Elina sat detachedly at the sewing machine in the prison Workshop she still couldn't understand how she the city's most renowned cardiac surgeon ended up here in prison among Thieves frauders and murderers tears were welling up in her eyes making her unable to work her hands were trembling with a recurrent thought that she would never operate anymore now her job was to sew overalls which was something that she just wasn't cut out for Elena had a different calling a calling for healing people she loved her work she had been dreaming of becoming a doctor ever since
she was a kid and she did become one however one medical error shut down her entire life the woman's agonizing thoughts were interrupted by a sharp shout from the guard convict Potter outside what where Elena asked confused too many questions do as you're told the guards said sharply they walked down the long and narrow prison Corridor and for a fleeting moment moment another long and narrow Corridor the one in the hospital appeared in Elena's Mind's Eye she recalled The Smiling Faces of doctors and nurses she worked with and then the same faces all shocked when
she was taken away to a police station right from the operating room come in elen was quickly jerked Back to Reality by the warden's voice it was only now that she realized that she was standing on the threshold of the warden's office David the plaque on the door said Elena hesitated for a second then felt a shove at her back and found herself inside the office do come in do come in Elena don't be shy the gray-haired man said in a suspiciously friendly voice reclining in an easy chair before his desk I assume you understand
where you are now 60-year-old colonal David had long since earned a state pension but for some reason every year he postponed his departure for a well-deserved retirement his subordinates and prisoners feared him for his Stern temper and tough character any Disobedience of his orders was inevitably and severely punished now David's voice sounded ingratiating and even pleading the woman immediately tensed inwardly not knowing what to expect Elena I know you are the best cardiac surgeon in your city and Beyond the fact that you ended up here is a tragic error my grandson has a severe form
of heart disease we have been treated by many doctors but all of them turned out to be incompetent amateurs my grandson was getting worse and worse suddenly the Colonel's voice faltered now my grandson is dying and only you Elena can save him I am asking you to familiarize yourself with his case record and perform a professional operation from sheer surprise Elena was at a loss for what to say and she could only Mumble but I am in prison now and I don't have a right to operate and I can't because David interrupted her I will
take care of the issue of you being a convict and I will find a hospital and an operating room leave that to me if everything goes well I promise that I will get you released on parole in the shortest possible time David I cannot operate not anymore my hands have been trembling since I found myself at the police station the surgeon must have movements hon down to a fraction of a millimeter and if you have a Tremor in your hands you are no longer a surgeon and the operation is doomed to failure I am not
the only cardiac surgeon around I can recommend another competent specialist Elena replied honestly this was clearly not the kind of reply that the colonal was expecting his face rened he was accustomed to being obeyed without question and he didn't tolerate rejection his friendly mood was instantly replaced by a fit of anger have you lost your mind Potter I am giving you a chance to get out of prison a few years before your time and you have the nerve to refuse me explaining why you cannot do this now here's the deal either you agree to perform
the operation tomorrow or I will turn your life here into a living hell and I mean it Elena's heart suddenly sank from Pain and fear but summoning all her courage she said looking David straight in the eye you have no right to do that this is lawlessness and you are pushing me to commit another crime this only added fuel to the fire the colol came up close and brandishing his fist in front of Elena's face he hissed this is my my territory I can do whatever I want here wrong there are laws that you must
obey or you may find yourself on that side of the bars one day I'll tell my husband Elena played her last T he has connections this was true to a certain extent Gary even now did not give up trying to appeal the terrible Court decision that assigned a custodial sentence however David's reaction to Elena's words about her husband left Elena shocked again he laughed in her face and said said go on talk to him then in one brisk motion he yanked a folder out of a stack lying on the table here read it what's this
Elena asked surprised opening the folder she went pale and could hardly stand on her feet these were divorce papers it felt as if her whole world had come unzipped her mind raised trying to find something to hold on to Anya poured in a storm but there was nothing there were no thoughts just a dull fear of what was was about to happen the colol seeing that Alena was genuinely crushed barked at her cut the Waterworks go back to your cell and remember what I just said if you don't do what I'm telling you to you'll
