Chapter 3 — Swapped at Birth

Tang Yin, the way you look right now is utterly hideous.

I looked at him. The man who had sworn before our wedding altar to protect me for the rest of my life was standing beside another woman at this very moment. Protecting the daughter born from my own flesh, who was currently held captive in that woman's arms. I enunciated every single word with chilling clarity:

You can falsify medical records, you can disable the surveillance cameras, and you can force the doctors to keep their mouths shut.

But you can never alter the fragrance that this child carries within her blood and bones.

The color drained from Lu Shiqian's face in an instant. Xu Qingyi burst into tears, shaking her head frantically:

Shiqian, I am scared. She is going to hurt the baby.

I took a single step forward. Lu Shiqian immediately blocked my path.

Enough, Wen Tang Yin. Just how long do you intend to make a scene?

A flurry of hurried footsteps echoed from beyond the elevator bank. Two figures in uniform appeared down the corridor. The female officer leading the way held up her badge and identification.

Who made the emergency call?

I leaned heavily against the wall, my voice reduced to a raw rasp.

I did.

My daughter has been hidden by them inside this incubator.

Officer Fang did not immediately take my word for it. Yet, neither did she place blind trust in the hospital administration. She first ordered the elevator doors sealed off, then instructed her colleagues to station themselves at every exit leading out of the treatment wing.

No one involved in this matter is permitted to leave until further notice.

Lu Shiqian's expression turned grim and hostile:

Officer, my wife has just suffered the devastating loss of a newborn. Her emotional state is unstable. This situation involves sensitive medical privacy, and there is clearly a misunderstanding here.

Officer Fang cast a long, steady gaze at him.

Whether it is a misunderstanding or not, a thorough investigation will reveal the truth.

Le Manqing hurried over, clutching a thick file of medical charts. She thrust a stack of documents toward them.

These are the emergency records for Ms. Wen's child, this is the certificate of mortality, and this is the neonatal emergency consent form signed by Mr. Lu. Every single procedural step is entirely legitimate.

I demanded:

Where is the surveillance footage?

Le Manqing replied coldly:

The emergency department deals with matters of strict privacy. Only the police possess the legal authority to retrieve such data.

Officer Fang nodded.

Then retrieve the data.

With that, she turned her gaze to the incubator clutched tightly in Xu Qingyi's embrace.

This infant cannot be transferred to another hospital at this time, either.

Panic instantly flared across Xu Qingyi's features.

You cannot do this! My baby girl is experiencing respiratory distress; she must be taken to the provincial maternity and pediatric hospital immediately.

I stared straight into her eyes:

She was sleeping quite peacefully just a moment ago.

Xu Qingyi's tears fell all the more furiously.

Ms. Wen, I understand your grief, but you cannot simply rely on catching a whiff of some vague scent to claim my child is yours. Since when can a mere fragrance be admitted as legal evidence?

It could not. I was well aware of that fact. The fragrance of Frost Sandalwood might have pulled me back from the brink of the abyss, but it alone could not drag these people before a court of law. Therefore, I spoke with unyielding resolve:

We will conduct a judicial parentage test.

Lu Shiqian chimed in without hesitation:

I am fully prepared to cooperate.

I looked right at him:

I demand a maternal lineage test. Since the fetus in the womb has reportedly passed away, both the infant in that incubator, myself, and Xu Qingyi must submit samples for analysis.

The corners of his mouth tightened rigidly.

The child is far too fragile; she cannot endure such invasive procedures.

We will only take buccal swabs from the inner cheek. No blood draws will be required.

Le Manqing interjected smoothly:

The hospital maintains a partnership with an external laboratory. We can expedite the testing process.

A cascade of comment streams abruptly flashed across my vision. [Do not use the hospital's affiliated laboratory.] [The sample vials they have prepared are already tampered with.] [There are backup tamper-evident seals hidden inside the top drawer of Le Manqing's desk.] I pivoted sharply toward Officer Fang.

The police must contact an independent judicial appraisal agency ourselves. The testing kits must be unsealed right here at the scene, and the entire procedure must be captured on video.

Officer Fang studied me for a few tense seconds.

Very well.

Lu Shiqian's voice dropped to a low, menacing register:

Do you not trust even me?

I retorted without missing a beat:

Is there any reason I should?

The question struck him like a physical blow across the face. Zhou Wan, standing off to the side, trembled with incandescent rage.

Wen Tang Yin, have you lost your mind? Shiqian is the child's father!

It is precisely because he is her father that this is all the more terrifying.

My legs finally gave out under the weight of my exhaustion, and my body swayed dangerously. Mother caught me just in time. Officer Fang instructed her subordinate to formally seal the body of the deceased infant while summoning the on-duty forensic pathologist. Le Manqing's complexion grew increasingly ashen. She made several attempts to reach for her phone, only to be blocked each time by the watchful eyes of the police.

Even for official business calls, you must state precisely whom you are calling and disclose the nature of the conversation right here on the spot.

Xu Qingyi remained seated in her wheelchair, clutching the incubator to her chest with desperate strength. Faintly, I heard my daughter emit a tiny, muffled sound from within her enclosure. My heart shattered into a thousand jagged pieces.

Let me look behind the child's ear just once.

Xu Qingyi shrieked in terror:

No! Don't you dare touch her!

Officer Fang signaled a female officer to step forward. The officer cautiously unlatched the side panel of the incubator and gently folded back the edge of the tiny blanket near the infant's ear. Standing beside me, Mother bit her lip, the rims of her eyes burning red. That faint, familiar fragrance drifted softly into the air. She murmured in a voice barely above a whisper:

She bears the unmistakable mark of the Wen family bloodline.

Xu Qingyi bit down on her lip until it turned white, her voice trembling uncontrollably.

Your entire family makes a living blending perfumes; naturally, you can twist whatever lies you wish out of thin air.

I did not bother to refute her. My gaze remained fixed solely on Officer Fang.

Please expedite this process.

I am terrified of what other schemes they might still have waiting in the wings.