The Scalpel and the Serpent

My childhood friend, Ethan, was video-flirting with my fiance during surgery.

Distracted, he slipped with the scalpel, leaving the patient paralyzed for life.

Afterwards, he pinned the blame on me, claiming I was the lead surgeon.

I begged my fiance, Chloe, to testify for me.

Instead, she said she and Ethan had secretly gotten married.

"I don't want my husband getting jealous," she then turned and shielded Ethan as they left.

Then the enraged patient's family members cornered me.

I was stabbed over a dozen times.

The tendons in my hands were severed,my fingers were crushed to a pulp.

As despair swallowed me whole, Eliza Lynwood, my childhood lover, arrived with her security team.

Tears streaming, she cradled my ruined hands.

She mobilized her private jet, summoning dozens of top specialists from around the globe, pleading on her knees for them to save me.

I was deeply moved by everything she did for me and fell in love with her deeply.

Two years later, I overheard her talking to her assistant.

"Ms. Lynwood, the patient died because of Ethan's mistake. The family is flying back from overseas. They won't let this go."

"Should we pin it on Mr. Chase again, like the last time? This is the second time he's taken the fall for Ethan. What if it gets him killed?"

Eliza scoffed.

"Last time he got stabbed like a pincushion, his hands destroyed, and he pulled through, didn't he?"

If he could shield Ethan once, he can do it again. I keep him fed and housed. As long as he doesn't die, it's fine."

"Ethan's preparing for the Golden Scalpel competition. Becoming the Medical Sage's disciple is his dream. I won't allow any danger or obstacle to get near him!"

The assistant hesitated. "But... that competition slot was originally Mr. Chase's.

He was the most brilliant surgeon in the country."

Becoming the Sage's disciple was his dream too. And you... you deliberately had his hands ruined to disqualify him."

"He worked ten years for that chance. Is this fair to him?"

"Fair?" Eliza's voice was ice. "His hands were already trash. A cripple couldn't compete anyway. What does 'fair' matter?"

The assistant pressed, uneasy.

"But you spent thirty million just to get Ethan that backup slot and another two hundred million bribing the organizers for the competition questions."

If your cheating gets exposed... your reputation, the company stock... the fallout would be catastrophic."

Eliza sounded impatient. "Enough! From the moment I met Ethan, I knew I'd give everything for him."

Since he didn't choose me... I'll lift his dreams as high as I can. If Ethan is happy, what are mere reputation and stocks?"

"Ethan must win the Golden Scalpel. That's the only way he becomes the Sage's disciple. As for Caden... he's already broken. I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to him."

Outside the door, my hands shook as I recorded every word on my phone, then stumbled downstairs.

The family member who attacked me, who didn't stop at stabbing but deliberately severed my tendons and crushed my fingers... was sent by Eliza!

She saved me, married me, not out of love, but to keep a convenient scapegoat on hand, ready to sacrifice for her precious Ethan.

My life was saved, but with both hands crippled and four fingers forcibly amputated.

Now, even holding chopsticks was a struggle, let alone picking up a scalpel again.

But I never imagined the architect of my ruin was my own wife.

The thought that while I lay bleeding, drowning in despair over my shattered dream, she might have been watching from the shadows with satisfaction sent a chill deep into my bones.

The scars on my wrists throbbed. My hands shook violently. A glass slipped, shattering on the floor.

The noise brought Eliza running. She pulled me into her arms, steering me away from the shards.

"Caden, darling," she murmured, concern lacing her voice, "How many times have I told you? In this house, I am your hands. Just tell me what you need."

"Or ask the housekeeper! Your hands haven't healed properly. What if you make it worse? Do you want to break my heart?"

I instinctively reached for my gloves on the bar but Eliza stopped me.

She lifted my maimed, ugly hand, pressing a kiss to the scarred stump where my fingers used to be.

"Caden, you never need to feel insecure or hide behind gloves in front of me. Because I love you. All of you."

"I only hate that I got there too late that day. If I'd been sooner... your hands... your dream... I'll take care of you, I promise."

Her tone was velvet, her eyes soft. But her words filled me with a desolate cold.

The deep affection and salvation I thought I'd found was a carefully constructed lie.

I forced a smile. "Don't say that. You did everything you could."

"You must be tired from work. Go rest upstairs. I'll have the housekeeper warm some milk for you."

I slipped two sleeping pills into the milk. Once Eliza was deeply asleep, I headed to the garage.

I meant to check the car's dashcam. Instead, but accidentally bumped a hidden button on the wall.

The floor tiles slid apart, revealing stairs descending into darkness. It was a secret room.

An electronic lock guarded it.

On the small screen was a heart-shaped sticker with Eliza and Ethan's grinning faces.

As expected, the code was Ethan's birthday.

The scene that greeted me inside pierced my heart like a blade.

Eliza had transformed the space into a private theater.

