The Amazing Doctor Sterling

"Maybe we should just kill him."

George Sterling froze at the doorstep to his bedroom. His hand was still on the handle. He had just come back from his night shift as a security guard. His uniform was dirty and smelled like sweat.

The voice belonged to his wife, Tiffany.

"Come on, Tiffany, we should take it easy," a man's voice said. George knew that voice. It was Dr. Vincent Dean, the famous surgeon at City Hospital. "We already made him lose his medical license and his little tech business. Soon he'll get frustrated and leave. Then we can be together and take back your shares."

George 's heart pounded in his chest. He pressed himself against the wall, listening.

Tiffany laughed. It was a cold laugh that George had never heard before. "Yes, but I'm losing patience, Vincent. He's already a thorn in my flesh. I can't wait to discard him like the trash he is."

George felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. Tiffany was his wife. They had been married for three years. She had always told him she loved him. She had cried when he lost his license. She had held his hand through everything.

Or so he thought.

"Remember, darling," Vincent said. "Your grandfather's company shares are tied to your marriage. Once George is gone, everything becomes ours."

George 's mind raced back to six months ago. He remembered waking up in a hotel room. There was a woman in his bed, one of his patients. The room smelled like alcohol and drugs. He couldn't remember how he got there. The FBI came. They tested him. Drugs were found in his system. His medical license was taken away.

He had cried to Tiffany that day. He had told her he didn't understand what happened. She had hugged him and told him everything would be okay.

It was all a lie.

She had planned it. She and Vincent had destroyed his life on purpose.

George 's hand shook as he pulled out his phone. He had to record this. He had to have proof. His fingers moved quickly across the screen. He pressed record and held the phone up toward the door.

"The best part," Tiffany continued, "is that he thinks I actually love him. That stupid fool believes every word I say. He has no idea that I've been with you this whole time."

"He's pathetic," Vincent said. "A failed doctor working as a security guard. How the mighty have fallen."

They both laughed.

George 's jaw clenched. His phone was recording everything. Every word. Every laugh. Every piece of evidence he needed to destroy them both.

"I saw him yesterday," Tiffany said. "He was begging for extra shifts at that pathetic security job. Can you imagine? My husband, a security guard. It's embarrassing."

"Not your husband for much longer," Vincent replied.

Suddenly, George 's phone rang.

The loud ringtone cut through the quiet hallway like a knife. George 's blood turned to ice.

"What was that?" Tiffany said sharply.

The bedroom door flew open. Tiffany stood there in a red dress, her eyes wide. Behind her, Vincent appeared, straightening his shirt.

"George ?" Tiffany's face went pale. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here," George said quietly. His phone was still in his hand, the screen glowing.

Vincent's eyes locked onto the phone. "Is that phone recording?"

"No," George said quickly. "I just got home. I wasn't recording anything."

"You're lying!" Tiffany screamed. She lunged forward and grabbed for the phone.

George pulled back, but Vincent was faster. The bigger man grabbed George by the shoulders and slammed him against the wall.

"Give me that phone!" Vincent shouted.

"I wasn't recording!" George yelled. "Let me go!"

But Vincent saw the truth on the phone screen. The red recording button was still flashing.

"He heard everything," Vincent said to Tiffany. His face turned dark. "He knows."

Tiffany's expression changed. The fake sweetness disappeared. What remained was cold and cruel. "Then we don't have a choice."

"What are you doing?" George struggled against Vincent's grip. "Let me go!"

Vincent's hands moved to George 's throat. George tried to fight back, but he was tired from work. Vincent was bigger and stronger.

"I'm sorry, George ," Tiffany said, but she didn't sound sorry at all. "You should have just left quietly."

George couldn't breathe. Vincent was choking him. His vision started to blur. He kicked and struggled, but it was no use.

"Help me," Vincent grunted. "We'll throw him out the window. Make it look like suicide."

"Good idea," Tiffany said. She actually smiled. "Everyone knows he's been depressed since losing his license."

George felt himself being dragged toward the window. He tried to scream, but no sound came out. His phone fell from his hand and clattered to the floor.

The window opened. Cool night air rushed in.

"Goodbye, George ," Tiffany whispered.

They pushed him.

George felt himself falling. The ground rushed up to meet him. He saw the stars above, spinning and spinning.

Then everything went black.

But the darkness didn't last.

Suddenly, a sound pierced through the void. A phone ringing. Loud and persistent.

George 's eyes snapped open.

He gasped for air. His heart was racing. He was lying in a bed, covered in sweat.

A phone was ringing next to him.

George grabbed it with shaking hands. "Hello?"

"Dr. Sterling, we have an emergency!" a woman's voice said urgently. "The patient for the heart surgery replacement is in critical condition! The new heart just arrived. We need you in the operating room right now!"

George sat up straight. His mind was spinning.

Dr. Sterling? Operating room?

But he wasn't a doctor anymore. He had lost his license six months ago.

Six months ago.

George looked around. He was in his old apartment. The one he lived in before everything fell apart. The calendar on the wall showed a date from six months in the past.

His hands were steady. Strong. He looked at them in shock.

"Dr. Sterling?" the voice on the phone said again. "Are you there?"

George 's voice came out calm, even though his mind was screaming. "I'm here. Tell the team I'm on my way."

He ended the call and stared at his hands.

He was alive.

He was back.

Six months before his death.

And this time, everything was going to be different.