I was a top Gynecologist, but my husband's female student took everything from me.
I was a top gynecologist with countless published papers to my name. But ever since I took on my husband's female student, each time I was about to publish a paper, I discovered she had beaten me to it. She would write a paper identical to mine, accuse me of plagiarism, and disgrace me publicly—eventually even stealing my position as department head.
Meanwhile, I began to make repeated errors in surgery, resulting in severe medical accidents. I was fired by the hospital and sued by patients' families. One of my patients, paralyzed for life because of my mistake, crawled into my office and threw a bottle of sulfuric acid on me—leaving me without a whole body to bury.
Even in death, I couldn't close my eyes in peace.
I couldn't understand why my student's papers always mirrored mine so precisely.
Nor could I understand why, in perfect health, I would suddenly become dazed during surgery, leading to disastrous errors. Then—I opened my eyes and found myself back in the moment before I had submitted that paper.
1
"Hannah, another paper? Amazing as always!"
A colleague's compliment stabbed into my heart like a needle.
I was the head of obstetrics and gynecology at a top-tier hospital. Outside of clinic hours, I was always in the lab researching or solving difficult medical cases. Each time I solved a rare or complicated condition, I would write a paper so medical professionals around the world could reference it. These papers were drawn from my real-world experience. Anyone who hadn't participated in the cases wouldn't have access to the specific details and data. Looking at the nearly finished draft on my computer, my heart raced. In my previous life, it was right at this point—just before submission—that I was accused of plagiarism four hours after publishing.
To prove my innocence, I decided to demonstrate the treatment method, showing the committee that only I could perform such a procedure—no one else could have written that paper. I found a patient with the same condition and paid out of pocket for her treatment.
But despite being in perfect health, I became dizzy and confused during the surgery. I made a mistake that left the patient paralyzed for life.
The patient and her family cornered me in my office, shouting: "You clearly didn't know how to treat this! Why did you push us into surgery? You ruined my daughter's life!"
"Your paper was plagiarized! You're a disgrace to medicine. You deserve to die!"
"Kill her! She's not fit to be a doctor!"
The half-paralyzed patient crawled up to me and dumped a bottle of sulfuric acid over my body.
My flesh burned and sizzled…
Even now, remembering that soul-deep pain, I could barely sit still in fear.
Hands shaking, I reopened the paper to review its contents.
There were no similarities to other works. The methods were filled with my unique approach, and even the patient's case was one-of-a-kind.
There was no way this paper could be plagiarism.
"Hannah, Mr. Brown's student Vivian published a paper this morning too."
Hearing her name, I grew more anxious. I peeked through the office door and saw Vivian outside.
Vivian was my husband James Brown's only graduate student. She was from a poor street—so poor, in fact, she had to work two part time jobs and get a student loan to pay her tuition. James specialized in gynecology as well, but since he taught at the university and lacked clinical experience, he couldn't help Vivian after a few papers. He came to me, begging me to mentor her. He said if I refused, he would immediately divorce me, send our adopted son back to the orphanage, and make sure I'd never see him again.
James and I had been college couples. After graduation, he stayed in academia and I joined the hospital. We were seen as the perfect couple.
But after marriage, I was diagnosed with infertility. After years of failed treatment, we adopted a son.
James never got over this. He constantly resented our son for not being his biological child. He talked more than once about divorcing me and finding a younger woman to bear his child.
I didn't want our son to be psychologically affected, so I endured it and refused to divorce him. I handed over all my earnings, and turned a blind eye to James's extravagant lifestyle.
With my son as leverage, James forced me to take in Vivian. I agreed and did my best to mentor her.
But Vivian was incredibly dull. She didn't even grasp basic medical knowledge. She didn't seem like a graduate student at all.
I thought she'd be dismissed quickly, but to my shock, she published a paper on her first day—and became famous overnight.
Her paper's subject? A patient I had just finished treating. The hospital assumed I was cultivating her and gave all the credit to Vivian.
