She Was Never Just the Wife novel Chapter 84

Chapter 84 The Doctor Returned

By the time the plane landed at Silvergate International Airport, it was already evening the next day. The setting sun cast a golden–red veil over the sprawling city.

Celia barely paused, breezing through a special passage to clear customs. A black sedan was waiting at the exit.

The driver, a composed man in his forties, respectfully opened the door for her. “Dr. Ross, Mr. Dillon sent me to pick you up. We’re heading straight to the hospital.”

“Thank you,” Celia said, settling into the back seat and closing her eyes to rest. The thirteen–hour flight hadn’t dulled her edge; if anything, her eyes looked calmer and sharper, despite the exhaustion.

As the car pulled into Mercy Hospital, the city lights were starting to come on.

The emergency building was brightly lit, but the hallway on the third floor, where the ICU was located, was unusually quiet, with only the steady beeping of machines and the soft footsteps of the medical staff.

Sure enough, Matteo was waiting by the elevator. The man, in his early fifties with some gray in his hair, was dressed in a white coat, his expression grave. When he saw Celia, he immediately stepped forward. “Dr. Ross, you’re here.”

“Mr. Dillon, thanks for everything,” Celia said, shaking his hand. “How’s my grandfather?”

“His condition is stable for now, but it’s still extremely fragile,” Matteo said in a low voice as they walked. “He suddenly lost consciousness at home yesterday afternoon and was rushed here by ambulance.

“When he arrived, his blood pressure was dangerously low, and his oxygen saturation was only 82%. Dr. Cherris handled the emergency and transferred him to the ICU. Right now, he’s relying on a ventilator and medication to keep going. But…”

He paused and then pulled a few test reports from his folder. “These are this morning’s blood test results. His serum digoxin level is 5.8 ng/mL, dangerously high. But there’s no record of digoxin in his long–term medication list.”

Celia took the reports, her eyes sweeping over the numbers. In an instant, her gaze turned ice–cold.

Digoxin was a heart drug with an insanely narrow therapeutic window. It became pure poison if taken too much.

“Dr. Cherris said your grandfather complained of heart palpitations, so he gave a temporary order for the medication,” Matteo murmured, lowering his voice more. “I spoke with the staff at your grandfather’s house yesterday.

“Around three in the afternoon, your stepmother Lainey visited the Ross Residence,

Chapter 84 The Doctor Retumed

carrying a thermos. Not long after she left, he suddenly got sick.”

Celia didn’t slow down, but her grip on the reports tightened, the edges of the paper crumpling in her hand.

At the end of the hallway, it was the ICU family waiting area, where Jasper sat on a bench, wringing his hands, visibly anxious. When he saw Celia and Matteo walking toward him, he immediately stood up.

“Celia, you’re finally here-” Jasper started.

“That’s enough. No need to say anything,” Celia cut him off, her voice flat, not a hint of emotion. “I’m going to change and head into the room.”

Celia didn’t look at Jasper, heading straight for the staff changing room.

Jasper froze with his hand hanging awkwardly in the air, his face flushing red. He pointed at Celia’s back, his voice rising. “What kind of attitude is that? I’m your father!”

Matteo stepped forward at the right moment, gently but firmly placing himself between them. “Mr. Ross, please understand that Dr. Ross is focused on your father’s condition right now. Whatever you want to say, let’s wait until after she’s finished checking on him.”

The old butler quickly reached out to steady Jasper, whispering, “Sir, Miss Ross is just worried about the old master. She must be exhausted after flying all the way back. Please don’t be upset…”

Jasper shook off the butler’s hand, his voice full of resentment. “Worried? Look at her! Does she see me as her father anymore? So now she’s a big–shot Dr. Rose, huh? Thinks she’s all that.”

The butler could only sigh inwardly. ‘When has Miss Ross ever cared about you?‘ But on the surface, he kept his respectful tone. “Sir, please calm down…”

Inside the changing room, Celia quickly changed into a sterile gown and pulled on a mask and cap. In the mirror, her eyes were as sharp and calm as a scalpel, all her emotions hidden in the depths.

She pushed open the ICU door.

On the bed, Seamus lay quietly. The man who was once a force in the business world now looked so frail and small.

The ventilator pumped oxygen in a steady rhythm, and the numbers and lines on the monitor showed that life was still fighting to hold on.

Celia walked to the bedside and gently took her grandfather’s thin, frail hand. His hand was cold.

“Grandpa, I’m back,” she whispered.

Chapter 84 The Doctor Returned

There was no response, only the steady beeping of the machines.

She turned and quickly checked all the monitoring data, medication records, and nursing records.