go to hell before you even die Elena went to the door it took a physical effort to move her feet and her hands trembled even more the folder was undulating in them as if on waves not falling down to the floor by sheer Miracle Potter where do you think you're going collect yourself woman you're in jail not at large the guard barked grabbing Elena by the shoulder with such force that it seemed to Elena that her collarbone was about to snap however she felt no physical pain the mental pain inflicted on her by her husband
was a 100 times greater she and Gary went back a long way they even went to the same kindergarten then to the same school and then to the same Medical College when they got married during their third year in college they were madly in love with each other then they became doctors she was a cardiac surgeon and he was a traumatologist and initially they even worked at the same Clinic it was only later that their professional ways parted Gary decided to become a businessman quit his job as a doctor and started selling medicines and medical
equipment he was so successful that he soon became one of the city's largest businessmen however Gary's professional transformation did not in the least affect their cloudless family life with each passing year their relationship grew stronger and deeper the only problem was that God didn't give them children this was something that weighed heavily on both of them the clang of the dead bolt on the iron door brought Elena back to reality she found herself inside the cell surrounded by women just as wretched and unhappy as she was she was lucky to have such cellmates they accepted
her as a mate and there was neither humiliation nor harassment that she had originally feared Elena's heart pounded and she had a splitting headache she sat down on the bunk wrapped her arms around her head and looked down suddenly she saw a double up sheet on the floor it must have fallen out of the folder she brought the lines in the small handwriting made her eyes blurry Christ almighty it was her husband's handwriting after she read it she wanted to drop dead there and then a bullet in the back of her head would do fine
the way they used to execute political prisoners under Stalin die there and then only not to know this hideous treachery that her husband committed Lena I am really worried about you I assume you know that Gary was writing but I received a job offer from abroad and if everything works out the way I plan I will be able to take my business to a whole new level and make some really big money however nothing of that will happen once they found out that I am married to a con Lena I am really sorry to write
this but I am filing for divorce I just don't have a choice now I've sent all the papers if you are reading this I assume that they gave them to you please sign them time will pass and we will meet again the sheet trembled in Elena's hands her body and soul were in agonizing pain oh my God her hands were ruined she would never operate again she did not have a husband anymore and she would never be happy again she was alone alone against the whole world the woman dugged her face into her pillow and
sobbed silently her sobbing shoulders did not Escape her cellmates attention Elena what are you killing yourself over your guy dumped you antonina guessed at once antonina had the funny nickname screw driver Tony that she got for expertly unlocking the locks of the apartments that her gang robbed this was her third prison term now don't you go crazy because of that my bastard also dumped me and as you can see I'm still alive and kicking and me and me voices chimed in half of us here have been dumped by our husbands who needs a wife who's
a goddamn Khan no one this is not like some title to be proud of likes we can only stand up for ourselves we'll Harden like hiron rods and we'll stick it out am I right ladies yeah the choir chimed again now listen up sweee you'd better put yourself in the right mood you still have a long way to go friend and once you're out you'll decide what to do next okay Elena tore her tear stained face off the pillow and whispered thank you girls thank you for being so supportive she did not remember how much
time passed before she fell into a deep and dreamless Slumber but she woke up because one of her cellmates was gently shaking her by the shoulder Elena wake up breakfast time okay Elena got up struggling to stretch her stiff limbs the inmates streamed into the canteen their favorite place where they had the shaky illusion that they were not isolated from the outside world as she was exiting the canteen a guard tugged Elena by the sleeve again this time it was a different one who spoke spoke more kindly and treated Elena with more respect Potter do
you remember yesterday's conversation with David he is expecting your answer until tonight do you have anything for me to tell him no Elena confidently answered I cannot do what he is asking me to I physically cannot do it think Potter think reconsider your answer and your actions David is ruthless and he always makes good on his promises whatever he is offering you agree it is still way better than the punishment that she will get for refusal you still have time until tonight the guard was as pleading as she was threatening she was a Stern looking
