Chapter 2 - The Stranger in the Trauma Bay
Ethan stumbled backward, his medical instincts warring with his sudden emotional paralysis.
The tall man in the dark suit held his ground, blocking Ethan from reaching the stretcher.
The stranger possessed sharp features and cold eyes that demanded immediate authority.
Ethan quickly recovered his balance and glared at the man invading his trauma bay.
He demanded to know who this arrogant stranger was and why he was interfering with critical patient care.
The man pulled a laminated identification badge from his tailored jacket pocket.
His name was Julian Vance, a senior oncologist from a private research facility across the state.
Julian coldly informed Ethan that he was Claire’s primary physician and her legally appointed medical proxy.
Ethan felt a sickening wave of confusion and jealousy wash over him.
He had been married to Claire for seven years, and he had never heard the name Julian Vance.
He pushed past Julian, desperate to look at the cardiac monitor connected to his ex-wife.
Her heart rate was dangerously erratic, threatening to stop completely at any second.
Ethan ordered his surgical nurses to prep Operating Room Four immediately.
Julian grabbed Ethan by the shoulder with an incredibly strong grip.
He loudly announced that Claire had a strict Do Not Resuscitate order on file.
He claimed that any surgical intervention was not only medically useless, but highly illegal.
Ethan stared at the legal document Julian pulled from a leather briefcase.
The signature at the bottom belonged to Claire, dated exactly eight months ago.
It was the exact same day she had unexpectedly asked Ethan to move out of their house.
The pieces of her sudden, inexplicable cruelty began to form a devastating picture in his mind.
She had not left him because she stopped loving him.
She had left him to spare him the agony of watching her die.
Ethan refused to accept this tragic narrative, pushing the legal documents away.
He shouted that as the chief of surgery, he had the authority to override the proxy in a life-or-death emergency.
Julian sneered, warning Ethan that he would lose his medical license and face criminal charges.
Ethan looked down at Claire's pale, peaceful face beneath the harsh fluorescent lights.
He whispered a quiet promise that he would rather rot in prison than let her die.
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He grabbed the handles of the stretcher and violently shoved Julian out of the way.
But as the nurses wheeled Claire toward the surgical wing, a squad of armed hospital security guards completely blocked the corridor.
