Chapter 3

Eleanor's POV

I stood off to the side and said calmly, "Bella, go ahead and open the aorta."

Bella took a deep breath and lined up the blade, her movements stiff and hesitant, nothing like the steady hand a cardiac surgeon needed.

"Don't get nervous, Bella. Stay steady." Adrian's voice came through the intercom from the observation room, forcing calm.

The blade broke through the vessel wall, and blood started to seep out. Right as she moved to widen the opening and place the artificial valve, her hand jerked, and the back wall of the aorta tore open.

Blood shot out under pressure and hit Bella square in the face. Red flooded the surgical field in an instant, and the monitor let out a sharp, blaring alarm.

"Blood pressure's dropping! Heart rate's dropping!" the anesthesiologist shouted.

Bella froze completely, holding up her bloody hands, not even reaching for a clamp. She just stood there, stiff and unmoving.

"Stop the bleeding! Someone stop the bleeding!" Adrian's voice roared through the intercom, panicked.

I didn't move. As first assist, I had no authority to step in without the lead surgeon's order. I just watched Bella coldly, watched the fear and despair spreading across her face.

Right at that critical moment, the door burst open.

"What's going on? Why is that alarm going off?"

Chief Shaw stormed in, his face like thunder, the board members in suits right behind him, along with Dr. Theodore Grant, his expression grim.

They'd been watching from the monitoring center and rushed over the second the readings on Operating Room One went haywire.

The chaos and blood in front of them made everyone suck in a breath.

"Eleanor Hayes! What are you doing! How do you botch an aortic incision this badly!" Chief Shaw pointed at the table and tore into Bella.

Bella flinched hard, her face drained white, barely able to get a full sentence out. "Chief... I..."

I raised both hands at the right moment, playing innocent. "Chief, I'm right here."

Chief Shaw's head snapped toward me. "Eleanor? What are you doing over there in first assist? Aren't you supposed to be leading this?"

"No, Chief." I sighed, letting a note of helplessness creep into my voice. "Yesterday afternoon, Adrian gave the order himself. Said Bella trained overseas on the newest techniques, that she was better suited for this case. The lead got switched to Bella, and Adrian signed off on it himself."

The room went dead silent.

Chief Shaw and Dr. Grant exchanged a look, both of them close to boiling over.

"What newest techniques?" Dr. Grant pointed at Bella, shaking with anger. "This is malpractice!"

"Bella!" Chief Shaw was shaking too. "This is reckless! You're gambling with someone's life! Who gave you the nerve to lead this surgery? Get off that table, now!"

Bella's knees buckled, and she nearly collapsed. The circulating nurse half-dragged her out of position.

Chief Shaw turned to me, urgency written across his face. "Eleanor, take over. Whatever it takes, save this patient."

"Yes, sir."

I stepped into the lead position and took the suction and sutures from the scrub nurse. I took a breath, and everything I'd learned pulling patients back from the edge in my last life came rushing back.

My hands stayed rock steady. I found the bleed, worked the needle in and out, tied it off, clean and precise, no wasted motion.

"Bleeding's controlled," I reported, calm.

The anesthesiologist let out a long breath. "Pressure's coming back up. Heart rate's stabilizing."

Dr. Grant watched from the side, his frown finally easing, a flicker of respect crossing his face. "Now that's what a surgeon's hands should look like."

By the time the surgery wrapped, I pulled off my mask, a few flecks of blood still on it, and let out a deep breath.

I walked out into the hallway, where the air felt thick enough to choke on. Chief Shaw, the board members, and Dr. Grant stood there, none of them looking any less grim.

"Dr. Hayes, that was quite a save." Dr. Grant stepped forward, not bothering to hide the respect in his eyes. "Your suturing and your composure under pressure are world class. But I don't understand why a case this complicated ended up in the hands of someone who barely knows the basic anatomy."

His words landed like a slap across the whole hospital's face.

Chief Shaw looked like he'd aged ten years in an hour. He clenched his jaw, holding back his fury. "Eleanor, tell me the truth. What actually happened here?"