The next morning, a large commendation banner arrived at Westbridge University Hospital, framed with gold embroidery and accompanied by a formal letter of gratitude from the Sterling family.Word of how Dr. Ethan Reynolds had saved the choking child of a prominent family at a restaurant spread quickly throughout the hospital. By eleven o’clock, Hospital Director Martin Zahn personally called Ethan from his office.“Sit down, Ethan,” Director Martin said, gesturing toward the armchair across from his desk. The gray-haired director smiled warmly, tapping the edge of the framed banner resting against his bookshelf. “I just got off the phone with the Sterling family. You did a remarkable job. But honestly, it doesn’t surprise me. You’re a very capable doctor, Ethan, and you have far more real-world clinical experience than most of the senior physicians in this building. If you hadn’t always shown so little interest in moving up the ladder, I would have promoted you to head attending years

Sophia Reynolds stared down at the crisp white paper in her hands.The bold print at the bottom of the page seemed to shake before her eyes:PROBABILITY OF PATERNITY: 0.00%.Her pulse raced, her heart pounding against her ribs. Her fingers tightened around the edges of the sheet, crumpling the paper slightly. She slowly looked up, her eyes darting across Ethan’s face, searching for a smirk, any sign that this was some sick trick meant to punish her."This... this is real?" she asked, her voice cracking with a mix of shock and disbelief."There's no doubt about it," Ethan said. His voice was unnaturally flat, lacking the warm, forgiving tone he had used with her for fifteen years. "You and I share no blood. Chloe had you with another man.”Sophia swallowed hard, her mind spinning as she struggled to process what was happening. "Then... what am I supposed to do?""Go ask Chloe who your real father is," Ethan said, a bitter, humorless smile briefly touching his lips before disappearing.

“Grandpa! Grandma!”Sophia rushed through the front door with one hand pressed to her cheek, letting her cries carry through the house.Lora Jenner hurried out of the sitting room. Her husband, Dr. Glen Jenner, followed close behind, his attention immediately drawn to the swelling on Sophia’s face.“Sophia, darling! What happened?”Lora pulled her granddaughter into her arms before the girl could answer. Sophia clutched her blouse and buried her face against her shoulder, allowing her sobs to grow louder now that she had an audience.Glen came closer, frowning.“Let me look at you.”Sophia reluctantly lifted her head. She lowered her hand just enough for him to see her cheek, then winced when Lora brushed a strand of hair away from it.“Who did this?” Glen asked.“Mom…” Sophia’s voice broke. “Mom hit me.”Lora stared at her.“Your mother did this to you?”Sophia nodded, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks.“I went home, and she got angry because Dad wasn’t with me. I tried to tell he

The metallic taste of blood flooded Ethan's mouth before his brain even registered the impact of the strike. The slap echoed through the surgical corridor, snapping his head violently to the side.“You ungrateful, greedy bastard!” Dr. Glen Jenner roared, his face flushed with rage. “How dare you! How dare you do this to my daughter!”Ethan stood frozen, his surgical cap lying crumpled near his feet. His cheek throbbed and his jaw ached.For a moment, Ethan couldn't move.In sixteen years of marriage, Glen Jenner had always been an intimidating figure—a respected physician whose approval Ethan had spent years quietly seeking. He had never expected the man to march into his workplace and assault him.“You fabricate some bogus lab test, drag my daughter's name through the mud, and then file a court petition demanding three billion dollars?!” Glen's voice rose with every word.He raised his hand again, his knuckles white as he aimed another backhanded strike at Ethan's face.Before that c

The sharp, persistent chime of a smartphone shattered the silence inside Chloe’s dressing suite.Chloe snatched the phone off the marble vanity and saw her father’s name flashing across the screen. Before she could even say hello, Dr. Glen’s furious, trembling voice exploded through the speaker.“I just left the hospital, Chloe. That ungrateful dog actually had the audacity to talk back to me in front of Martin Zahn! I gave him a taste of my palm right there in the corridor!”Chloe’s breath caught.“Dad... what did you do?”“I’m not letting him walk away with this three-billion-dollar extortion scheme!” Glen barked, his breathing heavy. “I’ve already instructed Gavin Grant to draft criminal extortion charges against him. We’re going to destroy him in court and make sure he never practices medicine in this city again!”Click.Glen hung up.Chloe stood frozen in the middle of her dressing room, the phone slowly slipping from her ear. Her heart hammered against her ribs as frustration was