The Doppelganger
The next morning, Arielle woke up in Susanne’s arms. “Mom, why did you let me use your arm as a
pillow the entire night?” Arielle had barely spoken when she scrambled to sit up. Subsequently, she
stroked Susanne’s arm and commented sympathetically, “It must be numb by now.”
With that said, she quickly gave it a few squeezes and a subsequent massage. Susanne’s arm was
indeed numb, but the discomfort was soon eased by Arielle’s efforts.
“That’s enough. I feel a lot better already.” The smiling Susanne stretched her arm before lamenting,
“I’m just getting old. In my younger days, I wouldn’t feel anything even if you slept on it the entire night.”
“Mom, you’re not old at all!” Arielle got out of bed and helped Susanne down. Due to the latter’s
upcoming surgery, she still needed to fast. As a result, Arielle and Vinson had breakfast at a nearby
restaurant.
After the meal, the pair returned to the hospital. Since Susanne was due for surgery that day, Vinson
took a day off.
“Mom, it’s just a minor surgery, so don’t worry. There’s no need to feel nervous either.” Worried about
Susanne’s nerves, Arielle mentally prepared the older woman.
“I know. I’m not worried or nervous at all,” Susanne replied with a smile. She was, after all, confident in
Arielle’s medical skills.
As time passed quickly, Arielle and Susanne got dressed in their respective outfits. Subsequently, they
were escorted by the nurse and Vinson to the operating theater.
Inside, Susanne was first injected with an anesthetic. Once its effects began to kick in, the surgery
swiftly began.
This time, the hospital’s neurology professor was present, along with the attending physician. Under
normal circumstances, it was rare for someone of his station to be in the operating theatre. However,
this professor was interested in watching Arielle in action.
The duration of the surgery was two and a half hours. Throughout the surgery, Arielle was fully focused
and didn’t dare make any mistakes. The professor was naturally in awe of her revolutionary methods.
As he intently observed how she moved her hands, he—cognizant of what she planned to do whenever
her hands stopped—responded accordingly to what was needed.
During the previous surgery, Arielle would delegate the stitching to other doctors. However, she made
an exception for this one by completing everything herself.
By the time she emerged from the operating theatre, her clothes, alongside her hair tucked underneath
the scrub cap, were already drenched in sweat.
“The surgery is a success,” Arielle declared with a smile when she saw the approaching Vinson the
moment she opened the door.
“You should wash up in the ward. I’ve already instructed Helma to bring you a change of clothes,”
Vinson replied.
Nevertheless, Arielle shook her head as she wanted to ensure Susanne was sent to the ICU for
observation first.
Soon, the nurse pushed Susanne out and moved her to the ICU.
“The nurses will watch over her, so there’s nothing for us to do. You had better go back to the office,”
Arielle suggested, aware that Vinson had a backlog piling up at Nightshire Group. On top of that, he still
had to deal with his troublesome half-brother.
Well aware that family members weren’t allowed in the ICU, Vinson gave Arielle a nod before heading
back to the office.
“Mr. Nightshire, the man who looks like you is here again,” the frowning Rayson reported the moment
Vinson returned to the office.
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