But I knew the truth: this research was entirely mine. Vivian hadn't been involved at all.
I asked a colleague, "What's Vivian's research topic?" He eagerly handed me a copy of her paper. As I read it, my heart pounded.
Vivian's paper was identical—word for word—to the one I had just completed. I had been working on it for a long time, so yes, there was a risk of data theft. But the final paragraph, the summary—I had just written it ten minutes ago!
And Vivian's version was already circulating in the department this morning.
In other words, anyone could now accuse me of plagiarism—and they would believe it.
But this patient was mine. Her case was one of a kind! Vivian had just joined the hospital yesterday. How could she write a paper this detailed so fast? And how could it be identical to mine? What on earth was going on? I quickly deleted the paper from my computer and forced myself to calm down. I had already died once. I couldn't let that tragic ending repeat itself.
I had been the most gifted student at the State Medical University in 30 years. Medicine came easily to me. In just a few years after graduating, I became the youngest director of gynecology at our hospital, thanks to my clinical skills and academic talent. I had treated countless patients and solved numerous difficult cases. My knowledge and experience were in my head. No one could steal that from me.
With this thought, I regained my composure.
Losing one paper meant nothing. I had countless research ideas. In fact, inspiration suddenly struck—I thought of a new way to treat a rare condition.
To prevent another cheating, I didn't use my computer this time. I wrote it out by hand. If I could publish a new paper before Vivian, she wouldn't be able to copy me! Just as I finished outlining my new topic, several colleagues rushed into my office in excitement.
"Hannah ! Vivian just proposed a new research topic! It's incredibly well-designed—she's a genius!
Vivian didn't even know the most basic medical knowledge—how could she possibly come up with a new research topic in such a short amount of time? "I don't believe Vivian proposed a new topic! She's not capable of that!" Seeing me lose my temper, the junior doctors exchanged uneasy glances and quietly left the office. As the door closed, I overheard their whispers:
"Is Hannah lashing out from embarrassment? I mean, Vivian is only a graduate student and can already produce such outstanding papers—who wouldn't be jealous?"
"Look how petty Hannah is being. What if she makes things hard for Vivian on this new research topic?" "Hmm, Vivian is James's student. If the student is this talented, then maybe it's the teacher who's been taking credit. What if all those papers Hannah published were actually her husband's work?"
Their gossip made me take a deep breath and finally begin to think clearly. Vivian appeared so suddenly—I hadn't really looked into her at all. And the fastest way to understand a person is to check their social media. I opened Facebook. The first photo that popped up was of her and my husband James, arms around each other, beaming like a couple. The comments below were full of praise.
"Vivian is definitely the number one genius of the Medical University! Five papers in three years—who could beat that?!"
"No wonder she's Professor James's favorite student. Their relationship is so close! I heard he even bought her a car?"
"Vivian should be careful during her hospital internship. James's wife is a famously jealous old witch. You're so talented—don't let her steal your research!"
These comments were filled with things I had no idea about. My head spun. Five papers in three years? That's not something a normal student should be able to achieve. The professor bought her a car? They were clearly far more than teacher and student! I couldn't bear to keep reading. My hands trembled as I tried to close the app. Just then, the feed refreshed, and a new comment appeared below that same photo:
"Don't worry, Vivian. As long as I'm alive, all of Hannah's research will be yours! If she dares to publish a paper, I'll make sure she's branded a plagiarist! I couldn't hold myself up any longer—I collapsed to the floor.
Thank God I hadn't submitted that paper yet. Otherwise, I'd already be nailed to the pillar of shame. My husband—the person I trusted most—not only might be having an affair with a student, but was actively trying to destroy me!
While I was busy treating patients, I hadn't even noticed when they started scheming together. I had treated retired police officers and private investigators before, so once I calmed down, I contacted a few of them to dig into the relationship between James and Vivian.
After making those calls, my phone screen refreshed again. Vivian had posted another update. "New project. Independent leadership. Message me if you've got the skills to join."
