They were halfway down the hallway, slipping toward the nearby waiting area, when a man in a white coat brushed past them. He was short, dark-haired, with firm steps and eyes hidden behind thick-rimmed sses and a surgical mask. He didn''t even nce their way as he entered Room 203.

    Elizabeth slowed down. Something about the man''s energy seemed... off. But before she could voice her thoughts, another doctor rounded the corner from the opposite direction.

    "Elizabeth?" the new arrival called out, surprise in her voice.

    Elizabeth turned sharply and then her eyes softened. "Dr. Noreen?" she said, both shocked and relieved. "You work here?"

    Noreen smiled as they embraced briefly. "Yes! I was transferred recently. Just started a week ago. I didn''t know you were in town let alone in the hospital I work. What are you doing here?"

    "I came to see someone," Elizabeth replied quickly, trying to keep her tone casual. "You were transferred to Zeden General? Since when?"

    Noreen chuckled. "Not long ago. They needed extra hands with some sensitive cases, especially the patient in Room 203."

    Elizabeth froze, her brows instantly pulling together in a confused frown. The number struck her like a p. Didn''t a doctor pass by just now to check that same room? Eliana''s room?

    "What did you say?" she asked, her voice low. What was going on?

    "Room 203. The girl that''s been unconscious for a while. They brought me in to treat her personally."

    Elizabeth''s heart dropped. "You''re her doctor? Is any other doctor seeing her too?" Elizabeth asked, her heart beat doubling its pace.

    Noreen nodded proudly. "I''m her doctor and I''m solely in charge. That case is mine. No one else has been assigned to her since I came in. She''s a sensitive one."

    Hearing that, Elizabeth''s breath caught. Panic surged up like a rising tide. "Then—then who just entered that room now?"

    Noreen blinked, frowning. "What? Someone just went into 203?"

    "Yes," Elizabeth said urgently. She turned to her guards, voice sharp. "Go get him. Now. That''s not a doctor. That might be an assassin."

    The color drained from Noreen''s face. "What? Wait—an assassin? Elizabeth—what''s going on?"

    "No time to exin," Elizabeth said, already breaking into a run. "Juste with me. We have to make sure that man doesn''t touch that girl."

    The hallway erupted into movement as the guards charged back down toward Room 203, Elizabeth and Noreen close behind.

    The click of hurried footsteps echoed through the sterile halls as Elizabeth''s heart pounded in her chest.

    Please, she prayed silently, please don''t let us be toote.

    Room 203 was silent, save for the slow, rhythmic beep of the heart monitor—the only sound defying the stifling stillness that hung in the air. The dim ceiling light cast a pallid glow over the room, illuminating the fragile figure lying motionless on the hospital bed. Shadows stretched along the corners, like silent witnesses.

    The air smelled sharply of antiseptic and stic—a cold, lifeless scent. Sterile. Almost too clean, as if to erase any trace of what might happen here.

    Elianay pale, her skin nearly translucent beneath the thin hospital sheet. She looked like a porcin doll abandoned mid-y, with her chest barely rising, each breath shallow and uncertain—as though her body wasn''t quite sure it wanted to keep fighting.

    Inside the prison of her mind, something shifted when the door opened.

    A flicker. A whisper of danger.

    Her fingers twitched, followed by her eyelids fluttering a little.

    And then, slowly, her eyes opened.

    At first, it was just light. A harsh, blinding haze that sent a jolt of pain shooting through her skull. She blinked, her vision swimming, her thoughts sluggish and disoriented. Her head throbbed—dull, heavy, like someone had driven a nail into her temple.

    She tried to lift her hand but then she realized she couldn''t.

    Panic struck through her.

    She tried again. Her muscles screamed, but her body didn''t move. She couldn''t feel her arms, her legs. She couldn''t even speak.

    Her chest tightened as raw fear rose up like a tide, and her heart stuttered violently in her chest. Why can''t I move? What happened to me? Where am I? She mused as another bolt of pain struck though her, bringing memories of that night and then Ivy''s visit and that woman the day before.

    Who was she? Her voice had sounded pretty familiar. Had Ivy also hurt her or perhaps, someone close to her?

    She was still thinking about that when her gazended on him and her heart skipped a beat.

    Who was he and why was she suddenly feeling anxious he was here? Wasn''t he supposed to be a doctor? She thought as she watched him, her heart beating fast now.

    He stood silently by her bedside—a man in a white coat, face expressionless, staring at the monitors beside her.

    His posture wasposed, but the air around him… it wasn''t right. He didn''t move like a doctor or maybe he did but at the moment, he didn''t feel like one.

