Chapter 389

The hospital corridor stood empty and silent in the dead of night.

Evelyn Carter walked steadily toward the OB-GYN Department under the stark fluorescent lights. The click of her heels echoed through the hallway.

"Ma'am, there are no doctors on duty right now," a resident said, adjusting his glasses as he eyed her warily.

Evelyn gave a slight nod. "I'm just here to pick something up."

"You'll need to register—"

"Dr. Carter!" A familiar head nurse hurried over. "What brings you back?"

"Last-minute business." Evelyn's gaze swept over the nursing station. "Is Olivia's folding bed still here?"

"It's in storage. Let me get it for you."

The metal frame clinked softly as Evelyn took the folded bed. She turned toward the elevators without noticing the nurse's hesitant expression.

The ICU hallway was even quieter than OB-GYN.

Alexander Hamilton stood rigid by the glass window. At the sound of footsteps, he whirled around and strode over to take the bed from her hands.

"Are you staying overnight?"

"Yes." She pointed to the window. "Put it there."

Alexander unfolded the bed with practiced efficiency, testing it first himself. The metal groaned under his weight.

"I'll get a blanket from the nurses."

"Don't bother." Evelyn was already sitting, her eyes fixed on the pale woman in the hospital bed beyond the glass.

Alexander stood beside her, his throat working silently.

"The specialists arrive tomorrow."

Evelyn chuckled dryly. "Since when did you become a doctor?"

"I just... don't want to see you hurting."

"I'm fine." Her voice was terrifyingly calm. "Maybe I'm just cold-blooded by nature."

"You're not." Suddenly, he crouched to meet her gaze. "If it were your adoptive mother in there, you wouldn't be like this."

Her lashes fluttered.

"I remember nothing before age four," she said abruptly. "Mom said I nearly drowned. When I woke up, all my memories were gone."

Alexander's fingers absently traced the edge of the folding bed.

"Sit." Evelyn shifted aside.

The bed creaked ominously as Alexander sat. The surface sagged, sending them both sliding toward the center.

"Sorry." He started to rise.

"Stay." Her hand pressed his arm. "It's going to be a long night."

Silence stretched between them.

Evelyn laughed suddenly. "How ironic. Annabelle and I—we were each other's stand-ins."

"That's not true!" Alexander turned sharply. "I never knew about your disappearance!"

His voice rang too loud in the empty corridor.

Evelyn studied their reflections in the glass. "Then what did you know?"

Alexander's breathing grew labored. His lips parted, but no sound came out.

From inside the room, the steady beep of monitors marked time like a countdown.