NOVEL NEXT Chapter 696: Could it be she didn’t lose her memories in that accident?
While Arwen was sitting behind her desk, the knock at the door interrupted her. She didn't frown at the intrusion as though she had been expecting it. Without glancing up, she simply permitted the person to enter.
"Yes. Please come in."
And just then, Mia pushed the door open and stepped inside with ease. "Ma'am, I got what you asked me to bring." She strode forward, stopping right in front of the desk.
Placing the file on the polished wood surface, Mia slowly pushed it forward for Arwen to see.
Arwen's gaze finally shifted as she read the name South City Hospital through the file.
"Since all this happened almost a decade back, it was a little difficult to retrieve them," Mia explained with a slight furrow between her brows. But then her expression softened as she added, "Fortunately, they have a separate database prepared to keep the old records secure. We were able to get them."
"Thank you for your hard work, Mia," Arwen said as she closed the document she had been reading. Reaching out, she pulled the file toward her and flipped it open, searching for the pages she needed the most.
Mia remained silent, standing patiently by her side as Arwen's eyes moved over the neatly typed words.
But the further she read, the deeper Arwen's frown grew. Her fingers tightened against the paper.
The reports matched what she remembered perfectly.
No lingering injuries. No brain trauma. No memory loss.
Her lips parted slightly, confusion flooding her expression. But how could that be possible?
Although her body had healed from the accident, she had never recovered the memories she had lost. Entire fragments of her past were gone —irretrievable, like broken glass scattered into dust.
Yet there was not even a single mention of amnesia in these reports. Not even a hint. As if she had never lost a thing.
Could someone have tampered with her medical reports back then?
The thought crossed her mind, but at the same time, it didn't make sense. Why would anyone do that?
She was just a teen at that time. Nothing about her at that time warranted such a deliberate cover-up?
"Ma'am, what's wrong?" Mia asked when she noticed the crease between Arwen's brows deepen further. "Is there a problem with the reports?"
Arwen's eyes lifted slowly from the paper. "Mia," she said softly, "is it very easy to tamper with someone's medical records?"
Mia blinked at the unexpected question. She didn't understand. Her gaze dropped to the file for a second before she carefully responded, "It's not easy to do that … but it's not impossible either. Money always stands stronger than ethics to many people."
Arwen's fingers traced over the typed words, cold and clinical, yet hiding so much. She tried to think —who could have had a reason to erase something so important? But no matter how she racked her brain, she couldn't think of anyone. Nor could she imagine the purpose behind such an act.
"Ma'am, do you suspect that someone tampered with your medical report?" Mia asked, her voice low but steady.
Arwen shook her head faintly. "I don't know. Something about this doesn't match. These reports don't mention the amnesia I suffered after the accident."
"Amnesia?" Mia's brows furrowed.
However, Arwen didn't explain her much. She didn't know what to explain. She, herself, knew very little about it.
"The doctors, as well, never mentioned it. As though they weren't aware at all. But how is that possible? I went through all tests and scans." She murmured more to herself, trying to understand it better. However, no explanation helped.
Her words lingered in the air. For a moment, silence pressed down on them.
Then Mia's eyes flickered with thought before she said carefully, "Could it be … that your amnesia was never caused by the accident at all?"
Arwen paused at that. Her brows tugged in a slow frown before she raised her gaze at her to ask, "What did you say?"
Mia held her gaze, a touch of hesitation in her eyes, but her voice was steady. "I mean … what if your memory loss wasn't from the accident? It happened later due to something else. The scans wouldn't have been able to show it if it had happened like that."
After she said, Mia didn't think that made sense either. After all, if something else had caused it, Arwen would have known it.
However, something in Arwen's gaze shifted. She stared at the report once again. Could it be she didn't lose her memories in that accident? The question repeated in her thoughts. But then, if not that accident, when and how else did she forget Aiden and the past?
She was thinking about it when her eyes caught something amidst the paper. She blinked once before re-reading it.
And she realized she hadn't read it wrong. The name of the doctor who monitored her recovery post-surgery was … Philip Clark.
She wasn't familiar with the name, but that surname wasn't unknown. She knew it too well to know who it belonged to.
"Do the Clarks have any ties with the South City Hospital?" She asked suddenly, and Mia thought for a moment before replying.
"Clarks —the well-known family of generational great doctors," she confirmed once, and when she saw Arwen looking at her evenly, she shook her head and continued, "I don't think so. South City Hospital doesn't have enough resources to attract the Clarks. Their name is tied with prestigious institutions, not a small facility like this one."
Even Arwen knew that.
But then, why had she been monitored personally but Dr. Philip Clark? Why did he appear at South City Hospital during the time of her accident?
Was it some kind of coincidence?
"Mia, help me find out something," Arwen suddenly spoke.
Just as she finished her words, her phone on the desk vibrated. Seeing Alice's name flashing across the screen, she remembered that she needed to visit the guild.
Alice was able to retrieve what Arwen had been looking for.