Mommy，We Got a Husband
Chapter 29 Galatea Rattled

Exhausted from her recent trip, Galatea had little time to rest. She went straight to Serenity Heights Medical Center upon her return to Arizona. "Dr. Hartley, there's a lady in your office looking for you," the staff informed her.

'A lady looking for me this early?' Galatea wondered..

In her white lab coat, Galatea entered her office to find a woman standing by the window, her back to the door. At the sound of entry, the woman turned around and removed her sunglasses, revealing eyes filled with hostility. "Miss Orion," Galatea said with politeness as she acknowledged the visitor.

Just as she finished her greeting, Orion moved swiftly toward her and, without uttering another word, delivered a fierce slap across Galatea's unsuspecting face, leaving her stunned.

"You wretch! What tricks did you use to worm your way into Alaric's bed?" Orion accused.

Trying to shake off the shock and the stinging heat on her cheek, Galatea's head swirled with a myriad of buzzing sensations.

Without a word, Galatea struck back with a retaliatory slap to Orion's face.

"How dare you hit me!" Orion was utterly shocked by the counter-attack and, in a fit of rage, tried to strike back. However, Galatea quickly seized her wrist, gripping it tightly.

"Mrs. Orion, you were the one to hit first. I'm just settling the score. If you choose to act irrationally, don't expect me to play nice." She might not have the strength to take on Alaric, but facing Orion Nash seemed like a manageable challenge. "You!" Orion had been pampered all her life, accustomed to trampling over others without any repercussions, thus, no one dared to offend her. Yet today, she had been slapped by this woman.

"You think just because you've cozied up to Alaric that you'll be his fiancée? Dream on!" Orion spat with disdain. "With your history, Mrs. Carrington would never accept you. Just wait until you're cast aside then you'll have nowhere to hide your tears!"

Though she hadn't met her, the name implied an intimidating matriarch.

"That's for me to worry about, Ms. Orion Nash," she retorted.

Just as Galatea finished speaking, a nurse rushed in, exclaiming, "Dr. Galatea, there's trouble in the ward!"

"Excuse me, Ms. Nash, duty calls." With that, Galatea hurried off after the nurse.

"You'll regret this," Orion muttered under her breath.

In a furious mood, Orion stepped forward but felt her foot catch on something. She looked down to find a piece of paper, bent over to pick it up, and unfolded it to reveal a portrait.

'Isn't this Mrs. Carrington? But the name inscribed was Mrs. Marigold? What did this mean?'

Galatea was carrying a portrait of Mrs. Carrington... for what purpose? Annoyance surged in Orion as she stuffed the portrait into her purse and walked out of the room.

Meanwhile, Galatea raced into the ward where trouble had struck-Andreas, a seventy-year-old patient, lay on the floor convulsing violently.

"What happened?" she asked while assessing the situation.

"Andreas' son insisted on taking him out of the hospital despite warning him of his father's critical condition. He didn't listen and roughly dragged Andreas out, which led to this," the nurse explained. "His blood pressure is rising fast-get him to the emergency room, stat!" Galatea ordered.

The nurses scrambled to assist, but at that moment, Andreas' son returned to the ward with a few burly men in tow.

"Don't touch my dad!" his son bellowed, "He just has epilepsy. It's nothing serious. I'm taking my dad out of the hospital. Guys, help me get him out of here."

"It's not epilepsy. Andreas is in critical need of surgery, or he'll be in grave danger!" Galatea urgently interjected, "Rush him to the emergency room!"

After wheeling Andreas into the ER, Galatea swiftly changed into scrubs and ordered, "We need to operate immediately. Get the family to sign the consent form."

A relative's consent was crucial for the surgery to proceed, yet despite the medical staff's appeals, his son remained defiant. "I've already told you that my dad doesn't need any surgery. Now bring him back out to me!" Ten minutes drifted by, and Andreas's condition only worsened, pushing Galatea to the brink of panic.

"Dr. Galatea, it's no use. His son won't agree to give his consent. What do we do now?"

Galatea was furious. How could anyone be so indifferent to their own father's battle between life-and-death?

On the verge of confronting the son, Galatea suddenly felt someone grab her hand-it was Andreas holding on to her.

Even though he was weak, he clung to her desperately. an intense plea for life akin to clutching a lifeline.

"Save me."

The plea wrenched her heart. She felt his despair and helplessness, mirroring the moment her father lay dying years ago.

Her father had fallen from a building, he did not die instantly but bled out as bystanders coldly watched. He died a pitiful death before everyone-if only someone had stepped in to help, maybe he could have survived. "We operate now!" Galatea insisted.

"But the family hasn't agreed to sign the consent form. It's against policy."

"If we wait, he'll die. To hell with the policy!" Galatea said resolutely. "I'll take responsibility. Start the surgery!"

"Yes, doctor!"

The surgery lasted over an hour, with an assistant continually mopping the sweat from Galatea's brow.

"Dr. Galatea, the patient's heart has stopped!"

Galatea glanced at the monitor and issued commands without hesitation, "Get the AED ready, prepare the epinephrine."

"Right away."

"Adrenaline, one milligram, IV push."

"Charge to 200 joules."

After the defibrillation, Galatea's checks on the heart rhythm, blood pressure, respiration, and consciousness still showed no improvement.

"It's not working, Dr. Galatea."

"Charge to 250 joules."

With every subsequent shock to the patient's chest, Galatea kept her eyes glued to the monitor, feeling the same kind of tension one feels when grappling with a life and death situation. "Dr. Galatea, the patient is gone."

No miracle happened. Andreas had stopped breathing.

Galatea collapsed to the floor, overwhelmed, and the operating room staff was thrown into disarray.

"Can anyone hear me? Get my dad out here now! Operating on him without my consent, you're all butchers!" a furious voice erupted from the hallway.

"Dr. Hartley, what do we do now?" the tension in the OR was thick as fog.

That son, a familiar troublemaker in town, had never approved the operation, and now Andreas lay still and quiet on the table.

True to his reputation, upon hearing about his father's passing, the son intensified his outrage, grabbing a handful of Dr. Hartley's scrubs.

"Everyone, look at this! This woman, she killed my dad, she's a murderer!" he shouted, making a spectacle.

The justice Andreas's son sought was twisted. He was out for a payday. "An eye for an eye, or pay up!" he hissed, with venom in his voice.

At that moment, Galatea's mind was a blank, consumed with the memory of her father's death and the fresh image of Andreas's agony.

So numb was she that when she was yanked harshly to the ground, she didn't even register the pain.

"Get out of my way!" It was then that Galatea thought she heard a man's voice.

'But who?' Her mind couldn't grasp it. Her vision blurred, and she succumbed to darkness, losing consciousness.