“Ethan, have you lost every shred of human decency just to protect your little lover and destroy the evidence?” I demanded coldly.
“Bullshit! What evidence did I destroy?” Ethan’s expression turned dark and vicious.
He threw the box of ashes on the floor and roared,
“Sophia Reed, I’m a doctor, not a god! People die in our hospital every day. Your mother’s death has nothing to do with me!”
I took a deep breath, knelt down, and picked up the box.
Inside, barely half of the ashes were left.
“The dead deserve respect. You call yourself a doctor, but you can’t even give the deceased the basic dignity they deserve!”
Ethan’s face twisted with impatience.
“The crematorium burns so many bodies every day—those ashes all get mixed up anyway. What does it matter? As long as there’s enough to bury, that’s all you need.”
I let out a bitter laugh.
How could a human being say something so callous?
“Dr. Walker, Mrs. Walker, please don’t fight. This is all my fault.”
Lily suddenly burst into tears, interrupting us.
“I was the one who collected the ashes. If I had known, I would’ve scooped up more so even if some spilled, there’d still be plenty left.”
“How is any of this your fault?”
Ethan patted her head indulgently before turning to me with disdain.
“She didn’t even take care of her own mother’s body, and now she’s using her death to extort the hospital.
You went out of your way to bring her the ashes, and instead of being grateful, she blames you.
A daughter like that—no wonder her mother died early!”
My chest burned with fury.
This was beyond absurd.
This was clearly a medical malpractice case, caused entirely by Lily’s mistake.
But Ethan had abandoned all sense of right and wrong to protect his mistress.
“Don’t say that, Dr. Walker. Mrs. Reed is probably just emotional because her mom just died,”
Lily said softly, pouting and playfully covering Ethan’s mouth.
A tenderness flashed across Ethan’s eyes—one I had never seen before.
Seeing it felt like a knife to the heart.
“Mrs. Reed, life and death are fate. It’s better to let Mrs. Walker be laid to rest quickly.
Otherwise, her remains might end up scattered even more.”
Lily blinked innocently as she handed the ashes toward me again.
I gave a cold laugh and pushed them back toward her.
“Then let Ethan keep them himself.”
As I pushed the box back, a mischievous glint flashed in Lily’s eyes.
She suddenly stumbled backward, tearing the bag open.