Chapter 46: Women Controlled by Scumbags
Hearing the news David brought back, House continued to ask:
"Is that so? Which hospital did she go to? Can we pull the records?"
David shook his head:
"She had the abortion at an unlicensed clinic—that's why there's nothing in her medical history."
House nodded. This was why he preferred David.
David always considered every detail, saving them from having to go back for follow-up confirmation.
House thought for a moment and continued:
"Has the rash subsided yet?"
"No."
"Did she come into contact with anything else during this time?"
"No. To prevent further allergic reactions, when I admitted her, I specifically told the other two nuns not to let Sister Augustine touch any metal objects."
Seeing that David was still answering smoothly, House nodded with satisfaction:
"Then it seems the allergen is very likely inside her body.
Give her a full body CT to see if there are any foreign objects."
"We'll reconvene after we get the results. I need to hit clinic duty now.
I expect answers by the time I'm back."
Everyone nodded.
Soon, they obtained Sister Augustine's imaging.
The three of them began carefully analyzing the CT scans.
"No perforations, no fillers, no retained surgical needles, no implants."
"Her insides look clean."
"David, looks like both your and House's theory was wrong. There's no allergen inside her body."
Chase said as he reviewed the images.
David shook his head without speaking, simply took the mouse and keyboard, and zoomed directly into Sister Augustine's abdominal region.
As the image magnified, Chase's eyes widened:
"What the hell is that? Lock onto it and get a 3D reconstruction."
David quickly complied, and when the ring-shaped object appeared before everyone, Cameron immediately gasped:
"Oh my God, that's an IUD! It's completely dislodged from its proper position and embedded in the endometrial tissue!"
Chase looked at David in astonishment:
"So the allergen really is inside Sister Augustine's body?
Doesn't she know there's an IUD in her uterus?"
David thought for a moment before responding:
"Apparently, to prevent Sister Augustine from getting pregnant while they were pimping her out, those bastards took her to get an IUD.
But IUDs aren't 100% effective, so Sister Augustine still got pregnant.
When she had the abortion at that unlicensed clinic, the hack doctor didn't bother checking where her IUD had migrated.
Also, based on Sister Augustine's age, this would've been the mid-1980s when copper IUDs were standard.
So Sister Augustine, who'd been exposed to low-level copper contact for years, suddenly had a massive reaction due to recent sensitization, causing systemic allergic response.
Like a balloon inflated to its limit—one more puff and it explodes."
After hearing David's explanation, Chase said thoughtfully:
"So we just need to remove the IUD and continue antihistamines?"
"Yeah, that's the plan."
Cameron suddenly turned to David:
"Your confidence when diagnosing really is just like House's. Aren't you afraid of being wrong?"
David smiled:
"That's because we don't second-guess ourselves, which allows us to be decisive.
Cameron, you're an excellent doctor. You just need more confidence in your own judgment sometimes."
Cameron opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing.
David was right—she always doubted her own assessments.
Because she found it so difficult to bear the consequences of mistakes, she preferred to quietly offer opinions rather than insisting on her viewpoint, even when wrong, like Foreman had.
But clearly, this time she'd been right.
Maybe she really did need more confidence in herself. The patient might recover faster that way.
Before long, House returned and gave essentially the same final diagnosis as David.
With House's confirmation, the three immediately proceeded with surgery to remove the IUD.
After the procedure, David heard the life extension notification again.
This meant Sister Augustine would make a full recovery.
Including the emergency treatment in the clinic, he'd gained a total of two days of lifespan during today's work.
His remaining lifespan now stood at 14 days and 23 hours.
After saying goodbye to Cameron, David stood at the hospital entrance and took out the slip of paper with McCall's location written on it.
Then he flagged down a yellow cab on the street.
Looking closer—what a coincidence—it was that nervous driver Travis again.
"Hey, it's you again. Do you work this corner at specific times?"
"Uh, yeah, yeah, that's right."
Travis felt his stomach drop when he recognized his passenger.
However, after the last ride, he'd gradually calmed down.
The guy in his backseat didn't seem that dangerous.
As for that crime scene last time, it probably had nothing to do with this passenger.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be seeing David walking around free right now.
The cops aren't completely useless!
But facing David again, Travis still couldn't help feeling nervous.
He silently vowed that if David asked to go somewhere remote and isolated, he'd call the police immediately!
Fortunately, the slip of paper David handed him only had the name of an ordinary restaurant—Tom's Restaurant.
Then David showed no further interest in conversation, closed his eyes, and rested in the backseat.
Seeing this, Travis finally let out a long breath of relief.
Speaking of Tom's Restaurant, he was very familiar with it because it was one of the few establishments in that area providing 24/7 service.
All-night diners like that were favorite spots for cabbies like him.
When they were exhausted, they could go in and rest awhile, order a cheap cup of coffee, and stay there all night without anyone kicking them out.
Thinking about these things, Travis gradually forgot about his passenger's identity and, for the first time, safely and steadily dropped David off at his destination.
By this time, night had fallen.
The words "Tom's Restaurant" glowed conspicuously under the neon signage.
David dropped a hundred-dollar bill and said to keep the change, then walked toward the restaurant.
Travis looked at the meter showing $62 and said nothing, but didn't dare call out to this potential killer.
He was afraid that saying the wrong thing might provoke David's displeasure and endanger his entire family.
Travis sighed worriedly and continued searching for his next fare.
David, just about to walk into the restaurant, collided squarely with a young woman wearing a black wig, red lipstick, and a revealing mini-skirt.
"Oh, sorry, my fault."
The woman instinctively began apologizing.
David smiled, helped her pick up her knockoff Coach bag, and said:
"It's okay, I wasn't paying attention. Not your fault."
The woman's eyes darted away, avoiding eye contact with David. After a quick thank you, she hurried into a private car with tinted windows parked at the curb.
Before the car door closed, David faintly heard a voice from inside.
"Hey baby, ready to party tonight?"
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