On the highest-end screen available, a video played: Ethan, in med school, practicing vascular sutures on a lab rat.

His pores were visible, the image so clear it felt like I could touch him.

His hand trembled and the suture needle plunged straight through the rat's heart, killing it instantly.

Despite the clumsy technique, Eliza had overlaid the video with heart emojis. A caption read:

"October 3rd, 2018. Sunny. My dearest Ethan, future star of medicine. You look so handsome when you're focused."

I'd once wanted to record our married life to keep as memories for our old age.

Eliza dismissed it. "True memories live in the heart," she'd said. "No need for pointless recordings."

Yet here were hundreds of videos of Ethan's daily life and work.

There were over a thousand clips in the playlist C more than the days we'd been married.

Each one tagged with her heartfelt declarations.

Dozens of small wooden shelves lined the walls, holding hundreds of bottles of bespoke men's hand serum.

I recognized them. I'd seen the same bottles in Ethan's possession back when I was still a surgeon.

Curious, I'd asked him where he got it. Ethan had smirked.

"Caden, don't even dream about it. You can't buy these, and you couldn't afford them."

Someone who loves me had them specially blended for me by an international master. The ingredients are rare and expensive, the best for nourishing skin. A single bottle costs a fortune."

Eliza. She was the one who loved him.

Three years of marriage, and I never received such preferential treatment.

But the deepest cut came from a poster titled 'Ethan's Dream'. A cartoon Ethan battled his way to victory in the 'Golden Scalpel' competition, becoming the Medical Sage's disciple.

Beside it was Eliza's handwriting:

"Ethan, I will lift you to the top."

And on that path to the summit, I saw an image of myselfcovered in blood, fingers mangled, lying in a pool of crimson.

My face was crossed out with a bold red 'X'. The caption: "Ethan's Obstacle. Resolved."

Tears escaped my control. I booked a flight leaving in three days.

Eliza, since I'm such an eyesore to you, I'll vanish completely.

As for your precious Ethan... he's basked in my pain and blood long enough. It ends now.

Back in the house, I found a divorce agreement template online. I'd leave with nothing.

I sat on the couch, staring at my ruined hands, unable to sleep all night.

The next morning, Eliza, assuming I'd just woken early, suspected nothing.

She pulled out a thumb-sized tube of hand cream, meticulously massaging it into my skin.

"Caden, this is a new formula developed by an international master. Its nourishing and promotes healing. Incredibly hard to get. I managed to snag just one tube. Its perfect for you."

Looking at the cheap tube, I felt a stab of bitter irony.

It was a free sample from the crates of Ethan's bespoke serum, piled in the corner of her secret room, gathering dust.

Before I could bring up the divorce, Eliza hurriedly dressed to leave.

"Caden, things are tense outside right now. Stay home. Don't go anywhere."

The moment she left, I pulled out my phone.

Audio from the recorder I'd hidden in her car streamed through C her assistant's voice.

"Ms. Lynwood, the deceased's family has contacted the media. They want justice. I've pressured the hospital staff to stay quiet, but the story's blowing up. It could lead back to Mr. Reed."

"What are you waiting for?" Eliza's voice was cold. "Leak Caden's photo and our home address to the media. Pin it on him."

"But Mr. Chase, he..."

"Enough! He's safely tucked away at home. I'll post two guards outside. What could happen? Ethan cannot be implicated."

For Ethan, she was shoving me into the storm without a second thought. How deeply devoted.

Eliza hadn't been gone long when the media and online mob, tipped off, descended on the house.

The promised guards were nowhere to be seen.

They pounded on the door, screaming.

"Caden Chase! Murderer! Quack doctor! How dare you hide at home after killing someone? We'll deliver justice today! Come out!"

Rocks shattered the windows. Rotten eggs splattered against my head, reeking. The door groaned under the assault.

Seeing the door was about to give way, the housekeeper took pity. "Quick! Put on my clothes, my hat! Go out the back!"

I barely made it down the street before some live-streamers spotted me.

"There's the scumbag! Trying to run? Grab him! Our stream will blow up!"

The terror of my past attack flooded back. Petrified, I turned and fled.

In a panic, I called Eliza on video. It connected.

"Caden, I'm in a meeting. Whatever it is, can it wait?"

Before I could speak, she seemed to accidentally enable the video.

On the screen, Ethan's arm draped over her shoulder.

They were strolling leisurely through a luxury mall.

Ethan pointed at a flagship store, whining.

"Eliza, I love all their wallets and watches. But they're so expensive. What to do?"

Eliza gazed at him adoringly, voice dripping with indulgence.

"Then I'll buy them all for you, Ethan. Consider it fuel for your competition tomorrow."

"Oh, stop~ you'll spoil me," Ethan simpered. "Well... maybe just let me try that diamond-encrusted one first?"

"Anything for your happiness, Ethan."