Chapter 5 — Swapped at Birth

She could not finish the rest. The preliminary autopsy report had also been delivered. The lungs of the stillborn infant showed no signs of expansion following attempted respiration, and there was no evidence of swallowed air in the stomach. In other words, the child had not suffered a failed resuscitation after birth. The baby had perished within the womb. The time of death preceded her daughter's birth by at least eight hours. Step by step, I walked toward the incubator, gently lifting my baby girl into my arms.

My sweet love, I whispered, pressing my lips to her cold forehead. I have found you.

The infant let out two faint cries, sounding wronged and aggrieved. I pulled her closer against my chest. Suddenly, Qing Yun lunged from her wheelchair.

She is my child! She was resting in my arms, which means she belongs to me!

The police intercepted her instantly. She struggled wildly, her shawl sliding off her shoulders and pooling on the floor. I have nothing left! My own baby is dead, and Tim will return to her side as well. Why must you withhold even this child from me?

I looked down at her, my voice remarkably soft. Because she is not medicine. She is not an instrument for you to heal your wounds. She is my daughter.

Qing Yun wept until her voice failed entirely. Tim finally approached, his eyes blazing red as he stared at the infant cradled in my arms.

Yin, I merely wanted to stabilize Qing Yun’s mental state first. Once her condition improved, I intended to return the child to you.

I raised my gaze to meet his. You had me hold her stillborn child while you delivered the news of death. You manipulated the hospital into fabricating a failed resuscitation record for my own daughter. You conspired with everyone to convince the world I had lost my mind. Tim, do you call that merely stabilizing her mental state?

His lips parted, yet not a single syllable escaped. Officer Fang signaled his colleagues to step forward. Man Thanh, the head nurse, and the nurse in charge of infant transport were immediately taken away for questioning. Qing Yun was restrained. Tim was instructed to remain at the scene for further investigation. He looked at me, as though he were only now realizing what he had permanently lost. But it was far too late. I cradled my daughter and turned away.

By afternoon, Man Thanh could no longer withstand the relentless pressure. The police successfully retrieved the original security footage from the emergency room. The recorded resuscitation depicted nothing more than a stillborn infant covered by a blanket being wheeled in and wheeled out. Throughout the entire sequence, there were no continuous resuscitation efforts, no records of endotracheal intubation, and no administration of emergency medications. The emergency intervention timestamp in the hospital system had been fraudulently added afterward.

The surveillance cameras along the newborn transit corridor had been deliberately deactivated for twelve minutes. Yet, the electronic access control logs remained intact. Man Thanh’s employee badge had registered two entries, while Tim’s personal assistant had swiped through once. Outside Qing Yun’s hospital room, the head nurse had entered carrying an incubator. Fifteen minutes later, Qing Yun signed a transfer agreement, witnessed by Tim himself.

Every single piece of evidence hammered another nail into their coffin. Before being led away, Qing Yun was still weeping bitterly as she looked at Tim.

You promised you would protect me.

Tim refused to meet her eyes, focusing solely on the baby resting in my arms. My mother stepped firmly in front of me.

Mr. Lu, if you continue to stare, I will instruct my attorney to file an immediate restraining order.

His complexion turned ashen. Yin, let us talk.

Speak to my lawyer, I replied.

I am the child's father.

Prove your worthiness first.

Pain contorted his features. I know I was wrong. But Qing Yun was genuinely at her breaking point. Upon learning of the intrauterine fetal demise, she repeatedly declared she no longer wished to live. I was terrified she would do something irreversible.

I stared at him, suddenly finding the entire situation sickeningly absurd.

She did not want to live, so you made me believe my own daughter had died? She crumbled, so you chose to shatter me instead?

His eyes reddened. I never wished to destroy you.

Yet you did, I answered, my voice chilling to the bone. And you executed it with terrifying proficiency.

He froze.

When the hemorrhaging occurred, when consent forms needed signing, during the emergency room documentation and the transport arrangements—was there a single step that had not been meticulously prearranged?

He fell silent, and that silence served as his confession. Officer Fang managed to recover the deleted chat logs from his assistant's phone.

Once Director Wen begins hemorrhaging, proceed according to the established plan. Deliver the infant to Miss Qing's room first, then announce the time of death ten minutes later. Keep the Wen family occupied and prevent the older woman from taking the baby.

There was also a message Tim had personally sent to Man Thanh.

Once she regains consciousness, if her reaction proves too extreme, initiate a psychiatric evaluation immediately.

Seeing those words chilled my fingertips to the bone. It turned out that even my disbelief had been anticipated. He had not merely acted in a moment of reckless folly; he had calculated every single countermeasure I might possibly take and woven them into his conspiracy.

My mother rested her hand upon my shoulder. Yin, stop looking at it.

I handed the phone back to Officer Fang. Preserve everything as evidence.

That very evening, the top floor of the hospital ceased all admission of patients.