She attached a photo of a scribbled draft—some rough notes outlining a brand-new research direction. I put down my phone and slowly looked at the handwritten notes I'd just finished placing on my desk. Why was Vivian's new topic so similar to the one I had just thought up?
Could it be that she had once again managed to steal my idea before I even shared it? I refused to believe it. I picked up my own paper and compared them word for word.
Not a single difference.
The content on Vivian's paper was identical to mine—even the correction marks were in the exact same spots.
But how was this possible? I was the only one in the office, and I had personally written everything down with pen and paper!
Could Vivian have planted surveillance camera in my office? Is that how she knows everything I write? I nervously searched every corner of the office, but found nothing.
I was so focused that I didn't even realize when James and Vivian had appeared in front of me. Seeing them so close, my temper exploded. I stepped forward, trying to pull them apart.
Vivian, however, easily stepped away.
"Mrs. Brown, I'm Mr. Brown's student. Are you this angry because you think there's something inappropriate going on between us?" she said with mock innocence. I clenched my fists, barely resisting the urge to slap Vivian across the face.
James noticed my agitation and protectively pulled Vivian behind him. "Vivian and I have a normal teacher-student relationship. Hannah, I'm warning you—don't go around ruining her reputation with wild accusations!"
I sneered coldly. "Who said there's anything wrong with your teacher-student relationship?"
Vivian feigned kindness. "Mrs. Brown, you've been so busy—of course you wouldn't care about the relationship between Mr. Brown and me. Oh, by the way, I heard you've been preparing to publish a paper recently. Why hasn't it been published yet?"
She had plagiarized my paper, and now she dared to come flaunt it in front of me? I wanted so badly to wipe that smug look off her face.
But I couldn't. Vivian had already published her paper. Even if I accused her of stealing mine, no one would believe me now.
I forced myself to stay calm. "There was a problem with my last topic, so I scrapped it. I need time to clear my head. Please leave." James snorted coldly. "Stop pretending. Who doesn't know what little tricks you have? I'd say it's not the topic that had a problem—it's that you're just not capable enough! Vivian is working on a new project now. If you've got nothing better to do, go help her."
He closed the office door behind him and placed Vivian's new research topic on my desk. "Vivian is kind-hearted and willing to give a useless person like you a hand. She's even willing to put your name at the bottom of the paper. But only if the paper is finished soon."
After James finished, Vivian arrogantly began boasting again—about how the hospital valued her talent so much, they were giving her their highest level of support, and she was even being considered for the "Doctor of the Year" award.
I remained silent, quietly observing them. Maybe my silence made Vivian's bragging feel pointless. After going on for a while, she suddenly reached under a book and pulled out the paper I had just written.
"Oh! Why does your new research topic look exactly like mine, Mrs. Brown? Could it be that you admire me so much, you copied it on purpose to study it further?" Her voice grew louder and louder. "Mrs. Brown, I know you have years of experience and connections. If you really wanted to steal my idea, you could probably publish the paper before me. But plagiarism isn't a good habit. As a respected OB-GYN director, you wouldn't want to be known as a copycat, right?"
She was deliberately accusing me of plagiarism—and then pretended to give me a way out.
"How about this? For Mr. Brown's sake, I'll let you be a co-author. But you have to come up with a detailed research plan within a week. Otherwise, everyone will know you were secretly copying a student." Her words were dripping with mockery and arrogance—but I heard something else underneath.
All this talk, and what they really wanted was to pressure me into quickly producing the research plan. If Vivian actually had the capability to finish the research herself, she wouldn't need to come find me at all.
Vivian had already made her new topic public. If I backed down out of fear of overlapping with her topic, she wouldn't be able to copy me anymore! In other words, if I refused to collaborate, Vivian would be unable to produce a concrete research plan—and she'd become a complete joke.
Noticing my hesitation, James softened his tone.
