator.

On the screen, the robotic arm threaded the needle with flawless precision, a perfect, sterile work of art.

Minutes later, my fiancé, Dr. Julian Croft, threw open the door.

He was shouting, his voice ragged with panic. "Evelyn! Colette is critical. Only your Micro-Dissection Technique can save her. The entire department is waiting for you! We have less than ninety minutes!"

He stared at me, his eyes wide with pleading hope.

I was the only person in the country capable of performing a surgery of this complexity. My hands had been famously nicknamed "The Hand of God."

But I just gave a faint "Hm," and continued to manipulate the model.

My parents, Richard and Marianne Reed, burst in moments later, a storm of frantic energy. My mother grabbed my arm, her voice a strangled sob.

"Evelyn! That's your sister! How can you just sit there and watch her die?"

I gently pulled my arm free and held out my right hand for them to see.

This hand, the one that had performed countless medical miracles, was trembling. A fine, almost imperceptible tremor, but a fatal one for a surgeon at my level.

"Unfortunately, as of yesterday, I've developed symptoms of an essential tremor. Dad, Mom," I said, my voice flat. "This hand is finished."

The air in the room froze.

The expressions on their three faces morphed into sheer, unadulterated shock.

They stared at my right hand, at the slight but deadly tremor that was a death sentence for a top surgeon's career.

My mother's lips quivered. "How... how could this happen? You were fine yesterday! Are you just overworked?"

"The cause is unknown," I said, retracting my hand and burying it deep in the pocket of my white coat. "Perhaps it's fate."

"Fate?" My father's brow furrowed, his tone laced with reprimand. "Evelyn, stop talking nonsense! Are you... are you still holding a grudge against us?"

I said nothing, my gaze returning to the simulator.

At eighteen, I was brought back from a small, rural town to the Reed family.

It turned out that Colette, the beloved daughter the Reeds had raised for eighteen years, was an impostor.

And I was the true heiress.

My adoptive parents had died early, leaving me to a life of hardship.

When I first arrived at the Reed estate, I was sensitive and insecure.

It was Colette who showed me the most warmth.

She taught me etiquette, bought me beautiful clothes, and defended me at every turn, insisting we were real sisters and that I should feel at home.

My parents also said that Colette was their daughter too, that they loved us both equally.

Because Colette's biological family was impoverished, my parents couldn't bear to send her away, so they raised us as sisters.

I was grateful to them, and to Colette. I studied relentlessly, desperate to become their pride and joy, vowing to protect our family of four.

Until now.

Seeing my silence, my mother’s tears finally broke free.

She screamed at me, her voice raw with accusation. "Evelyn! Are you still resentful? Just because we doted on Colette a little more, you're holding it against her, letting her die?"

"Have you forgotten how much she loves you?! When you were studying late into the night, who was it that always made you those special health broths to keep you going?"

My heart, despite everything, still felt a sharp sting at that memory.

Julian quickly stepped forward to support my mother. "Marianne, please, don't get upset. Evelyn isn't like that!"

He then turned to me, his eyes filled with a pained disappointment. "Evelyn, I know you feel wronged, but Colette is innocent in all this! You can't let your personal feelings compromise your duty as a doctor!"

My father, usually a composed university professor, was red-eyed and hoarse. "Evelyn, even if your hand is injured, you could at least go in and guide the team! Colette is your sister. You can't just watch her die!"

But I remained unmoved, fiddling with my instruments.

My mother finally broke down completely. She dropped to her knees with a thud, wailing.

"How could I have raised such a cold-hearted, merciless daughter! Colette is so kind, always giving way to you, and now... now you're going to kill her?"

Her cries were shrill, echoing as she beat her fists against the floor, attracting the attention of other staff in the hallway.

Curious and disdainful glances fell on me, but I just offered a small, detached smile.

"I suppose that's her fate, then. There's nothing I can do."

Then, I sat back down and picked up the controls for the simulator again.

On the screen, the robotic arm resumed its work. I was completely focused, as if the chaos outside my office door didn't exist.

Seeing my cold-blooded display, my father staggered, his body swaying.

Julian looked at me, his disappointment seemingly reaching its absolute limit.

He took a deep breath, as if making a momentous decision.

"Mr. and Mrs. Reed, please, stop begging her."

He turned to my parents, his voice firm and resolute. "Let me do it."

Julian stepping forward instantly rekindled the hope in my parents' eyes.

"Julian! You... are you really confident you can do it?" my mother asked, grabbing his hand desperately.

Julian glanced at the two broken figures on the floor, then back at me. His face was a mask of noble sorrow as he spoke, his voice heavy with pain.

"Evelyn won't do it, and I understand. She carries the weight of the 'Hand of God' reputation; she can't afford to fail. But I can't just stand by and watch Colette die!"

His words, while feigning empathy for me, were expertly crafted to nail me to a cross of shame—the surgeon who valued her reputation over a human life.

The whispers from my colleagues in the hallway grew more pointed, their gazes more contemptuous.

Julian turned back to my parents, his voice ringing with conviction. "Mr. and Mrs. Reed, please, trust me! I've assisted Evelyn in every single one of her micro-dissection procedures. I know the theory, I've memorized the core principles. Allow me to combine conventional methods with her theories and take this risk for Colette!"

"Yes! Good lad!" My father was so moved he was weeping openly. "Julian, if you save Colette, our family... we'll give you half of the Reed family fortune!"

At those words, I finally looked up from my simulator.

I watched my ecstatic parents and the righteous-looking Julian, and I did a quick mental calculation.

Half of the Reed family fortune. At least a hundred million.

But...

I slowly stood up and looked at Julian, a smirk playing on my lips. "You're going to use my technique? Have you obtained my authorization?"

Julian flinched, then looked at me with deep, theatrical pain. "Evelyn Reed! How can you be thinking about that at a time like this? We need to save her!"

"Saving a life is one thing. Patent infringement is another," I said with a careless shrug, my tone firm. "Without my explicit authorization, if you dare touch that scalpel, I will sue you into oblivion. You'll never wear a white coat again."

"You!" Julian’s face went pale with rage.

My father was trembling with fury, pointing a shaking finger at me. "Evelyn Reed! You're being utterly unreasonable! Are you willing to sacrifice your sister's life for money and a patent?"

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