Chapter 3
Ethan stared at the message.
"If you love Sophia, don't let her disappear tonight. There is something about her diagnosis she doesn't know."
His pulse quickened.
He looked at Sophia.
She was leaning against him, exhausted from the coughing fit, completely unaware of the notification on his phone.
He read the message again.
No name.
No explanation.
Only the logo of St. Gabriel Medical Center.
The hospital listed on every page of her medical records.
"Ethan..."
Sophia whispered weakly.
"You should go."
He locked his phone and slipped it into his pocket.
"No."
She looked at him sadly.
"I already ruined your proposal."
"You don't have to pretend anymore."
He shook his head.
"I've never pretended to love you."
She closed her eyes.
"Please..."
"Let me leave with some dignity."
Instead of answering, Ethan carefully picked up the scattered medical documents and placed them back inside the folder.
Then he looked directly into her eyes.
"We're going to the hospital."
"No."
"Yes."
"I don't want another opinion."
"I already had three."
"I don't care."
She sighed.
"You're impossible."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"You used to say that like it was a compliment."
For the first time that evening...
Sophia almost smiled back.
Twenty minutes later...
The automatic doors of St. Gabriel Medical Center slid open.
The emergency oncology department was unusually quiet.
A nurse waiting near the reception desk immediately recognized Sophia.
"Ms. Williams?"
She looked surprised.
"We've been trying to reach you."
Sophia frowned.
"I already have my treatment schedule."
The nurse exchanged a nervous glance with another staff member.
"Dr. Daniel Harris asked us to contact you."
"It's... important."
Sophia's stomach tightened.
"Is something wrong?"
The nurse hesitated.
"I'll let the doctor explain."
Moments later, they entered Dr. Harris's office.
The oncologist stood as soon as he saw them.
His expression wasn't the calm professionalism Ethan expected.
It was guilt.
Deep guilt.
"I'm glad you came."
Sophia sat down slowly.
"What happened?"
Dr. Harris remained silent for several seconds.
Then he took a deep breath.
"First..."
"I owe you both an apology."
Sophia frowned.
"For what?"
The doctor reached into a locked cabinet and removed another medical file.
It looked almost identical to the one Sophia already carried.
Except for one detail.
The patient identification number was different.
Dr. Harris placed both files side by side.
"My hospital made a devastating mistake."
Ethan felt his heart stop.
"What kind of mistake?"
The doctor's hands trembled.
"Two patients named Sophia Williams were admitted during the same week."
"They were born only three days apart."
"Their records were nearly identical."
Sophia stared at him.
"I don't understand."
He swallowed hard.
"The pathology reports..."
"...were switched."
The room fell completely silent.
Sophia's face turned pale.
"What are you saying?"
Dr. Harris looked directly at her.
"The Stage IV diagnosis..."
"...doesn't belong to you."
Neither Ethan nor Sophia moved.
Neither of them even blinked.
The doctor continued.
"Your scans showed a treatable autoimmune lung condition."
"It is serious."
"But it is not cancer."
Sophia stared at him in disbelief.
"No..."
"I've already started chemotherapy."
The doctor's voice broke.
"Because we gave you another patient's diagnosis."
Ethan slowly stood.
His chair scraped loudly across the floor.
"No..."
"...you're telling me..."
"...she was never dying?"
Dr. Harris lowered his head.
"Not from cancer."
Sophia burst into tears.
Not tears of relief.
Tears of shock.
For three months...
She had believed every goodbye mattered.
She had quit her dream job.
Given away treasured possessions.
Written farewell letters.
Rejected the man she loved.
Planned her own funeral.
All because of someone else's medical file.
She looked at Dr. Harris.
"My hair..."
"My treatment..."
"My future..."
The doctor couldn't meet her eyes.
"I'm so sorry."
"There are no words that can undo what happened."
Ethan wrapped his arms around Sophia as she cried against his chest.
Neither of them spoke.
There were no words big enough for this moment.
After a long silence, Sophia whispered,
"I made you hate me..."
"For nothing."
Ethan gently lifted her chin.
"I could never hate you."
He smiled through tears.
"And now..."
"You don't have to leave me to save me."
For the first time in months...
Hope returned to Sophia's eyes.
Small.
Fragile.
But real.
Just then, someone knocked on the office door.
A woman in a navy business suit entered carrying a briefcase.
She introduced herself quietly.
"I'm Rebecca Collins, legal counsel for St. Gabriel Medical Center."
She looked at both of them with sincere regret.
"The hospital accepts full responsibility for what happened."
She placed a thick folder on the desk.
"We've completed our internal investigation."
Ethan glanced at the documents.
The first page read:
Medical Negligence Investigation — Final Report
Rebecca took a slow breath.
"What happened wasn't simply human error."
She looked directly at Dr. Harris.
"Someone deliberately altered patient records."
The doctor's face went white.
"What?"
Rebecca nodded grimly.
"Our audit found evidence that the files were intentionally switched."
Sophia frowned.
"Why would anyone do that?"
Rebecca slowly opened the investigation file.
Inside was a security photo from the hospital archives.
It showed a woman standing at the medical records desk late at night.
Sophia gasped.
She recognized the face immediately.
It wasn't a stranger.
It was someone she had trusted for years.
Someone who knew exactly how much she loved Ethan.
Someone who had smiled at her only days before the diagnosis.
Rebecca looked at them solemnly.
May you like
"We believe this wasn't an accident."
"It was planned."
