Chapter 62

Chapter 62

"Dr. Sophia Rivera?"

"What do you mean, Dr. Rivera?"

Irene stood frozen, unable to process what she'd just heard.

Philip, being the sharpest mind present, followed Dr. Bailey's words and turned to look at Sophie. "You're... a doctor?"

Philip's question sparked doubt among the onlookers, who assumed Dr. Bailey had made a mistake. "Dr. Bailey, you must be confused. This woman is a trainee nurse—Dr. Rivera brought her in."

"Yes, Dr. Bailey. Dr. Rivera even asked our head nurse to prepare work uniforms for this trainee."

Unlike the skeptical crowd, Matthew and Nicole refused to believe Sophie could possibly be a doctor.

An agent? Maybe. After all, Sophie had worked as one before. A nurse? That wouldn't surprise them either—both jobs involved serving others.

In Matthew's view, Sophie excelled at nothing except taking care of people. She was practically a professional at it.

But a doctor?

Saving lives?

Impossible.

Who would believe such nonsense?

Matthew considered himself the person who knew Sophie best.

In his memory, Sophie was decent at caregiving but utterly mediocre in every other aspect.

A doctor treating patients and saving lives? Ridiculous.

Nicole shared his sentiment.

To her, Sophie was nothing but a social climber with no power, no connections, no background. Even if she somehow became a doctor, she must have slept her way into the position. She couldn't possibly have real skills.

Still, Nicole couldn't stand the thought of Sophie working as a doctor. Nurses were there to serve patients—and someone like Sophie only deserved to be a lowly nurse catering to others.

"Matthew, if Sophie doesn't want to care for me, we can find someone else. But for her to stand here in front of everyone, lying about being a doctor—that's completely inappropriate, don't you think?"

Nicole's words immediately swayed the crowd.

"Impersonating a doctor? How could she even think of such a scheme? I mean, Dr. Rivera and Dr. Bailey are both standing right here. How dare she?"

"Right? Just to avoid work, she'd stoop to lying like this?"

"Dr. Bailey, we can't keep this kind of trainee nurse. Fire her immediately!"

"Exactly, Dr. Bailey. Make her resign and kick her out of this hospital."

At that moment, everyone assumed Sophie was lying to Dr. Bailey's face about being "Dr. Rivera," trying to shirk her nursing duties out of sheer laziness.

Even Matthew believed Dr. Bailey's mention of "Dr. Rivera" was based on Sophie's fabricated identity.

Standing off to the side, Philip observed the scene with cold detachment.

His gaze lingered on Sophie for a moment.

In his mind, there was no way Sophie could be his professional equal. Regardless of one's background, becoming a doctor required solid medical knowledge, practical experience, and passing rigorous medical examinations layer by layer.

Even the regular clinic doctors at this hospital were top graduates from medical schools.

And transitioning from intern to specialized physician required professional certification.

Before leaving home, Sophie had been nothing but an arrogant, incompetent socialite. During her year away in another city, the most she'd done was work as an artist's manager.

Manager sounded respectable, but in reality, it was just glorified "nanny" work—handling the artist's daily needs and managing their trivial affairs.

Such a job had no real substance.

A "nanny" becoming a "doctor"?

Impossible.

Dr. Bailey, hearing everyone's misconceptions about Sophie and some even demanding she be thrown out of the hospital, suddenly grew anxious. "Everyone, shut up!"

The surrounding nurses and doctors jumped at his sharp rebuke.

Philip's brow furrowed.

Dr. Bailey turned to address the crowd loudly. "This Ms. Rivera is our hospital's newly hired Chief of Cardiac Surgery, a renowned surgical expert from abroad."

"Today marks her official appointment at Blossom Healthcare Hospital as Chief of Cardiac Surgery."

Dr. Bailey turned to Philip. "Dr. Rivera, Sophia is new here and unfamiliar with our hospital's operations. I expect you to help her get up to speed. Also..."

Dr. Bailey paused mid-sentence.

"Also, regarding the Type A aortic dissection surgery research protocol—Philip, if you have any suggestions, share them with her. She'll have full authority over completing this research project. Your job is to cooperate."

His words dropped like a bomb.

Everyone stood stunned.

The entire department knew that the Type A aortic dissection surgery research project was Philip's specialty—his signature procedure. And now it was being handed over to someone else?

Not only that, but the new arrival, Sophia, would be making all the research decisions?

This was a slap in Philip's face.

Everyone exchanged glances, whispering among themselves.

"What? Sophia? This... this can't be possible, can it?"

Irene refused to believe it. She turned and tugged at Dr. Bailey's sleeve. "Sir, you must be mistaken. She's just a trainee—"

Before she could finish, Dr. Bailey shot her a glare. "Are you suggesting I'm senile?"

Irene trembled. She shook her head frantically. "No, no, no... I just meant—"

Dr. Bailey's face darkened. "I don't care what you meant. Sophia is a chief physician we've hired at considerable expense. If any of you dare give her attitude, don't blame me for letting you all go!"

Irene looked ready to cry.

No one else dared say another word.

The same people who'd looked at Sophie with contempt and mockery moments ago now regarded her with wariness—though not respect.

Philip's face remained stony, his cold gaze fixed on Sophie.

Without a word, he threw the nurse's uniform he'd been holding into Dr. Bailey's arms and turned to leave.

His demeanor made his anger crystal clear.

Dr. Bailey watched him walk away, opening his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately swallowing his words.

Meanwhile, Nicole could no longer maintain her smile.

She never imagined Sophie could actually be a doctor—a chief physician, no less.

Matthew turned to look at Sophie. Unlike the others' shock, his eyes held clear displeasure. "Sophie, you lied to me!"

When he and Sophie were together, she'd never told him she was a doctor.

The word "lied" made Sophie laugh. "Mr. Moore, how amusing. What exactly did I lie to you about? Are you saying I should have told you I could treat patients and save lives? Or is it that in your eyes, Sophie only exists as your personal live-in 'maid,' someone whose world revolves entirely around you?"

As Sophie met Matthew's gaze, mockery glinted in her eyes. "Oh, but what a shame—I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint Mr. Moore. Though actually..."

She deliberately turned her attention to Nicole. "I really should thank you for your generous interference. Thanks to your little intrusion, I can finally be myself again. Ms. Garcia, thank you so much."

Her words dripped with sarcasm.

Everyone's expressions shifted.

"Wait—Ms. Garcia was the other woman? Well... you really can't judge a book by its cover."

"A homewrecker? That's absolutely despicable!"

Nicole's face turned ashen. She trembled with rage.

"You!"

Matthew's expression soured as well.

"Sophie, Nicole and I are completely innocent. Don't make false accusations!"

He didn't want to be labeled as someone who'd cheated and caused a breakup.

But Sophie wasn't about to let him off the hook. "Am I making false accusations?"

She cast a casual glance at Nicole, still leaning against Matthew. "Everyone here has eyes, don't they? I'm not making anything up."

With Sophie's pointed guidance, everyone's gaze followed her line of sight.

Seeing Nicole still nestled in Matthew's embrace, the crowd's expressions changed noticeably.

Whether Nicole was a homewrecker became self-evident.

Matthew noticed everyone's stares. Instinctively, he pushed Nicole out of his arms.

Nicole's expression froze.

Fury burned in her chest.