Remorse

When attractive young executive Valerie is admitted with excruciating ear pain, House agrees to take the case because of her looks. The men on the team are charmed but Thirteen senses there's something strange about her, particularly when Valerie's co-worker, Russ, turns up and accuses her of drugging him.

House believes Valerie has a heart problem and Thirteen is ordered to administer Beta blockers. She runs an MRI test first, however, and is astonished to see that Valerie doesn't access the emotional areas of her brain - she's a psychopath! House confronts Valerie, who eventually admits to poisoning Russ and to having an affair with him to steal his best ideas. She also married her husband for his money.

House now suspects tertiary syphilis but, when Thirteen runs the test, she accidentally breaks Valerie's arm - she has brittle bones, too. The diagnosis changes to lymphoma but it's soon clear that she'll need a Liver transplant, though they need a proper diagnosis first.

Then Thirteen talks to Valerie's sister, who explains her personality changed when she hit puberty - her psychopathy is not genetic! House realises Valerie's diet is high in copper and her body can't deal with it - she has Wilson's disease. He orders chelation therapy, which quickly improves her health and she's soon able to access her emotions, too.

Meanwhile, House has tried to appease his conscience by writing an apology to Wibberley, a former med-school colleague with whom he'd swapped test papers. Wibberley tells him that he'd failed med-school as a result. He works at a grocery store and can't even pay his mortgage.

Riddled with guilt, House offers him money to tide him over, but Wibberley eventually admits he hadn't failed and had become a surgeon, but ruined his career with a gambling habit. House gives him the cheque anyway.