Chapter 5

A sharp-eyed middle-aged officer walked in.

Seeing the police, all three of them panicked, especially my mother-in-law, whose shifty eyes all but screamed, "I'm guilty."

"We got a report. I’m Officer Quentin, handling this case. Who is Ms. Lydia?"

I raised my hand and said, "Officer Quentin, I made the call."

"My child is missing. I suspect someone swapped my baby."

Officer Quentin glanced at the child in my mother-in-law's arms and asked, "Isn’t this your child? Did you have twins?"

I quickly explained, "This isn’t my child. I gave birth to a chubby girl. Her right pinky toe is slightly curved—it’s a family trait."

"When I woke up, I found this was not my child, but my husband, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law are trying to convince me that a boy with a congenital illness is my daughter."

"I suspect this boy's real mother is my sister-in-law. She claimed she was studying all year but never showed up. I have reasons to believe she was pregnant. She swapped the child to make me sell my house for her child's treatment."

"Nora has always liked Zane. They’re all in on it, and I suspect this child is Zane’s."

I laid out their misdeeds analytically and calmly.

My mother-in-law erupted in rage, rushing over to pull my hair.

"You’re falsely accusing us! My daughter is innocent. She focused on her studies and didn’t even have a boyfriend. Not everyone is as shameless as you!"

Before she could touch me, Officer Quentin stepped in quickly to stop her.

"Stop! Assaulting a new mother in front of an officer? Besides, she’s your daughter-in-law. Your behavior gives me reason to suspect you swapped the child!"

My mother-in-law was terrified and immediately behaved.

Zane hurried to explain, "Officer, my mom was just emotional. My wife can’t accept that the child has a congenital heart disease. Plus, women are emotionally unstable after childbirth. Don’t listen to her nonsense. This child is indeed hers."

The officer suddenly asked, "Your wife just had a baby, and you don’t seem concerned as a husband."

Zane looked embarrassed.