Chapter 697

Sunlight streamed through the operating room windows but failed to dispel the heavy tension in the air.

Queen Eleanor lay on the surgical table, her fingers clutching the sheets until her knuckles turned white. Her pale lips trembled as she whispered, "Dr. Laurent... I'm scared..."

Vivian Laurent snapped on sterile gloves with practiced ease. "Take deep breaths," she soothed. "Imagine you're lying in a garden."

As anesthesia flowed into the queen's veins, her eyelashes fluttered shut.

The operating theater hummed with activity as Eudora's top obstetric specialists stood ready. A blonde surgeon crossed her arms. "Letting a general surgeon lead this high-risk procedure? This is reckless endangerment of Her Majesty's life."

Vivian adjusted her microscope without looking up. "Medicine knows no borders."

"Arrogant!" The blonde slammed a tray. "Do you comprehend the consequences of failure?"

The surgery commenced. Vivian's slender fingers danced across microsurgical instruments, a sheen of sweat glistening at her temples.

"Too slow," the blonde surgeon muttered. "At this rate, the fetus won't survive."

A shrill alarm pierced the air.

"Blood pressure crashing!" a nurse shouted.

In that critical moment, the blonde "accidentally" jostled the operating table. Vivian's instrument slipped—

Crimson flooded the monitor screen.

"God! The fetal femoral artery ruptured!"

Chaos erupted. The blonde surgeon backed away, pointing. "This... this is malpractice! Dr. Laurent's responsibility!"

Vivian's gaze locked onto the pulsing blood fountain. Her voice cut through the panic like steel. "Fetal vascular repair kit. Now."