ALEXANDER
I was in my office on the eighth floor, door locked, reviewing the private files I had pulled from the hospital's internal security system.
The official RCA report was bullshit, a clean "mechanical failure." I knew better. Someone had deliberately compromised that neuromonitoring equipment during Elias Grant's surgery, and someone higher up had made sure the investigation stayed shallow.
A sharp knock sounded on my door.
"Come in."
The head of Biomedical Engineering, Dr. Michael Torres, a nervous but competent man in his late forties stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He was carrying a slim folder and a USB drive.
"Chief Astor," he said, voice low. "You asked for anything unusual from the day of the Grant surgery. I… found something."
I leaned back in my chair, eyes cold.
"Show me."
Torres placed the folder on my desk and plugged the USB into my computer. He opened a video file security footage from the neuromonitoring equipment storage room, timestamped two hours before Elias's surgery.
The footage showed Dr. Calliope Langford entering the room alone. She moved quickly, confidently, swapping one of the backup leads with a pre-damaged unit she had brought in a small case. She then altered the digital log on the terminal with a technician's login she shouldn't have had access to.
Torres swallowed hard.
"I cross-checked the serial numbers. The faulty lead was not part of our standard inventory. Someone planted it. And the log was wiped and replaced with clean data after the surgery."
I stared at the screen, a slow, cold smile spreading across my face.
Calliope.
Of course.
I had suspected her the moment the blame started shifting toward Dashiell. But this was confirmation.
Torres continued nervously, "I also found that the investigation order came from higher up, someone in administration fast-tracked the 'mechanical failure' conclusion. I don't have a name yet, but it bypassed normal channels."
I leaned back, fingers steepled, smiling wider.
"Excellent work, Dr. Torres. Keep this between us. Delete your copies. I'll handle the rest."
He nodded quickly and left.
I sat alone in my office, replaying the footage, the cold satisfaction settling deep in my chest.
Calliope had risked a child's life just to make my husband look incompetent. To hurt what was mine.
How pathetic.
I would destroy her.
I closed the file, a dark, pleased smile still on my lips.
My little anomaly was safe.
And anyone who tried to hurt him would learn exactly how merciless I could be.
I pressed the intercom on my desk.
"Send Dr. Langford to my office. Now."
Ten minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
Calliope stepped inside, elegant as always, white coat perfectly pressed, a polite smile on her face. But I saw the flicker of nervousness in her eyes when she saw my expression or rather, the complete lack of it.
"You wanted to see me, Chief?"
I didn't stand. I simply gestured to the chair in front of my desk.
"Sit."
She sat, crossing her legs gracefully. "I've actually been meaning to discuss our relations…"
I turned my monitor toward her and pressed play.
The security footage rolled: Calliope entering the equipment room, swapping the lead, altering the log.
She froze.
The color drained from her face.
I leaned back in my chair, completely calm.
"You tampered with the neuromonitoring equipment during my surgery. You put a sixteen-year-old boy at risk of permanent brain damage just to hurt my husband."
Calliope's hands trembled in her lap. She tried to speak, but no words came out at first.
"I… I didn't mean for the boy to get hurt," she whispered, voice cracking. "I just wanted… I wanted Dashiell to fail. To show you he's not good enough for you. Alexander, please… I love you. I've always loved you. He took you from me. Jealousy clouded my judgment. I was stupid. I'm sorry…"
She slid off the chair and knelt on the floor in front of my desk, tears streaming down her face.
"Please… don't do this. I'll do anything…."
I stared down at her without a single flicker of emotion.
"You touched what belongs to me," I said coldly. "You tried to hurt Dashiell. That was your mistake."
I leaned forward slightly, voice still perfectly calm.
"I will make sure you never practice surgery again. Your license will be revoked and your reputation will be destroyed. You will be lucky if you can find work taking blood pressure at a pharmacy."
Calliope sobbed, clutching the edge of my desk.
"Who helped you cover it up?" I asked, voice ice-cold.
She shook her head, tears falling.
"I… I can't say. Please don't make me. I didn't want to hurt the patient, I swear. I just wanted Dashiell gone."
I stared at her for a long moment, completely unmoved by her tears and begging.
"Get out of my hospital, Calliope. If you ever speak to my husband again, if you ever try to hurt him again… I will not stop at destroying your career. I will destroy your life."
She nodded frantically, still kneeling, mascara running down her face.
"I'm sorry… I love you… please…"
I didn't respond.
I simply pressed the intercom.
"Security. Escort Dr. Langford out of the building. She is no longer welcome in this hospital."
Calliope broke down completely on the floor, sobbing.
Two security guards entered moments later. They helped Calliope to her feet as she continued sobbing and begging.
"Please… Alexander, don't do this… I love you… I'm sorry…"
The guards were professional but firm, escorting her out of my office and down the main corridor toward the elevators. Her heels clicked unevenly on the floor as she struggled to keep up, mascara running down her face.
Word spread fast.
By the time they reached the main hallway on the eighth floor, several doctors, nurses, and residents had stepped out of rooms and stations to watch. Whispers followed them like a wave.
"Is that Dr. Langford?"
"What happened?"
"Security is escorting her out…"
Calliope's head was down, but everyone could see her crying. The once-elegant, respected cardiothoracic surgeon was being publicly removed from the hospital in disgrace.
I stood at the entrance of my office, watching the scene unfold with my arms crossed, expression completely blank. I didn't move or speak, I simply observed.
As the guards led her past the nurses' station, Calliope looked back at me one last time, eyes desperate and broken.
"Alexander…" she whispered.
I didn't react.
The elevator doors closed behind her.
The hallway slowly returned to normal, but the whispers continued.
I turned and walked back into my office, closing the door behind me.
Calliope Langford was finished.
Now I just needed to find out who helped her cover it up.
And when I did, they would join her.