Ca''s eyes burned with hatred as she stared at Isadora, the intensity of her loathing palpable even from across the room.


    Isadora''s hands trembled. She had truly believed she would never see Ca again in this lifetime.


    A police officer, noticing that Ca had suddenly frozen in ce, gave her a shove


    and led her away.


    Isadora watched as Ca''s thin, gaunt figure disappeared down the hospital corridor before finally snapping out of her daze.


    But her thoughts drifted back to the year she was reunited with the Vaughan family.


    She''d been on her way to a part-time job when a luxury car identally struck her.


    From the backseat emerged an elderly woman with snowy hair, leaning heavily on a cane—Margaret Vaughan, Isadora''s grandmother.


    Margaret radiated kindness, insisting on personally taking Isadora to the hospital to make sure she was all right.


    A momentter, the car''s rear door flew open again, and a young woman in a designer dress stepped out. Pearl, every bit the haughty princess, nced dismissively at Isadora, who was still sprawled on the ground.


    "Grandma, people like her fake idents for money all the time. Don''t fall for it. Just give her a couple hundred bucks and let''s go I''m going to bete for a party."


    Ca had a treasured photo album-one filled with pictures of a little girl growing up. Most of the photos looked like they''d been snapped in secret, or clipped from old newspapers.


    Isadora had sneaked a look at that album before. The moment she saw Pearl, she recognized her as the little girl in those photos.


    Margaret, however, ignored Pearl''s protests. She told her granddaughter to get a cab on her own, and then personally took Isadora to the hospital for a checkup.


    It was during their conversation that Isadora learned, to her astonishment, that she and Pearl shared the same birthday.


    Then, at the hospital, Margaret absent-mindedly remarked that Isadora and the Vaughans seemed destined to cross paths-even their rare blood type matched. These clues nted a seed of suspicion deep in Isadora''s heart.


    Long before anyone else, Isadora began to doubt that Ca was truly her mother. Eventually, she gathered her courage and confided everything to Margaret. Margaret never once doubted her story; instead, she helped arrange a DNA test with the Vaughan family.


    One day, Ca happened to see the test results tucked in Isadora''s bag.


    That was the first time Capletely lost control-she locked the doors, her eyes wild with rage, and grabbed a kitchen knife, aiming it at Isadora.


    Fortunately, Margaret arrived just in time with help and rescued Isadora from Ca''s grasp.


    Margaret championed Isadora''s return to her rightful ce in the Vaughan family, despite fierce resistance, andter used her connections to send Ca to prison.


    Now, back in the present, Isadora stepped forward and approached a nearby doctor.


    "Excuse me, that woman from earlier—she''s a prisoner, isn''t she? How did she end up here at the hospital?"


    The doctor replied, "Ca was diagnosed with early-stage colon cancer. Shees in for regr checkups. From what I''ve heard, she''s been on good behavior in prison and may be released soon."


    When Isadora returned to her friends, Wendy nced curiously at her empty hands.


    "Isadora, weren''t you going out to get dinner? Where''s the food?"


    Isadora, still in shock, realized she had dropped the takeout container somewhere along the way. "Sorry, Ipletely forgot. I can go out and get something else."


    Rowena stepped closer, concern etched on her face as she took in Isadora''s pallor. "Don''t worry about it. We can just order delivery. Isadora, you don''t look so good-you and Wendy should head home and get some rest."