"Hannah, helping patients has always been your goal, right? You wouldn't want that young girl with malignant uterine tumors to just die like that, would you?" The young girl he mentioned was the very patient I had chosen as the subject of my new project. Her family had long given up on her, leaving her alone in the hospital to wait for death.
I pitied her and had applied for her to be part of a major disease research project. Although the new treatment carried risks, all her medical expenses would be covered—and there was a good chance of recovery. It was a rare opportunity.
And now James was using the patient's life to morally blackmail me! I clenched my fists in rage, forcing out the words between my teeth: "I need time to consider."
James smiled in satisfaction. "Then don't take too long. If you miss this chance, it won't come again. Who else but Vivian would be so kind as to include you in her research?" Vivian visibly relaxed, then hooked her arm around James's. "Professor, you really are the best! You treat me so well!"
James playfully tapped her nose. "You're my most beloved student—who else would I pamper?" Watching their intimate display, I felt sick.
But it also made me more certain than ever: James and Vivian had been involved for a long time. The one helping her plagiarize my work had to be James—my own husband!
Just as I was lost in these thoughts, the private investigator faxed over a report on Vivian.
The truth about her relationship with James might be hidden in that report. If I could expose it all, Vivian would definitely be fired, and I could finally divorce James—and keep custody of my son. Then they'd never be able to steal my work again!
Taking a deep breath, I opened Vivian's file.
Vivian's family lived in a poor area. When she was seventeen, she went out with her parents and had a car accident that killed both her parents—yet she was completely unharmed. Since then, relatives regarded Vivian as a disaster, believing she would bring bad luck to everyone around her, and all of them distanced themselves from her. Vivian's family was poor, and after her parents died, she lost her source of income.
But surprisingly, Vivian lived quite well on her own. Even in the small town, she always had enough supplies every day. The driver who caused the accident that killed Vivian's parents didn't have any insurance and was a poor man who never paid any compensation.
Gradually, the street began spreading rumors that Vivian shamelessly seduced men to get food. Vivian never denied these accusations, but according to the private investigator's report, she was unexpectedly morally upright. Not only did she never have relations with any men from the street, she barely even interacted with them.
Even more bizarre was Vivian's academic record.
Vivian wasn't dumb—on the contrary, she had a crafty little cleverness—but she wasn't cut out for studying. From elementary school, she was always near the bottom of her class, shockingly slow. Yet when the time came for the high school, she suddenly scored remarkably well. After entering high school, she soared to the top, and by the college, she ranked first in her entire school.
With such outstanding results, Vivian was admitted to medical university. Since her street was in the same town as James's, James took special care of her and even voluntarily sponsored some of her living expense.
Later, Vivian got into graduate school and became James's only student. Although Vivian's story was strange, it was still within the realm of possibility.
Maybe the food was government assistance. Maybe her sudden academic improvement was because she realized studying was her only way out. But I hadn't seen the information I most wanted to know. I called the private investigator to inquire about the relationship between Vivian and James. After thinking carefully, he said, "It's just an ordinary teacher-student relationship. Vivian is morally upright and has never had an overly close relationship with James."
I showed him Vivian's social media, which was full of classmates teasing her and evidence of James buying a car for Vivian.
The investigator said, "I found that, too. There are definitely rumors at the school, but Vivian really does not have an improper relationship with James. They only see each other a few times during class, and have no contact outside of that."
"As for the car, James was the one who insisted on buying it for Vivian, but they're not close at all—definitely not lovers. I have the surveillance footage from the dealership. You can watch it yourself." In the video, Vivian and James walk into the dealership one after the other. Vivian only talks to the salesman, completely ignoring James. James obediently follows after her. Once Vivian picks out the car, James quietly pays for it.
They don't interact once during the whole process—it really doesn't look like a romantic relationship. But just now, James and Vivian clearly acted so intimate!
And besides wanting Vivian's youthful body, I can't think of any other reason that would make James betray his wife and family to help Vivian steal my paper! But if James didn't steal the paper, how did Vivian perfectly replicate such a finely detailed paper one-to-one?
