hospital entrance, hearts pounding and adrenaline firing through their veins. The sliding doors hissed shut behind them as they crossed into the sterile hallway, searching for any familiar face.
A nurse behind the counter stood up immediately, clearly startled by the sudden burst of energy.
"Where's Elizabeth Winters?" Stefan asked, his voice firm but laced with urgency. "She was admitted here. Head trauma or something."
Before the nurse could answer, a voice cut through the air.
"Stefan?"
He turned sharply, blinking in shock as a woman in a white coat approached him.
She hadn't changed much—poised, graceful, the same piercing eyes just as he remembered. Noreen.
"Noreen?" he said, momentarily thrown. "What are you…?"
"Funny how your mom asked me the same question. I work here now," she said softly. "Transferred back just last week."
The air thickened with emotion. Six years had passed since he last saw her. His aunt Noreen, his late father's secretary's wife.