    There was no kindness in his expression. No concern. Just... stillness. He seemed... controlled. Tense even.

    Was he here to hurt her? She tried to speak. To ask him who he was. But her voice was locked deep inside her—trapped.

    The beeping of her heart monitor quickened, giving her away.

    Immediately, the man looked down and their eyes met.

    That was when she knew—he wasn''t here to save her.

    His pupils narrowed. His lips thinned. And for a split second, she saw something flicker in his eyes—fear. Not for her, but for himself. His time was running out.

    She''d been unconscious all these while so why regain consciousness now? Why now? He mused and then shook his head.

    That wasn''t his problem. His problem was to finish this job and leave as soon as possible.

    In a swift, practiced motion, he reached into the inner pocket of his coat and took out a syringe.

    Eliana''s heart thundered in her chest when she saw that. This just confirmed it. He was here to kill her and not save her.

    He wouldn''t be alone and administrating an unknown injection to her if he was here for her well-being.

    Please, no. Not like this. Not now.

    Tears blurred her vision. Her body trembled, inside at least, where no one could see. She was screaming, pleading—but only in her head. Her limbs remained still, her lips frozen.

    Help me. Please, someone... help me!

    The man—Daniel—unscrewed the cap from the syringe, his hands shaking as he filled it with a clear liquid. He moved toward the IV line with terrifying calm, sliding the needle in with surgical precision. Just one press on the plunger, and it would be over.

    He hesitated, taking one final breath and then lowered his thumb toward the syringe.

    But just before he could press it, the door mmed open.

    "STOP RIGHT THERE!"

    Elizabeth''s voice tore through the silence like a gunshot.

    Daniel froze.

    She stormed into the room, eyes zing, fury etched into every line of her face. Behind her stood Dr. Noreen, her coat barely settled on her shoulders, stunned into momentary silence as her eyes locked onto the man with the syringe.

    "Daniel?" she gasped. "What the hell do you think you''re doing?!"

    He was a doctor in the hospital so how could he be trying to kill a patient?

    It was the hesitation that cost him.

    With a grunt of frustration, Daniel ripped the syringe from the IV line and hurled the metal stand aside. The tter echoed as he bolted for the door like a man possessed.

    "No!" Elizabeth shouted, surging forward.

    But she wasn''t fast enough.

    He mmed into her with full force.

    The impact knocked the breath from her lungs. Her heel caught on the leg of a stool and she went down hard. Her head struck the tiled floor with a sickening crack.

    In an instant, the world around her went dark.

    "Elizabeth!" Noreen screamed.

    She took a step after Daniel—instinct driving her—but froze when she saw the crimson trail running from Elizabeth''s temple.

    "Elizabeth! Oh my God!" she cried out, dropping to her knees.

    Outside the door, chaos erupted.

    The guards, already alert, sprang into motion. One of them tackled Daniel just beyond the doorway, pinning him to the corridor floor. The other cuffed his wrists, ignoring the man''s wild thrashing and hoarse protests.

    "Let me go! You don''t understand! I had to! It was the only way!" Daniel shouted, eyes wild, his voice cracking with panic and something darker… desperation.

    Inside the room, Noreen pressed trembling fingers against Elizabeth''s neck.

    "Pulse is weak. She''s breathing—but her head—" Her voice cracked.

    A nurse, alerted by themotion, rushed in with a cart. "What happened?!"

    "Head trauma. She''s bleeding badly. We need to get her on a gurney—now!" Noreen barked.

    One of the guards returned and gently lifted Elizabeth onto the bed while Noreen gathered supplies, her hands steady but her eyes full of fear.

    "Pressure to the wound!" Noreen directed the nurse. "We need an IV—get me fluids! Oxygen—stat!"

    "Her blood pressure''s dropping!" the nurse cried, reading the monitor. "She''s not stabilizing!"

    "Stay with me, Elizabeth. Stay with me." Noreen''s voice broke as she pressed gauze to the side of her friend''s head. "Don''t you dare leave me now…"

    Eliana—still too weak to speak—watched it all through blurred, frightened eyes. Tears slipped silently down her cheeks.

    For the first time in weeks, she was awake.

    And though she still couldn''t move, she was alive.

    And now, so was the truth.

    In the hallway, the officers arrived, pulling Daniel to his feet. He continued to rant—sweating, disheveled, borderline unhinged.

    "You don''t get it," he hissed at the guards. "If I didn''t do it, my family would''ve paid the price. She made me!"

    "She?" one of the officers repeated as they dragged Daniel to the van.