woman but over her time here she managed not to lose her best human qualities another day of work in the sewing shop filled with sad thoughts was coming to an end it was about to be lights out time suddenly the silence was broken by the clanking of keys and the door swung open convict Potter outside the guard barked orders where are you taking her this late screwdriver yelled knowing all too well that such late night visits spelled nothing but disaster shut your mouth Lopez that's n of your business the guard was cut off and you
Potter get a move on Elena stands your ground no matter what we'll wait for you right here Elena shuddered anticipating something terrible to be done to her Potter I warned you didn't I this just baffling to me why do you have to go and make it so hot on yourself the guard said leading Lena down to the long Corridor finally she stopped before one of the heavy doors and said with a heavy sigh you will spend the night in this cell the door closed behind Elena's back with a crash she looked inside the cell and
staggered for a moment she thought she was going to faint a row of Upper and Lower bunks stretched out in front of her a row that seemed like it would go on forever dozens of eyes looked at her some with a smirk some with curiosity and some with outright hatred Elena tried hard not to lose her composure though her intuition was telling her that something terrible was about to happen something that David and the guards had been threatening her with she automatically sat on the edge of a vacant bunk how about greeting us before you
sit down you're not in a Cow Shed who said you were allowed to sit down anyway on your feet she heard a screeching female voice from the depths of the cell Elina cringed and could not even move the woman instantly took it as Disobedience she jumped off her bunk and appeared in front of Alina real as life and twice as ugly tall as a rock she towered over helina like a hawk over captured prey why are you still sitting Fearless eh she growled brandishing her fist over elina's head elen was exhausted both physically and mentally
to the point where she didn't care what happened to her mustering her courage she said standing up and looking the woman straight in the eye I don't have to answer to anyone much less to the murderer and thieves that you are the woman pushed Elina so hard that she could barely stand on her feet murderers you say if anyone hears a murderer it's you for all I heard pretty merciless eh well we can be merciless too folks teach her a lesson responding to her call a pack of cons jumped off their bunks and rushed to
the door Elina found herself in the center of a ghastly Vortex of human bodies and her eyes went black it fell to her as if a thousand hands were pulling her straight to hell one Mighty shove in the back sent her sprawling to the floor and she passed out elen woke up in the prison hospital somebody was firmly holding her by the hand shouting over here move she's coming around Elena slowly opened her eyes and saw a man looking closely at her his face and voice seemed vaguely familiar to her a moment later the man
asked how do you feel Ana thank God there are no critical injuries you got away with a few bad bruises and scratches but that will heel the events of the day before came up in Elena's memory making her inwardly shudder her eyes watered the man struggle to console her Elena please don't cry it's all over now nobody's going to hurt you anymore here I promise I'm sorry I didn't know that you were in this prison after a moment's hesitation he timidly asked you do remember me don't you Alina took a closer look at him and
quietly asked Brian is that you now she remembered her fellow students Brian even though she hadn't seen him in 15 years since graduating from Medical School short funny and with freckles on his face he tried to court Lena when he was in his first year of medical school but she did not notice any men with the sole exception of Gary her then future husband now Brian has changed a lot from an unattractive boy to a grownup imposing man Brian what are you doing here try as she might Elina could not even begin to dream up
a reasonable explan ation for his presence here I'm a prison doctor this is where my career path led me way back my father-in-law asked me to take this job temporarily but I stayed here for much longer elen sat timidly unable to believe her terrible guess your father-in-law is David isn't he yes you didn't know that did you my father died from a heart attack right after I graduated from medical school and a couple of years later my mom suddenly decided to get married again David he is kind of at that point Elena interrupted Brian don't
talk about him to treat a woman even a prisoner in such a fascist manner is low and Despicable Elena I understand he's been unjustly hard on you but I'm begging you to forgive him he is completely deranged with worry for his only grandson he knows not what he's doing a few years ago his son from his first marriage died tragically and now his grandson's life is hanging by a thread the boy is only it and he spent most of his life life in hospitals they've even sent him abroad for treatment there were some improvements now
