Chapter 2 - The Mask Falls
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The hallway seemed to lose all oxygen in an instant.
Barbara’s jaw loosened, her gaze darting from my face down to the heavy plastic ID badge clipped to my scrub top.
DR. EMILY CARTER, MD
CHIEF OF CARDIOTHORACIC & TRAUMA SURGERY
“Chief... chief surgeon?” Barbara whispered, her voice cracking like thin ice. “No... no, that’s impossible. She told us she was a nurse!”
“I said I worked in surgery, Barbara,” I replied, my tone completely level and devoid of emotion. “You filled in the rest because it fit your narrative.”
“Emily, please,” Daniel stepped forward, his eyes red and brimming with tears. “My dad collapsed at home an hour ago. He was clutching his chest. They said his aorta...”
“I’ve reviewed the CT scans,” I cut in smoothly, transitioning entirely into physician mode. “It’s a Type A aortic dissection. The main artery carrying blood from his heart is tearing. Without immediate surgery, he has less than an hour to live.”
Barbara let out a strangled gasp, reaching for the wall to steady herself. “Then get someone else! Someone with more experience! You can't operate on my husband!”
The charge nurse stepped between us, her expression stern. “Mrs. Reynolds, Dr. Carter is the most decorated cardiothoracic surgeon in the tri-state area. If anyone in this building can save your husband’s life, it is her.”
I looked Barbara dead in the eye.
“Every second we stand here arguing about my job description, Richard loses precious heart tissue,” I said coldly. “Do you want me to save his life, or do you want to keep playing social politics?”
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Barbara swallowed hard, her face draining of all remaining color. She couldn't speak. She could only nod slowly, her hand shaking as she clutched her string of pearls.
“Prep him for OR Three,” I ordered the team. “I’m scrubbing in.”
