Chapter 1

My wife was an attending physician at an elite private hospital. Gorgeous and drop-dead stunning, she was the undisputed crush of the entire facility.

One day, I happened to drop by her workplace, only to hear unmistakably explicit sounds drifting from an office.

Less than three minutes later, she walked out alongside a balding older doctor.

I followed them in secret, entirely unaware of the monstrous conspiracy hidden behind the hospital's pristine walls.

My wife, Natalie, was an attending physician at a prestigious private clinic.

She was strikingly beautiful, with killer curves and an hourglass figure that easily earned her the title of the clinic's resident stunner.

We dated for three years and had been married for four. The so-called seven-year itch never seemed like something we would ever have to worry about.

If anything, our bond had only grown deeper and stronger with time.

I truly thought Natalie and I would grow old together, hand in hand. But a sudden twist of fate shattered everything in an instant.

It happened on a weekday afternoon. Waking up from a quick nap at my desk, I stretched my arms, only to be hit with a sharp, wrenching pain across my chest.

I took several deep breaths, but the ache didn't fade at all. In fact, it seemed to be getting worse.

Panic set in—could it be a heart attack? An aortic dissection?

Not daring to waste a single second, I hailed an Uber and rushed straight to the hospital where Natalie worked.

After a full battery of tests, the doctors finally ruled out any life-threatening conditions.

The attending physician assured me it was just severe muscle strain and pinched nerves from sitting in the same posture for too long, and that a bit of rest would clear it right up.

Relieved that it wasn't serious, I figured I'd drop by Natalie’s floor to see her.

She had been swamped lately, practically living at the hospital and barely spending any time at home. Even though I never complained, I couldn't help feeling a little lonely.

Still, knowing how demanding her career was, I completely understood and felt nothing but sympathy for her.

The hospital's outpatient clinic and inpatient wards were housed in the same massive high-rise. I stopped by the lobby flower shop downstairs to buy a fresh bouquet, intending to give her a sweet surprise.

Before I even reached her department, an eye-catching figure caught my eye down the corridor.

Even from dozens of feet away, dressed in a white lab coat and wearing a surgical mask, I recognized her profile instantly. It had to be Natalie.

After all, who else in this entire hospital had a body that jaw-dropping? Her voluptuous, perfectly shaped curves were something I knew by heart.

Just as I opened my mouth to call out her name, a middle-aged, silver-haired doctor stepped up beside her. The two of them were laughing and chatting as they walked together toward the service elevators.

The male doctor wasn't wearing a mask. His face looked vaguely familiar, though I couldn't place where I had seen him before.

The moment they reached the corner, the older man casually slid an arm around Natalie's slender waist, and they vanished down the hall.

My brain completely short-circuited. I froze dead in my tracks.

No… that was impossible. Was my vision playing tricks on me?

My feet moved on pure instinct, quickening into a jog to catch up.

By the time I reached the elevator bank, I was a second too late. The doors were already sliding shut with the two of them inside.

Rage and confusion tore through my chest. I threw the bouquet straight into a nearby trash can, my eyes glued to the digital floor indicator above the elevator.

The glowing numbers climbed higher and higher until they finally came to a halt.

Floor 18.

Locking that number in my head, I stepped into the adjacent elevator cab immediately.

Yet when I tried to press the button for the 18th floor, the console wouldn't respond. It required an authorized staff badge swipe to unlock.

Thinking quickly, I jabbed the button for the 17th floor instead. Once the doors opened, I sprinted straight toward the emergency fire exit, planning to take the stairwell up.

To my frustration, the heavy metal door leading to the 18th floor was locked tight from the outside.

Restless and frantic, I gripped the handle and gave it a violent, desperate yank. Surprisingly, the lock gave way with a harsh click under sheer force.

Just like that, I slipped onto the 18th floor.

The entire level was devoid of any signs, room numbers, or directional plaques. It was just a long, sterile corridor lined with firmly shut doors, the heavy stench of harsh disinfectant hanging thick in the air.

There wasn't a single doctor, nurse, or patient in sight. It was dead silent, eerily quiet in a way that felt completely unnatural.

Restricted elevator access, locked fire doors, sealed rooms, a graveyard silence, and the overwhelming smell of chemicals.

My stomach sank as a chilling thought crossed my mind.

Could this be the hospital morgue?

But shouldn't a morgue be down in the basement? I had never heard of a hospital putting dead bodies on the top floor.

Whether it was a morgue or not, my instincts screamed that something was deeply wrong here.

Before I could piece it together, the silhouettes of Natalie and the older doctor appeared down the hallway once again.