and then but they did not cure the disease anyway Brian begged so frantically for forgiveness for his stepfather and pleaded for the boy so sincerely that Lena's heart began to thaw she already forgot about her Trembling Hands which seemed to settle down a bit in Brian's she felt that if Brian went on like this for another 5 minutes she would probably agree to perform the operation if there was even the slightest chance of saving the child they were to jump at it Brian please tell me why me especially now when I've been jailed for a
medical error because you are a unique Natural Born surgeon you've saved scores of lives including Steven A friend of Davids from whom he learned about you and yes he could have asked you for help in a human way the next moment Brian looked at alinaa with such genuine sincerity that her heart even began to beat faster then Brian said Elena it's just baffling to me how they could sentence you to a prison term on a manslaughter charge I just don't believe that you committed a medical error you'll be acquitted I'll do my best to make
it happen I don't know how that happened either Elena said fighting a lump forming her throat I did everything right but the conclusion of the expert report just killed me they decided that my actions resulted in the death of the patient for a few moments they just sat looking at each other Brian can you give me the case record of that boy I'll see what can be done what's his name again Victor and I've got his case record with me David gave it to me the cellmates greeted Elina as if she were their own flesh
and blood she's back and she's alive screwdriver exclaimed jumping off her bunk the other girls following suit we did not even hope to ever see you again antonina the screwdriver carried on then we found out that they put you in the cell of murderers and recidivists and we worried ourselves sick gosh it's great to see you again mate thank you girls Elina said then slumped on her bunk and got down to examining the case record gosh so many doctors have treated this child they should have operated on him a long time ago and everything would
have been fine it's a Pity so much time was wasted now we got to the point where his heart increased in size and began to press on other organs new problems were growing like a snowball no you can't solve them all with a single operation and I will operate on him I will Elena decided pull myself together and my hands won't be trembling treacherously I just don't have to think about them all the time Elena was saying to herself David just as he promised ensured that convict Potter could perform the operation in a top class
Clinic with Top Class equipment and efficient medical personnel assisting her during the operation Elena did her best to put as much distance as possible between herself and the negative emotions that she had experienced lately and she channeled whatever positive energy she had in her towards saving the heart of the child the operation was a success and it changed Elena's whole life now it has meaning again Victor Elena made a vow to herself that she would move Heaven and Earth to make sure that this boy lived now there was also Brian in her life nothing of
this would have been possible if it hadn't been for his support he was kind attentive and ready for everything to save Victor and her it seemed to Elena that Brian was looking at at her in a special way the same way he had looked at her in a medical school when he had confessed his love to her Lena kept catching herself thinking that she wished it were so 3 months passed Elina would remember that Saturday morning for the rest of her life the inmates were about to go to the canteen for breakfast suddenly the cell
door swung open and the guard ordered convict Potter outside with your things Elena did not attach much importance to the last phrase unlike her cellmates who understood everything at once before Elena really knew what was going on screwdriver was already hollering with joy Elena they are releasing you you're free whatever gives you this idea I know what this means I'm 200% sure and the whole company burst in Applause Elena could not believe her eyes when she again found herself in front of the door to the warden's office only this time everything was different without humiliation
insults and threats dear Elena Warden David said it with deep feeling Elena would never have thought that a warden was capable of saying such words what he said next sent her into a State of Shock today is the last day of your prison term you have been acquitted by the Superior Court David handed the papers over to her and this is from me personally for my grandson and he suddenly pulled out a huge bouquet of red roses from under the table confused Elena looked inquiringly at Brian who was standing by yes Elena this is true
Brian said smiling additional examinations proed that there was no connection between your actions and a patient's death you are fully redeemed as a doctor restored to all your rights and you can operate again tears of joy streamed down Elena's face then she was in for another surprise on the very first evening Brian proposed to her Elena will you marry me he said extending to her a small box with a wedding ring and aren't you Elena asked totally taken by surprise no I'm not married I've been waiting for you Elena happily agreed to Brian's proposal they
got married two months later and N months after that they had a son whom they also named Victor
