chapter 5

"Aurora, are you busy?"

When Sophie's gentle voice came through the phone, Aurora couldn't help but soften her tone. "Not busy, just finished a surgery."

Sophie had always been like a grandmother to Aurora, treating her as if she were her own granddaughter.

Aurora had always relied on Sophie as a trusted elder. In her heart, both her grandmother and Sophie were the people who cherished her most.

Sensing the exhaustion in Aurora's voice, Sophie gently reminded her, "Don't overwork yourself," before getting to the point.

"Aurora, I've heard about what happened between you and Zane. Don't worry, I've already taken care of that woman, Isabelle. I had my bodyguards throw all her things out of Zane's house and kicked her out!

"My only granddaughter-in-law can only be you, Aurora."

Aurora froze when she heard those words, glancing at Isabelle, who was kneeling before her.

It was Sophie who had arranged for Isabelle's removal.

Her heart softened with gratitude, but it was also filled with bitterness.

She held the phone, unable to speak for a long time.

Sophie sighed, her voice now tinged with a hint of pleading. "Aurora, I know Zane has gone too far these past few days, but I still want you to give him another chance.

"He was just blinded by that woman. Once you two are married, he'll settle down. I've already set the wedding date for next month. Is that all right?"

Aurora felt a sharp sting in her chest, and quickly found an excuse to end the call.

As the screen went dark, the door to her office opened again.

Zane stormed in. Upon seeing Isabelle and Ivy kneeling, he rushed to help them up.

When he turned to look at Aurora, his expression was cold. "Aurora, you're still playing the tattling game at your age? Don't you feel childish?

"Now you can marry me. Are you satisfied?

"You're so good at scheming. You really disgust me!"

With that, he turned and stormed out, slamming the door behind him as he protected Isabelle and Ivy.

Aurora let out a bitter laugh, closed her eyes, and leaned back in her office chair.

Fine, it doesn't matter. I'll leave soon anyway.

Aurora had thought that she wouldn't see Zane or Isabelle again before she left for good.

However, later that night, Ivy was carried into the emergency room by Zane and Isabelle, covered in blood.

The three of them had been involved in a car accident, and young Ivy was the most critically injured.

Isabelle was frantic. When she saw Aurora approaching, she rushed forward and grabbed her hand, saying, "Dr. Larson, you have to save Ivy!"

Aurora, being the attending physician, had no reason to refuse. She immediately went to the operating room.

It was a relatively simple surgery, one that Aurora could handle with ease, and it was completed quickly.

However, after the observation period, Ivy showed no signs of waking up and remained unconscious.

The following day, Aurora received the news and immediately went to the ward to check on her.

Zane was apparently out, leaving only Isabelle to keep watch over Ivy.

When Isabelle saw Aurora, her eyes brimmed with emotion. She immediately started accusing her. "Dr. Larson, why isn't Ivy awake yet? Did you do something to her? I know you hate me, but you can't hurt my daughter!"

Aurora wasn't sure what had gone wrong, so she approached Ivy to assess her condition.

But Isabelle was extremely agitated. She rushed forward to block Aurora's way, crying out in distress. "Enough! Don't touch my Ivy anymore! You're trying to hurt her on purpose! You definitely made mistake during the surgery! I want a new doctor!"

Aurora only wanted to check on Ivy's condition and didn't argue with her. She simply pressed the call button beside her.

After pressing the button, she looked Isabelle straight in the eye and said, "If you want a new doctor, that's fine, but we must first figure out why Ivy is still in a coma!

"I won't take the blame for surgical mistakes! I didn't do anything wrong."

When the on-duty nurse arrived, Aurora immediately issued orders, "You need to draw blood and run tests on the patient right away. Check for any possibility of pre-surgery self-medication or anesthesia conflicts ..."

Before Aurora could finish speaking, Isabelle suddenly interrupted her in a fit of emotion, "No! I don't consent! My daughter didn't take any medication before the surgery, and she wasn't sick!

"This is clearly your surgical mistake! Why would you want to draw my daughter's blood?"

As she spoke, she started crying again.

Aurora watched her, noticing something off about her behavior. It suddenly clicked where the sense of unease was coming from.