I grew more confused.
Before leaving work, a colleague who was close to me came over to gossip.
"Do you know? The hospital values Vivian very much. They think she's the second coming of you—a second genius! They promised if Vivian publishes her second paper, they'll promote her to deputy director ahead of schedule!"
"But the deadline's tight. You published two papers back-to-back with only a week in between. So the hospital leadership gave Vivian exactly one week. If she can't produce a paper by then, she can forget about promotion or raise!"
Suddenly it all made sense.
No wonder James and Vivian were so desperate to get me involved in the research—they were working against a hard deadline! Although I didn't know how Vivian kept beating me to publishing identical papers, I knew those papers were definitely born from my own brain. As long as I don't participate in the research or write any papers, Vivian won't be able to copy me!
I asked for a sick leave and took my son to stay with my family in the other state . For the first few days, James and Vivian called me countless times a day, urging me to return and join the project. But I knew that without my participation, whether in paper records or digital files, James wouldn't be able to steal my papers and research plans. Unable to copy anymore, Vivian grew anxious.
One week later, I left my son at my parents' house and returned to work alone. As soon as I entered, I saw the department brightly decorated, with a big banner reading congratulations to Vivian for becoming deputy director. Colleagues surrounded Vivian, offering good wishes and congratulations. I stared in disbelief at the scene, frozen on the spot. I had deliberately stayed away, changed my phone and SIM card fearing monitoring software on my old phone. Worried my home was bugged, I even took my parents and child on a trip. I didn't even mention work or the research project to anyone, trying to keep everything secret.
Yet Vivian still managed to publish a paper and become deputy director.
None of my colleagues greeted me when they saw me; Vivian stood in the middle with a brand-new deputy director badge on her chest, her eyes arrogant. "Mrs. Brown, you really have it easy, taking a vacation while the department is so busy. If you had come back a few days later, maybe the leaders would have just let me replace you as director!"
I must have looked a mess. But no matter how bad I felt, I wanted to fight to the end.
"You wrote the paper?"
Vivian didn't even answer. Instead, one of her lackeys puffed up: "Of course she did! Hannah, don't you think you're the only genius here? Vivian's paper has already been published in The Science, you must be jealous!"
Impossible.
The private investigator's report clearly showed Vivian often skipped classes in university, and couldn't even answer basic medical knowledge. How could she have written such a professional paper?
I frowned and asked someone to bring Vivian's paper.
Vivian smirked: "Mrs. Brown, you don't believe me? Well, open your eyes and look — who else in this hospital besides me could write such an excellent paper?"
She pretended to understand: "Oh right, besides me, there's you. But you were on vacation for a whole week; I couldn't contact you. You can't say I plagiarized you, right?" I suppressed my anger and took the paper carefully. As I read, my heart leapt into my throat. Though the wording was slightly different, the entire paper matched almost exactly what I had envisioned!
Because I feared being plagiarized again, I hadn't written anything down on paper or computer, but my mind was constantly working on the project during that week. That poor girl whose uterus was covered with malignant tumors was suffering so much — I really wanted to save her.
The whole paper was complete in my mind. Unless Vivian could steal things directly from my brain… This absurd thought made my body shiver uncontrollably.
When I write papers, I have a little-known habit even my husband doesn't know: I like to use awkward Spanish, sometimes very obscure terms that even dictionaries don't have — only native Spanish speakers recognize them.
Vivian's paper also contained those exact unusual Spanish terms. The private investigator's report said Vivian's Spanish was very poor — she even misspelled the word "happy."
The truth was clear.
Vivian was able to steal my paper directly from my mind. That's why she could always produce her papers faster than me!
"Mrs. Brown, your face looks terrible. Don't tell me you don't like me being deputy director, so you look at me like I killed your loves?"
Vivian's taunt snapped me out of my daze. I looked at her coldly and suddenly laughed.
