Dr. Carter, Am I Interrupting?

Evelyn was completely bewildered by the middle-aged woman's reaction.

Did that woman know her?

Before Evelyn could say a word, the woman spun around and fled, vanishing down the corridor.

"Ma'am, are you okay?" a nurse asked, approaching Evelyn with a concerned look. "You weren't hurt, were you?"

Evelyn shook her head. Her eyes remained fixed on the empty hallway. "Who was that woman? She looked at me as if she'd seen a ghost."

The sensation was unmistakable.

The more Evelyn thought about it, the stranger it felt. She had no connection to that woman. Could she have been mistaken for someone the woman was terrified of?

The nurse thought for a moment. "Perhaps it's the cancer. It can make patients behave strangely. Try not to let it bother you, ma'am."

Evelyn nodded, her sympathy growing. The woman's illness could explain her pale, frightened appearance.

She bit her lip softly, a wave of compassion washing over her.

Meanwhile, Miriam Croft—the woman who had collided with Evelyn—was running for her life.

She was terrified that Evelyn might be chasing her.

She finally stopped, gasping for air. Only then did she realize no one was following her.

Miriam clutched her chest, her face as white as a sheet.

Hidden in a quiet corner, she replayed the encounter. Anxiety clawed at her mind.

"How can they look so similar?" she whispered, her lips dry. A deep, old fear darkened her eyes.

Seeing Evelyn's face had thrown her back in time, over twenty years.

"You're Miriam Croft, correct? I've heard you've just had a child, so you know what you're doing. I'm entrusting my daughter to your care. Be extremely careful. If anything happens to her, you will be held responsible."

Miriam had nodded meekly. Her eyes had fallen on the baby in the crib.

The infant was beautiful. A life of privilege was her birthright.

Perhaps it was greed. Perhaps a moment of madness. But one day, Miriam made a decision that would haunt her forever. She swapped her own daughter with her employer's child.

The newborns looked identical. Miriam dressed her biological daughter in the employer's child's fine clothes.

As for the employer's child, Miriam hesitated only briefly before leaving her in a dumpster on the outskirts of the city.

Jolted back to the present, Miriam pressed a hand to her aching head.

For a moment, she had thought Evelyn was her former employer, returned for vengeance.

But over twenty years had passed. Her own daughter had been living in luxury, completely unsuspected.

Furthermore, the employer's child had died shortly after being abandoned. Miriam had seen it with her own eyes.

It seemed impossible for any of this to resurface now.

A sliver of relief allowed a faint smile to touch Miriam's lips. She glanced down at the medical records in her hand.

Before, fear of exposing her daughter had kept her away. Now, facing her own death, she was driven by a desperate need to see her biological child one last time.

With renewed determination, Miriam set off again.

At the same time, Evelyn was entering Dr. Benjamin Carter's office.

"Dr. Carter, am I interrupting?" Evelyn asked as she stepped inside.

Benjamin smiled and gestured for her to enter. He offered her a glass of water. "Not at all, Evelyn. What can I do for you today?"