Chapter 1

Before my younger brother was even married, he got a girl pregnant. She gave birth to a baby boy at a small clinic, and then both she and my brother disappeared.

The doctor found my family using the address my brother had left behind and dumped the baby on me.

My parents begged me to adopt him. Since I was a single man with no plans to marry, I somehow ended up raising the child alone.

After struggling to raise him, my brother finally returned—with a wealthy woman covered in diamonds and gold at his side.

He held his son and sobbed, claiming that I had been jealous of him, stolen his child, and kept father and son apart.

My son cut ties with me without hesitation and threw himself into my brother’s arms. My parents kicked me out of the house, too.

The neighbors cursed me from every direction. In despair, I jumped from a building and killed myself.

When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day my brother’s child was born.

It was barely dawn when someone knocked on my front door. I woke up drenched in cold sweat.

In my previous life, this was exactly when the clinic doctor had banged loudly on our door, waking the entire neighborhood.

She had handed me the baby in front of everyone and scolded me for abandoning a girl after getting her pregnant.

Only later did I find out the child belonged to my younger brother. My parents begged me to keep him. Since I had no intention of getting married anyway, I agreed.

I ended up regretting that decision more than anything.

Now, when I heard the knocking, I jolted awake. I climbed out of bed and opened the door.

A familiar face stood outside.

“Alex Carter, you abandoned the baby right after he was born? Don’t you know child abandonment is a crime?”

The neighbors had all come outside. One by one, they craned their necks to watch the drama.

I stared at the doctor.

Then I took off my slipper and smacked her across the face.

“You shameless old hag! You came here to frame me?”

“I don’t even have a girlfriend, let alone a baby!”

“Who sent you here to ruin my reputation? I’ll beat you to death!”

My sudden attack left the doctor speechless. At that moment, Mrs. Harris from across the street finally reacted.

“That’s right! Alex goes to work every day. I’ve never even seen him with a girlfriend!”

“Did you get the wrong house?”

“I know her. Isn’t she the doctor from that clinic downtown?”

I glared at the doctor.

“You run a shady clinic, and now you’ve come here to extort me? Call the police! Call them now!”

The moment I mentioned the police, the doctor panicked.

“I—I’m not going to argue with you!”

I grabbed her by the hair.

“You’re not going to argue with me? You think you can just walk away?”

I pulled out my phone and called 911.

“Hello? Someone is trafficking an infant!”

“Don’t make things up!”

“When the police get here, you’d better explain everything. Otherwise, I’ll tear your clinic apart myself!”

Heaven had given me another chance at life. All the humiliation I had suffered before came pouring out.

By the time the police arrived, the doctor was holding the baby with a swollen, bruised face.

I stood nearby, gripping my slipper and glaring furiously.

The neighbors gathered around. After hearing what had happened, the officers looked at the child. He had clearly been born only hours ago. The umbilical cord was still attached.

“What is going on? Start talking!”

“The man who came with the pregnant girl left me this address and his name!”

The doctor pulled a medical file from her pocket.

The officers checked it. The address was indeed mine, and the name matched mine, too.

I folded my arms.

“I have no idea what this is. Someone must have used my name. They’re trying to make me take responsibility for a child that isn’t mine.”

Just then, my parents appeared.

“Alex, you’ve always said you don’t plan to get married. Why don’t you just adopt the baby?”

“Mom, Dad, what are you talking about? How can I randomly adopt a child of unknown origin?”

“I don’t even know who his parents are. What if they’re drug addicts? Bad genetics can be inherited. I’m not raising some ungrateful little brat!”

My parents were completely speechless.

The doctor’s face turned ugly. She shoved the baby into my arms.

“This is your family’s child. I’m done with this! Tell Ryan to raise his own son. If I’d known your family was this unreasonable, I never would have come!”

The entire street erupted.

Everyone finally realized that the baby belonged to my younger brother, Ryan Carter.