"I really don't like you, but I'm honest. Do you dare to make a bet? Produce a second paper within seven days, let everyone in the department and the leaders judge. Whoever wins will be the director!"
Vivian's mouth almost split with laughter, and her eyes were full of pity, like mocking my arrogance. She agreed immediately: "Sure! I also think being deputy director is beneath me. Let's do it your way. No guilty if you admit lose!"
During this week, when I was at work, I pondered the meaning of working; after work, I thought about what to eat and drink. I didn't think about the paper at all. Day by day passed, and James couldn't help but urge me to write the paper quickly.
"You have Parents to care for and young kids too. If you really lose the director position, who will support this whole family? That little bastard who's not even related to me by blood — I won't spend a single cent on him!"
I sneered at him: "And who would you spend money on? Vivian? "
Unexpectedly, Vivian retorted indignantly, "I'm not worthy of a beautiful genius like Vivian! I don't have such dirty thoughts!"
I was quite surprised. James came from a rural background, a very proud man who rose against the odds — it was hard to imagine those self-deprecating words coming from his mouth. I gave him perfunctory answers that I'd write the paper, but in fact, I didn't think about the paper at all.
Another day passed. Vivian also couldn't just wait. She cornered me in the office, mocking me sarcastically.
"I heard from Mr. Brown that you haven't written a single word these days? My paper is nearly finished already. Mrs. Brown, you are the once-in-thirty-years genius of the Medical University. Are you really willing to lose to a young girl like me?"
I smiled and answered her: "Sure."
Vivian's face changed terribly, her words quick and urgent. "If you lose the director position, Mr. Brown will surely divorce you! Then the child adopted from the welfare home will be sent back. Would you be willing to see your son suffer?"
I still smiled: "Sure." Vivian was helpless and stormed off in anger.
On the seventh day, Vivian looked visibly exhausted. She came to my office one last time, bluntly asking me to concede.
"I know you haven't written anything. You're afraid of me, Mrs. Brown. You're afraid of losing so badly!" Vivian's face shows how crazy she was.
"Here's the deal — you admit defeat, give up the competition, and we settle peacefully: you keep the director post, I keep the deputy. Is that okay?" I laughed angrily: "Why should I admit defeat? Why can't you?"
Vivian suddenly flew into a rage: "Don't refuse a toast only to accept a punishment! I'm giving you this chance because I respect you, Hannah Brown. Don't forget, the patient with the tumor in her uterus is now under my treatment. If you want her to live, then admit defeat honestly!"
Vivian was using a person's life to force me to concede! I clenched my fists, anger boiling like magma. But I would never give up. I could only settle for a compromise:
"Admitting defeat isn't my style. I'll go back and write the paper now. But the time's too short to write a good one. In the end, I'll definitely lose. Don't touch that child!"
Upon hearing I would write, Vivian immediately smiled with satisfaction:
"You're smart."
I stayed up all night finishing the paper. The next day, everyone in the department and the hospital leaders came. Vivian and I handed in our papers in front of everyone.
"You're definitely going to lose," Vivian whispered arrogantly to me. "All your achievements, your director position — as long as you keep researching, all your glory belongs to me!"
Confident of her win, she openly boasted. "Blame it on you — too smart, too enviable. Once I have everything you have, I won't foolishly keep researching. I'll go to a private hospital and easily earn millions every year, sounds good, right?"
I nodded with a smile. "Then congratulations in advance."
At that moment, the hospital manager and experts finished reviewing our papers. They whispered among themselves, looking troubled. Seeing this, Vivian glared at me proudly and asked the leaders:
"Mrs. Brown, did something unexpected happen? Is someone accused of plagiarism?"
Vivian was gleefully telling everyone: "The thing researchers hate most is plagiarism. If I plagiarized Mrs. Brown, or if Mrs. Brown plagiarized me, please don't spare us. Just point it out!"
