Chapter 21 Chapter 0021
•CASSANDRA•
“Mommy, I don’t want to go to school today,” Elena pouted that morning as I pulled up to her kindergarten.
She wasn't usually like that. Elena loved learning new things and came home every day eager to tell me what she had discovered, which was why her reluctance made my chest tighten.
I was already running late for a surgery we had prepared for all week, and the thought of keeping the team waiting added pressure to an already strained morning.
“Mommy will come pick you up early today, alright?” I said as I crouched to her level, silently praying to the moon that she wouldn't make this harder than it already was.
“They said I’m weird, Mama,” she whispered, her voice cracking. She was only four. “Please don’t make me go. Take me with you. I promise I won’t cause trouble.”
My heart broke. Elena was a werewolf child, faster-growing and sharper than the human children around her, but I had not expected her differences to make her a target so soon.
“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll be here to pick you up in three hours,” I said as I straightened. “This will be your last day here.”
She cried as the guard at the gate gently took her hand and led her inside.
I turned toward my car, swallowing the lump in my throat, and drove to the clinic while hoping the surgery would go smoothly and quickly.
Mr. Harlan lay on the operating table as the anesthesiologist finished the final checks.
I had reviewed the scans moments earlier and mapped the entire resection in my mind.
The tumor was large, but I knew every step of the procedure by heart.
The team was ready. I scrubbed in, pulled on my gloves, and stepped into position at the head of the table.
“Scalpel,” I said.
The incision was clean and precise, and the room settled into its familiar rhythm of suction, retractors, and quiet instructions.
My focus narrowed to tissue and technique as I carefully separated each layer.
Then my phone vibrated in my pocket.
I ignored it at first, but it buzzed again, more insistently this time. When I glanced down, Evergreen Daycare flashed across the screen.
Every protocol screamed at me not to answer, yet Elena’s face filled my thoughts. I stepped back from the sterile field and pulled the phone out with my ungloved hand.
“Dr. Frost, this is Ms. Rivera,” the voice said. “Elena fainted during class. She’s awake now, but we called an ambulance. She’s being admitted to the pediatric emergency department, bay three. You should come immediately.”
My chest tightened painfully. “I’m on my way,” I said.
I turned to the team. “I have to leave. My daughter is in the ER. Dr. Patel, please take over.”
The scrub nurse nodded without hesitation. “We’ve got it covered, Dr. Frost. Go.”
I stripped off my gown and gloves and ran through the corridor until I reached the pediatric emergency department.
Elena lay in bay three, looking impossibly small beneath the thin blanket. When she saw me, she tried to smile. “Mama, I fell.”
I knelt beside her and took her hand. “I’m here, baby. Tell me what happened.”
The attending doctor suggested it could've been heat or exhaustion, though it made little sense given the cold California weather.
I stayed by Elena’s side, stroking her hair while trying to calm the storm in my chest.
My thoughts kept drifting back to the operating room, to Mr. Harlan, and to the surgery I had abandoned.
Hours later, after fluids, observation, and strict instructions for rest, Elena was cleared to go home. I finally felt relieved.
As I buckled her into her car seat, my phone rang again. Dr. Langford’s name lit up the screen, and my stomach twisted.
“Dr. Frost,” he said. “We need you back at the hospital immediately. There has been a serious incident in the OR. A formal hearing is scheduled for this afternoon.”
“What happened?” I asked, already knowing the answer would shatter me.
“There was an incorrect sponge count. A surgical sponge was left inside Mr. Harlan. He’s stable, but he’ll need another surgery. The family has been informed.”
My heart began to race. “I answered the call before the main procedure began. I thought the team would complete the count.”
“Protocol exists for a reason,” he replied. “You left without a proper handover. We’ll address this at the hearing. Three o’clock.”
I ended the call and stared at the dashboard as Elena reached forward from the back seat and squeezed my hand.
“Mama, are you okay?”
I forced a smile. “I’m fine, sweetheart.”
But I wasn’t.
The hearing room was small and it didn't have a window, its long table lined with stern faces. Dr. Langford sat at the head, flanked by the chief of surgery, legal counsel, and two senior surgeons.
I sat alone across from them, still dressed casually, my hands clenched tightly in my lap.
Dr. Langford opened the file. “You were the lead surgeon on Mr. Harlan’s case. You received a personal call and left the operating room without completing the final count or ensuring a proper handover. A laparotomy sponge was left inside the patient. The error could've been fatal.”
“I take full responsibility,” I muttered. “My daughter fainted at school, and I panicked.”
“Emergencies happen,” the chief of surgery said. “That’s why procedures exist. The family is considering legal action.”
“If this becomes public,” legal counsel added. “The damage to the hospital will be significant.”
“What happens now?” I asked.
“You’re suspended pending investigation,” Dr. Langford said. “Two weeks minimum, longer if the family proceeds legally. Additional safety training and review will be required.”
My legs felt as if they would give out when I left the room. My chest ached and I held myself from crying.
Five years. That was how long it had taken me to rebuild my life after leaving Silvercrest, to prove myself through relentless work and sacrifice. In one moment of panic, I had put everything at risk.
Elena was waiting at home with the babysitter when I arrived. She ran into my arms, smiling brightly. “Mama! I feel better!”
I held her close, grateful and broken all at once.
Later that night, after she fell asleep, I sat alone on the couch, replaying the hearing again and again. I had failed.
When my phone rang, I hesitated before answering. Dante’s voice came through, sharp and breathless.
“What the hell is going on, Cassandra?” he demanded. “The hearing is all over the internet. They’re saying you almost killed a patient because you answered a call during surgery. Is it true?”