She was there to take over for Jake. As she raised her hand to knock, she heard the sound of arguing from within.


    "Jake, what is *she* doing here?"


    "Harold, calm down. She just came to check on Mr. Gardner''s condition—"


    "Dr. Burton is here," Harold cut in. "We don''t need her."


    "Harold..."


    "Dr. Burton is more than capable of handling things," Harold insisted. "You can rest assured Mr. Gardner is in good hands. Now, please leave. I don''t think Mr. Gardner would want to see you when he wakes up."


    "Ms. Quinn was only trying to help him back then..." Jake said in a low voice.


    Harold''s voice was frigid. "Hypnotizing him without his consent is what you call ''helping''?"


    "But Mr. Gardner''s condition did improve..."


    "Was that what he wanted?" Harold shot back. "What happens if he remembers what was done to him? What then? Are you here because you regret it? Are you trying to trigger his memories?"


    After a moment of silence, a young woman''s voice responded. "I just came to see if he''s all right. Don''t worry, I won''t interfere in his life or show myself to him..."


    Her voice, soft a moment ago, suddenly turned sharp. "Who''s outside?"


    Jake immediately opened the door


    He froze when he saw Ste, a


    flicker of guilt in his eyes. "Ms


    Cameron, you... when d


    here?"


    "Just now." Ste nced inside. "Are you and Harold fighting?"


    The door had muffled the words, but she had clearly heard the tense tones. Jake''s eyes darted away. "...No."


    "Is something wrong with Joshua?" Ste asked, stepping into the room.


    Only then did she notice the third person. She was dressed in a whiteb coat, a medical cap pulled lowe over her hair. A pair of ck-rimmed sses sat on her nose, and a surgical mask obscured most of her face, making it impossible to see her features All Ste could tell was that she was a woman. For some reason, she looked incredibly familiar.


    As Ste studied the neer, Harold spoke. "This is... Joshua''s former doctor.


    She heard he was injured and came to see him."


    Suddenly, Ste remembered. Shortly after Joshua''s surgery, she had seen this same figure entering the ICU Jake had been on guard and had let her in. At the time, Ste had assumed she was one of the hospital''s doctors and hadn''t given it a second thought. She also recalled seeing her on other asions when She was taking over Jake''s shift, usually just before he left, for what she assumed was a final check-up on Joshua''s condition. With all her focus on Joshua, it hadn''t seemed unusual.


    Now, knowing this woman was his *former* doctor, Ste paid closer attention.


    She extended a hand. "Hello, my name is Ste. And you are?"


    The woman looked at her outstretched hand but made no move to take it. Her


    voice was like cold jade, tinged with a cool detachment.


    "My name is Quinn."


    Ste was surprised to find that her voice was remarkably young, sounding about the same age as her own.