Matteo stood nearby, speaking in a low voice. “His heart and lung function are both very weak, and his kidney function is starting to deteriorate. Dr. Cherris suggested conservative treatment, but…”

“We can’t wait,” Celia said, putting down the chart and looking up at Matteo. “We need to operate immediately. We’ll implant a ventricular assist device and start blood purification to clear out the drug toxins. I’ll be the lead surgeon.”

Matteo didn’t hesitate. “Alright. I’ll get the operating room ready right away. Who do you need on the team?”

“Dr. Johnson for cardiac surgery, Dr. Lewis for perfusion, and Dr. Williams for anesthesia,” Celia rattled off. “Get two experienced residents to assist.

“We need the newest model of the magnetic levitation centrifugal pump, and make sure we have plenty of backup blood. Use protocol two from my paper in the Annals of Cardiothoracic Surgery, three years ago.”

Matteo nodded as he took notes. “I’ll handle the coordination myself. The second operating room will be ready in twenty minutes.”

“Fifteen minutes,” Celia said, already starting her pre–op checks. “I’ll head over as soon as I’m in my scrubs.”

The surgical lights in Operating Room Two blazed as bright as daylight.

Celia stood at the operating table, her navy–blue scrubs making her skin look almost like porcelain. Above her mask, her eyes were razor–sharp and locked in concentration.

Beside her, Hank for cardiac surgery, Lennon for anesthesia, and several of Mercy Hospital’s top specialists were already in position, their faces grave and focused.

“Patient: Seamus, age: eighty–seven. Acute heart failure with multiple organ dysfunction, suspected digoxin poisoning,” Celia announced, her voice steady and clear behind the mask. “Surgical plan: median sternotomy, implant a left ventricular assist device, set up cardiopulmonary bypass, and start continuous veno–venous hemofiltration.”

She paused, scanning the team with a determined look. “He’s elderly and in critical shape. The risk is sky–high. Everyone, I’m counting on you!”

Lennon nodded. “Anesthesia is ready, and all monitors are live.”

“Start the timer,” Celia said, extending her hand.

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Chapter 84 The Doctor Returned

The scrub nurse handed her the scalpel.

The blade came down with absolute precision and unwavering steadiness.

The only sounds in the operating room were the hum of machines, the clink of instruments, and the occasional terse command: “Electrocautery… Suction… Expose the sternum…”

Hank stood by, assisting, and his astonishment deepened with every move Celia made. The man, in his fifties and a renowned expert in cardiac surgery, found himself

holding his breath in awe.

The incision’s position, angle, and depth were flawless, like a textbook illustration coming to life. Her mastery over the tissue layers and her deft avoidance of vessels and nerves went beyond mere expertise; it was artistry in motion.

“Dr. Ross…” Hank couldn’t help but murmur, “This isn’t the standard approach, is it?”

“A modified minimally invasive trans–sternal technique,” Celia replied, not looking up, her hands steady and precise. “Less bone damage, faster recovery. The paper was published in JTCVS last year.”

Hank drew in a sharp breath. ‘Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery? That’s the top journal in the field. A new technique? She didn’t just master it. She actually invented it?‘

The surgery pressed on. The chest was opened, the pericardium incised, and the heart laid bare.

That aging heart pulsed weakly inside the chest, every beat a visible effort.

‘Prepare for cardiopulmonary bypass,” Celia instructed.

Luther from the bypass team responded immediately, “We’re ready and can take over whenever you need.”

‘Begin cooling. Set the target at 82°F,” Celia instructed.

As the temperature dropped, the heart’s rhythm slowed. Celia’s hands were as steady as precision instruments as she worked a purse–string suture at the apex, creating the port for the ventricular assist device’s inflow cannula.

“Dr. Johnson, help me stabilize the heart,” Celia said.

Hank moved quickly to assist, but Celia’s technique was so swift and exact that he was left doing little more than basic retraction and exposure.

“Inflow cannula going in,” Celia announced, gently guiding the anticoagulated cannula into the left ventricle. “Five inches deep. Confirm the position.”

The echocardiographer immediately checked with intraoperative echo. “Position is perfect. No interference with the valves.”

Chapter 84 The Doctor Returned

‘Anastomosis,” Celia said, beginning to suture the cannula to the ventricle. The needle danced in her hands with every stitch perfectly in spacing, depth, and tension.

‘Her suturing skills…” one of the assistant doctors whispered, eyes wide. “My attending takes forever to do one stitch, and she’s already done three. And look at that spacing…”

‘Shut up and pay attention,” Hank muttered, but his own eyes never left Celia’s hands.

Outflow anastomosis, pump placement, wire hookups… each step was handled with clockwork precision. The surgery lasted more than two hours, and Celia barely said a word; her instructions were crisp, and her hands never missed a beat, every action measured with precision.

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