She was confident that the plagiarist would be me. When the leaders didn't respond, Vivian got even more worked up:
"Don't be shy, everyone. I admit Mrs. Brown is strong in research, the backbone of obstetrics and gynecology. But the new generation is pushing forward — we can't just cover for her mistakes because she's contributed so much, right?" She laughed shamelessly. James joined in the heckling from the crowd:
"Though Hannah is my wife, I'm ashamed to have her. I hope the hospital managers don't consider my feelings, just say what you want and punish her as needed! She deserves it!"
The colleagues also started murmuring. "What do you mean? Hannah plagiarized? Now that you mention it, Vivian's stolen the last two projects from her, so pathetic."
"Hannah hasn't said a word. Don't you get it? She plagiarized!" "I thought she was talented — turns out she stole everything!" Vivian laughed even harder.
"Mrs. Brown, do you want me to plead for you?"
I smiled and nodded: "Thanks in advance." Vivian was surprised I could still smile and stared suspiciously at me. But soon her expression relaxed, and she truly began pleading.
"Everyone, Mrs. Brown is also a human being, making mistakes is normal. Let her take a break at home. Don't worry, I'll handle everything and won't disgrace the hospital!"
After she spoke, a supervisor suddenly slammed the table. "Plagiarism is a grave offense! The hospital will never tolerate such a rat!"
"Of course," Vivian gloated, "So just fire her."
The supervisor glared at her angrily. "Then fire her! Vivian, you're fired!"
Vivian was stunned.
"Sir, did you say wrong? Hannah Brown plagiarized me, why fire me?"
Unexpectedly, the supervisor got even angrier, slamming both papers on the table.
"Hannah plagiarize you? I've never seen plagiarism get worse! Your trash paper isn't worth a fraction of Hannah's!"
"How's that possible? I copied it word for word!" Realizing her mistake, Vivian quickly shut up and compared the two papers carefully.
Even without medical knowledge, she could see my paper was several pages longer. The two papers were somewhat similar but clearly different. Colleagues gathered to look, and after passing them around, everyone praised my paper.
"Hannah's paper is excellent. Look at Vivian's — no obvious mistakes, but it's incoherent, messy, like a bunch of old ladies gossiping, nothing useful!"
"So Vivian was the plagiarist! No wonder a fresh graduate could publish such a professional paper."
"Then the previous papers were also Vivian plagiarizing Hannah? Did James steal Hannah's papers for Vivian? Could Vivian and James be involved? Disgusting!"
Vivian's eyes reddened with rage from the colleagues' comments. Suddenly, she went crazy, tore up both papers, grabbed my shoulders and shouted: "What's going on?! Last night you clearly thought about my paper in your mind, so why is your paper better and more detailed? Did you hire a ghostwriter?" She clung to the last straw, spreading rumors I hired someone to write for me.
But everyone present looked at her like she was insane. I was called a genius because I'm undeniably the leader in this field. No one else can write such papers.
Who would I hire? Who has the skill to ghostwrite for me?
I sneered and told her: "The knowledge and experience are in my head; no thinking needed, I can write directly."
Last night I did think about Vivian's paper in my mind, but I stayed up all night without sleep, using muscle memory at 4 a.m. when my brain was most exhausted to perfect the paper.
No thinking required, no brainwork — Vivian could never steal that from my mind.
Although I don't know what dark magic she used, a genius is a genius — no trick can close the gap between us. No one believed Vivian; everyone treated her coldly. Unable to bear the blow, she glared at me viciously. But unexpectedly, Vivian ordered James to attack me!
"James Brown! Go teach your wife a lesson!"
Even stranger, James really, like an obedient dog, blankly lunged at me! Luckily, colleagues around stopped him.
But the next second, James suddenly went blank-eyed and collapsed to the ground.
James was rushed to the emergency room for urgent treatment. The on-duty doctor suspected he had suddenly suffered a cerebral hemorrhage that caused him to faint. He was sent for a CT scan, and the results came out quickly. Looking at the empty skull on the CT scan, all the doctors present fell silent.
