Chapter 139 Another Miracle Surgeon Arrives
As Jacqueline finished speaking, everyone fell silent.
Brian, Marcus, and I all knew very well who Miracle Surgeon really was.
Although I had never admitted it to Lucas, he had pretty much figured it out too.
The only one who didn't know the truth was Jacqueline.
"You got scammed." Marcus sat on the sofa with his right foot propped on his left knee, wiggling his toes. "Every year there's a bunch of people pretending to be Miracle Surgeon. This kind of thing isn't news anymore. Did you give them money?"
Just as Marcus said, I'd encountered dozens of people impersonating me. Jacqueline must have been tricked!
But from Jacqueline's perspective, we didn't believe her.
"He's not a scammer!" Jacqueline said angrily and defensively. "That person admitted he's Miracle Surgeon himself. You know the famous medical professor Gerald Gomez, right? Miracle Surgeon is Gerald's student now!"
I was quite surprised. Gerald was 85 years old and indeed a very accomplished medical expert. Doyle had admired Gerald for a long time, but unfortunately they had met fewer than five times, all many years ago.
This person impersonating me had deceived Gerald?
"Alright, Jacqueline, sit down and tell us about it. What's this person's name? How did you meet?" Brian said gently.
We all took our seats, and Lucas naturally sat down next to me.
I signaled with my eyes for him to sit farther away, but Lucas pretended not to understand. "What's wrong? Does your hand hurt?"
He tried to take my hand, and I quickly warned him, "Sit properly, no touching!"
"Okay." Lucas lowered his voice and said in my ear, "Whatever you say."
I glared at him and continued listening to Jacqueline.
"His name is Beckett Sinclair, under thirty, handsome and distinguished-looking, with an extraordinary presence, though his background is a mystery."
Jacqueline raised her right hand. "I swear, he's definitely not a scammer! I haven't given him a single penny!"
Marcus looked at her with heartfelt concern. "Chubby Bunny, you're too young. If a man isn't after your money, he's definitely after your looks."
Jacqueline froze for a few seconds, her cheeks slightly flushed, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes. "Beckett did say he wants to pursue me."
She said shyly while sneaking glances at Marcus. "I haven't agreed yet."
My gaze went back and forth between Marcus and Jacqueline. It looked like Jacqueline had feelings for Marcus!
Brian cleared his throat softly and exchanged a glance with me, amusement hidden in his eyes, silently watching the drama unfold.
But Marcus was completely oblivious, frowning and saying bluntly, "You like him? Do women in love all become stupid?"
I fell silent, feeling personally attacked.
Marcus continued, "If this Beckett really isn't a scammer and is actually a great doctor, why would he be interested in you? You're young and spoiled, and you don't seem very smart either."
Brian's hand holding his water glass paused.
I knew Marcus sometimes said harsh things on purpose to tease people. But saying this about Jacqueline, I thought to myself, "This is bad."
"Marcus, I hate you!" Jacqueline got upset and grabbed a nearby cushion to throw at Marcus.
Marcus didn't dodge, covering his head and saying, "I was wrong, it must be true love for him."
Hearing him say this made Jacqueline even angrier.
Marcus kept talking, "But I still insist he can't possibly be Miracle Surgeon."
Jacqueline stamped her foot hard and turned to leave.
"Jacqueline seems to be crying." Brian reminded Marcus, "Aren't you going after her?"
"No." Marcus pouted. "Chubby Bunny still cries so easily."
Brian was silent for two seconds, muttering quietly, "With this emotional intelligence, there's no hope."
Just then Jacqueline ran back, saying loudly, "I don't care if you believe it or not, Beckett is Miracle Surgeon! Bella, didn't you challenge Miracle Surgeon? Beckett accepted the challenge, and he's already on his way to Starstream City! That's what I came to tell you today. I'm leaving."
Jacqueline turned around again, looking dejected.
I was confused. I challenged Miracle Surgeon? How did I not know about this?
Was I challenging myself? I couldn't help but laugh.
"Wait!" Marcus quickly called out to Jacqueline. "What challenge? What's going on?"
"It's that Bella said Miracle Surgeon is far inferior to her." Jacqueline looked at me cautiously and with confusion.
I quickly shook my head. "I never said anything like that!"
Suddenly, Roger's name popped into my mind.
I called Roger and asked if he knew about this.
Roger answered guiltily, "It was just some joking around, how was I supposed to know someone would take it seriously!"
Hearing his reaction, what didn't I understand?
"Explain yourself!"
Roger chickened out and started confessing.
It turned out that patients and their families who came for treatment would occasionally compare Roger to Doyle and Miracle Surgeon.
Some people were just curious, while others looked down on him even while receiving his treatment.
After a while, Roger got annoyed, so he came up with an idea—when people praised him, he happily accepted it; when people put him down, he'd bring me up, going on and on about how his medical skills weren't as good as mine, how Miracle Surgeon wasn't as good as me, and if Doyle were still alive, he would definitely choose me over Miracle Surgeon as his student!
I was speechless.
"I don't think I said anything wrong." Roger laughed a few times. "I just think you're amazing and was bragging a bit. Most people don't make a big deal out of it!"
"Your bonus for this month, next month, and the month after are all gone!" I rubbed my temples and asked, "How many people have you said this to?"
Roger was silent for a moment. "Too many to count."
I was both angry and amused, ordering Roger not to spout nonsense in my name anymore.
Then I asked about Beckett and calmly waited for his arrival.
The next day, I went to see Roger.
Just warning him over the phone wasn't enough to put my mind at ease. His temper was too strange, and when he wasn't working, his mouth was like he was talking in his sleep, spouting nonsense.
I wanted to give him a stern warning in person.
Platinum Haven Hotel originally only had a medical office and doctors on rotation, but I expanded the medical office and recruited more staff, turning it into a small hospital.
Walking through the hallway filled with the smell of disinfectant, I pushed open the door to the VIP consultation room and heard Roger's rough laughter.
"Simeon is nothing! When I was doing appendectomies in underground hospitals, he was still in his mother's belly! Does he think learning a bit of medicine makes him a genius? A real genius is someone like Isabella—even Miracle Surgeon can't be called a genius!"
He sat on the sofa by the wall with his legs crossed, his toes swinging his slippers back and forth, playing with a silver stethoscope between his fingers, chatting animatedly with his assistant.
The assistant nodded along while organizing medical records, clearly used to this by now.
I knocked on the open door. "I didn't know you admired me so much."
Seeing me, Roger instantly deflated, and the slipper swinging on his toe dropped to the floor.
"Isabella, what brings you here?" He smiled sheepishly.
"You seem pretty free." I looked around, deciding to give Roger more work.
"I'm not free!" Roger quickly guessed my intention and hurriedly asked his assistant, "Don't we have any patients?"
"There's a female patient who made an appointment for a 2 PM consultation."
As soon as the words left his mouth, a slender, upright figure approached from a distance, high heels clicking on the polished floor.
The woman wore a black cashmere coat with three pearl necklaces layered around her neck, her delicate features carrying a hint of haughty coldness.
I recognized her. "Cressida?"