After The Divorce I Became Untouchable: The Rise Of Ghost Do

Chapter 4: Six Hours That Shook The City

Death had a schedule, and Ivan was about to make it wait.

Dr. Raymond Chen led him through the private wing like a man in a trance. They walked past bewildered nurses and security guards who'd tried to throw Ivan out minutes earlier.

Soon, word spread through the hospital in whispers—the Ghost Doctor is real, and he is here.

"Mr. Jerome is in the critical care suite," Dr. Chen said, his earlier arrogance completely evaporated.

"We've kept him stable, but the hemorrhaging is progressing. Every specialist we've consulted says the same thing. The surgery is impossible."

"Nothing is impossible," Ivan replied. "Just improbable."

They reached a set of double doors. Through the glass, Ivan could see a crowd of surgeons in scrubs, monitoring equipment, and at the center, an elderly man on life support.

Tubes. Wires. The steady beep of machines doing the work his brain couldn't.

William Jerome. Billionaire industrialist. Philanthropist. Dying.

A woman in her forties stood by the observation window, her face carved from grief and exhaustion. Amanda Jerome, the daughter. She turned as they approached.

"Dr. Chen, what's—" She stopped, staring at Ivan's wine-stained clothes. "Who is this?"

"Ms. Jerome, this is—"

"Someone who can save your father," Ivan interrupted. "If you'll let me."

Amanda's eyes narrowed. "Is this a joke? He looks homeless."

"I am homeless," Ivan said simply. "As of about two hours ago. But I'm also the only chance your father has."

"Security!" Amanda turned.

"Wait." Dr. Chen grabbed her arm. "Ms. Jerome, I know how this looks. But this man just described three surgical procedures that theoretically shouldn't exist. Procedures that match exactly with the Ghost Doctor's rumored work."

Amanda froze. "The Ghost Doctor is a myth."

"I thought so too," Dr. Chen said. "Until five minutes ago."

Ivan moved to the observation window. He studied the monitors, the vital signs, the brain scans displayed on the screens.

His eyes moved with practiced efficiency, cataloging everything.

"Your father has approximately four hours before the damage becomes irreversible," Ivan said. "Maybe less. I need a surgical theater, a team that can follow orders without question, and complete authority. No interference."

"You're insane," Amanda whispered.

"Probably." Ivan turned to face her. "But I'm also right. You've consulted every expert in this city. They've all told you the same thing. Your father is going to die."

Amanda's face crumpled.

"I'm telling you he doesn't have to," Ivan continued quietly. "Not today."

She stared at him for a long moment. At the calm certainty in his eyes. The absolute confidence that didn't match his appearance.

"If you're lying…"

"Then your father dies anyway, and you've lost nothing but time you didn't have." Ivan's voice was gentle. "But if I'm telling the truth, he lives."

Amanda looked at Dr. Chen.

The director nodded slowly. "I'll prepare the theater."

---

Minutes later, the surgical theater filled with the best doctors Lakecity Central Hospital had to offer. They surrounded the observation deck, whispers spreading like wildfire.

"Who is he?"

"Chen authorized this personally."

"Look at his clothes and how he came here. This is insane."

Inside the theater, Ivan stood over William Jerome, now prepped for surgery. He had changed into scrubs, but his calm demeanor remained unchanged.

"Dr. Chen," Ivan said. "I need Dr. Sarah Park on neuro, Dr. James Liu on cardiovascular, and Nurse Martinez on instruments."

Everybody halted.

Shock.

"How do you know our staff?" Dr. Park asked, surprised.

"I don't. But Dr. Chen does, and he knows who's best." Ivan looked at the director. "Am I wrong?"

Dr. Chen shook his head slowly. "No. You're exactly right."

The team assembled. Ivan positioned himself at the head of the table.

"We have six hours," he said. "Maybe less. No more questions. No one hesitates. You follow my instructions exactly, or you leave now."

Silence.

"Good." Ivan picked up the scalpel. "Let's begin."

---

For six hours, the theater became a different world.

Ivan's hands moved with precision that defied belief. Microscopic cuts. Impossible angles. He worked areas of the brain that standard procedure said were untouchable.

"Clamp," he said.

It appeared in his hand before the word finished.

"Suction. Three millimeter retraction. Cauterize vessel cluster at nine o'clock."

The observation deck was packed now. Word had spread. Surgeons from other hospitals had arrived. They watched in absolute silence as Ivan performed surgery that shouldn't exist.

"He's accessing the hemorrhage through the temporal approach," someone whispered. "That's suicide."

"He's maintaining blood flow to both hemispheres simultaneously."

"That's impossible."

"He's doing it anyway."

Dr. Park, assisting directly, felt sweat drip down her back despite the cool theater. She'd been a surgeon for fifteen years. Yet, she had never seen anything like this.

"How are you doing this?" she breathed.

"Practice," Ivan replied, not looking up. "Lots of practice in places where failure meant death."

Four hours passed. Five.

William Cross's vitals remained stable. Impossibly stable.

At hour six, Ivan made the final suture.

"Close him up," he said, stepping back.

Dr. Liu moved in to complete the closure, his hands shaking slightly.

Ivan stripped off his gloves and walked out of the theater without a word.

---

Amanda Jerome was waiting in the hallway, her face pale.

"Your father will wake up in approximately four hours," Ivan said. "He'll have full cognitive function. No paralysis. No memory loss."

"How can you be sure?" She asked.

"Because I've done this before."

She stared at him. "The fifty million dollar reward—"

"Keep it," Ivan interrupted. "I don't need it."

"Then why did you do this?"

Ivan paused. "Because I could. And because he didn't deserve to die today."

He walked away, heading for the exit and leaving Amanda stunned.

"Wait!" Amanda called. "At least tell me your name!"

"Ivan Murphy." He said and disappeared around the corner before she could respond.

---

Dr. Chen found Amanda still standing in the hallway ten minutes later.

"Ms. Jerome, your father is…"

"Awake," Amanda whispered, staring at her phone. The ICU had just sent confirmation. "He's awake and asking for water."

Amanda's legs nearly gave out. "Six hours. The Ghost Doctor did it in six hours."

"We need to announce this," Amanda said. "The hospital, the press—"

"He's already gone," Dr. Chen interrupted. "He walked out through the emergency exit. No one knows where he went."

Amanda looked at her phone again. A single name.

Ivan Murphy.

She typed it into a search engine. Nothing relIvant appeared. No medical licenses. No publications. No social media.

Like a ghost.

---

Ivan walked through the pre-dawn streets, still in his wine-stained clothes from the divorce party. The hospital scrubs were back in the locker room.

The phone he took from the homeless man buzzed for the first time.

Unknown number. International code.

He let it ring.

Another buzz. Different number. Blocked ID.

Then another.

Then ten more in rapid succession.

Dr. Chen must've given out his new number.

Word was spreading. The Ghost Doctor had reappeared. Performed a miracle surgery. Then vanished again.

Ivan turned off his phone.

He wasn't ready for that world yet.

But across the city, in dark offices and private clubs, conversations were beginning. Names were being whispered. Favors were being called in.

And in a luxury penthouse overlooking the city, Victor Han stood before a mirror, adjusting his tie.

Tomorrow was the International Medical Innovation Forum.

Tomorrow, he would present his breakthrough research to the world's top medical minds.

Tomorrow, Victor Han would become a legend.

He smiled at his reflection.

He had no idea. His world was about to collapse.