"That's enough!"
An elderly doctor suddenly spoke. His voice was firm and authoritative.
He was the senior-most surgeon of City Hospital and a renowned heart specialist.
Dr. Ram.
The moment the other doctors saw him, they straightened up nervously.
One of them gathered courage and said,
"Sir… the patient's family will reach here in about ten to fifteen minutes."
"Ten to fifteen minutes?"
Dr. Ram's face darkened.
In his mind, he had already calculated everything.
He knew very well—
In that much time, saving the patient would be nearly impossible.
Mahendra Malhotra had undergone several heart surgeries in different countries.
But every time, some infection developed, forcing another surgery.
This time was no different.
After returning to India, his surgical wound got infected again.
Blood started leaking from his heart.
Because of that, he couldn't go abroad for further treatment and had to be admitted to City Hospital—the best heart hospital in the city.
Dr. Ram had already read all the reports.
Just by observing Mahendra Malhotra now, he was certain—
The heart could fail at any moment.
Even if surgery was performed, the success rate was barely five percent.
That was why waiting for the family's consent was their only option.
"We cannot perform surgery without family consent," Dr. Ram said gravely.
"You all know who Mahendra Malhotra is. He doesn't forgive mistakes."
At that moment, a female doctor stepped forward.
Her name was Dr. Tina, one of the most brilliant young doctors in City Hospital.
"If we operate without consent and something happens," Tina said seriously,
"his grandson will destroy us. Our careers—and our lives—will be over."
She paused and added firmly,
"The entire country trembles at the Malhotra name.
I think the only option right now is to give him an injection and try to stabilize him."
Dr. Ram thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Alright. Nurse, bring the injection. Let's try to stabilize him."
The nurse immediately turned to leave.
But—
Nidhi, who was standing near the door, suddenly stopped her.
She raised her voice for the first time.
"Are you all insane?"
"If you give him that injection, he will die on the spot."
The room froze.
Tina, already irritated by Nidhi, snapped,
"You know way too much for a child. Leave immediately and let us do our job."
Nidhi's eyes turned cold.
She muttered under her breath,
"Useless doctors."
And turned to leave.
Tina heard it.
Her face twisted in anger.
"How dare she call me useless?" she shouted.
"Calm down, Tina," another doctor tried to stop her.
"This is not the time. The patient's condition is worsening."
But Tina couldn't let it go.
She was the youngest and most talented doctor in City Hospital.
She had won countless awards and praise in her short career.
And now—
A small girl had called her useless.
"This patient can only be saved through surgery," Nidhi said calmly, turning back.
Tina laughed bitterly.
"Do you even understand how critical this is?
This will be Mahendra Malhotra's fourth surgery."
"There is not a single heart muscle left untouched.
No hospital in the world, no doctor, would dare perform a fifth surgery."
Another doctor added gently,
"This condition is extremely rare.
Medical history has never seen a case this severe."
Tina nodded sharply.
"We've already consulted the world's top surgeons.
None of them have a solution."
Nidhi raised an eyebrow slightly.
"That's why I said," she replied calmly,
"you are useless doctors."
Now Tina completely lost her temper.
"You think you can save him?" she challenged.
Nidhi looked at Mahendra Malhotra for a moment.
Then she spoke with absolute confidence.
"You people can't afford my surgery fees."
The room went silent.
Tina burst out laughing.
"Do you even know who is lying on that bed?
Money means nothing to him."
She smirked.
"If you save him, you'll become rich overnight.
And if you really manage to do that—"
She pointed at the floor.
"I'll kneel down and apologize.
I'll even call you a god."
Nidhi didn't react.
Her face remained calm.
Unreadable.
Tina looked at Nidhi's attitude and sneered.
"Have you even finished high school?" she mocked.
"Do you even know where the heart is located? Surgery is not about taking a knife and cutting randomly. I don't know where you came from, but apologize right now and get out of here. If you apologize, I'll forgive you and pretend this incident never happened."
Nidhi calmly looked at the badge clipped near Tina's pin code.
Her voice turned cold.
"You're an Associate Physician in Cardiology," Nidhi said.
"And yet you don't even know how an artificial valve replacement surgery is performed."
Her words stunned everyone.
"And you expect me to apologize?" Nidhi continued.
"Calling someone like you a doctor is an insult to the word 'doctor' itself."
"Did you all hear how this little girl is talking?" Tina shouted angrily.
A female doctor standing nearby muttered to herself in shock,
"She actually knows what valve replacement surgery is… Hearing professional terms from someone so young is unbelievable."
"Does she really have medical knowledge?"
Some male doctors began to realize it too. They stared at Nidhi in disbelief.
One of them spoke softly to Tina,
"I think we should let her try… maybe she has a way to save Mr. Mahendra."
Tina exploded.
"Are you out of your mind? Do you even realize what you're saying? You want a little girl to perform a heart transplant now?"
"Do we have any other option?" another doctor argued.
"The Malhotra family hasn't arrived yet. The patient's condition is critical. If we don't act now, he'll die. And without a consent form, no other doctor will touch Mahendra Malhotra. Who knows… maybe this girl can create a miracle."
"Patients are cured by proper treatment, not miracles," Tina snapped through clenched teeth.
Another female doctor suggested carefully,
"I think we should ask Doctor Keshav for his opinion."
"He won't come," Tina replied immediately.
"What he doesn't want to handle, Dr. Raghav can't force him to. Doctor Keshav is extremely short-tempered and doesn't talk to anyone politely."
Nidhi looked at everyone and asked calmly, one last time,
"Tell me… can you afford me?"
Dr. Ram studied her confident face and replied,
"Yes. We can afford it. Mahendra Mittal is not an ordinary man. Paying a fee is not the issue. The only question is—how do we save him?"
Nidhi had earned a lot of money for the Mehra family, but most of it had gone into her family's pockets. Whatever remained was being spent on Kamna Dadi's treatment.
Suddenly, she realized she could earn a huge amount from this surgery.
A faint glow appeared in her eyes.
Dr. Ram noticed that confidence—and the strange, strong aura around her.
Surprised, he asked, "Do you know medicine?"
A small smile appeared on Nidhi's lips.
"Handling this case is not a big deal."
"How will you handle it?" Dr. Ram asked.
"By performing a heart vessel replacement surgery," Nidhi replied flatly.
"But during the operation, I need Doctor Keshav as my assistant."
Tina immediately scoffed.
"Do you even know who Doctor Keshav is? How talented he is? We can call him for help, but him being your assistant? That's impossible."
She turned to Dr. Vijay and said sharply,
"Doctor, this girl is wasting time. We need to inject the patient and put him on the table immediately."
She ordered a nurse to bring the injection and call security.
The nurse rushed out to call security to throw Nidhi out—but on the way, she collided with Keshav.
She quickly told him everything.
Moments later, Keshav walked into the group and asked in a cold voice,
"Who's looking for me?"
Everyone froze in shock.
Keshav was known for ignoring even senior doctors. He never came when called.
"Doctor Keshav, you've arrived at the perfect time," Tina said, seizing the chance to humiliate Nidhi.
"Look at this girl's audacity—she wants you to be her assistant during surgery."
Keshav glanced at Nidhi.
Her face showed no emotion, as if none of this mattered to her.
Ignoring Tina completely, Keshav asked the others,
"What's going on?"
Before anyone else could speak, Tina rushed to explain the situation.
She smiled deliberately, adjusted a lock of hair behind her ear, clearly trying to impress him.
"I've never seen anything like this," she concluded smugly.
"Neither in India, nor abroad."
To be continued…