"What's going on? Why… why is James's brain empty?" the leader asked in horror.
In the CT image, James's brain had only a skeletal framework left! The cerebrum, cerebellum, and even cerebrospinal fluid had all disappeared! At that moment, a nurse in the emergency room suddenly screamed loudly.
"Worms! There are worms!"
Everyone watched in horror as a black soft-bodied worm crawled out from James's ear. It looked almost like a fat snake. The security guard at the door was braver than the others and quickly trapped the worm on the floor with a petri dish.
The nurse screamed again: "The patient is dead!"
The monitoring machine emitted a piercing alarm; James's heartbeat stopped.
And just like that, James was gone.
In the silence, the private detective called me. I put the call on speaker.
"Mrs. Brown, Vivian's old neighbor finally took money and agreed to tell the truth. According to him, Vivians grandmother's grandma was a witch and knew how to use 'Spark' — a kind of sorcery. This skill is passed down to daughters, not sons. After her grandmother died, the 'Spark' worms were inherited by Vivian."
"I heard that these 'Spark' worms crawl into a person's brain in childhood and resonate with the 'mother worm' inside Vivian's brain, thus forming a brain connection. But these 'Spark' worms have a huge appetite. After consuming a person's brain, they immediately need to find another host. Otherwise, when the 'child worm' is hungry, the 'mother worm' in Vivian's brain will also become violent and start harming her host."
"The neighbor said that after Vivians parents died, many people around them died one after another, but Vivian, an orphan, remained unharmed and even became more prosperous. People suspected Vivian used the 'Spark' worms, which is why everyone rejected her."
After hearing the detective, everything became clear.
Vivian's money, her sudden improvement in grades, James voluntarily paying expenses, and his obedience to Vivian — all because Vivian used 'Spark' worms.
What about me?
Vivian has stolen ideas from my brain more than once. That means my brain should also have 'Spark' worms.
Thinking of this, I immediately had a full body scan. Luckily, the worm hadn't fully entered my brain yet — it was still curled up in my ear canal.
After removing the 'Spark' worm, the hospital reported and arrested Vivian. But Vivian disappeared without a trace by some unknown method. Just when I thought she'd get away, three months later, the news suddenly reported a cancer-stricken girl committing a violent act on the street, throwing a bottle of sulfuric acid at innocent bystanders.
I looked carefully and recognized the girl as my former patient — the young girl with malignant tumors all over her uterus.
The girl tearfully said in an interview: "I was supposed to live! It's all because that bitch Vivan plagiarized Mrs. Brown's paper, causing me to be assigned to Vivian's treatment group. But she knows nothing! Vivian not only delayed my treatment but also gave me wrong medications, causing me endless pain every day. I hate her!"
The woman collapsed on the roadside, her face disfigured. That woman was Vivian.
Later, I visited Vivian — her entire face was burned by acid, especially her mouth, which was corroded down to a shallow pit. In other words, she could no longer make any sound.
But her 'Spark' worms need chants to control.
Soon, the 'child worm' that crawled out of James's brain starved to death. It only eats fresh human brains, and no one could support it.
Without the child worm, Vivian could have controlled other child worms to enter others' brains to nourish the mother worm. But her mouth was rotten and couldn't chant the spells, so she could only watch the child worms starve, driving the mother worm mad.
The mother worm wouldn't eat up her brain but would cause her immense pain. More pain than the acid burns.
It's said Vivian tries to kill herself every day at the welfare home because of the pain, but the mother worm's survival instinct is stronger and repeatedly controls her brain to stop her from committing suicide. Vivian's following decades were spent in pain every day.
But that has nothing to do with me.
I'm still the genius director of the obstetrics and gynecology department. The only difference is that without my foolish husband, life with my son is much happier.
Later, I learned why James was targeted by Vivian — every new semester he hooked up with female students and succeeded a few times. The girls were too scared to report, and one even tried to get suicide because of it.
In the end, hooking up with Vivian might have been James's lucky fate.