Chapter 2

The next day, I moved to a postpartum care center.

And, unbelievably, Isabella ended up staying right next door to me.

This was one of the most expensive postpartum care centers in the city, with monthly fees approaching sixty thousand dollars.

Isabella was just an ordinary office worker.

Where had she gotten that kind of money?

I didn't need to guess.

Ryan had definitely paid for it.

In my previous life, I had defied my Alpha father and married Ryan, an ordinary wolf who worked as a pack healer.

He told me he loved me.

He told me he would never let me suffer.

And I actually believed him.

After we got married, I quit my job and willingly stayed home to take care of our family.

Later, I poured everything I had into the child who had been switched at birth.

Until I became seriously ill.

And he pulled out my oxygen tube with his own hands.

"If it weren't for you, I'd have been with Mom and Dad a long time ago!"

"It's all your fault, you old hag!"

Isabella had stood beside my bed, laughing like a lunatic.

She told me that on the very day the babies were born, she and Ryan had switched them.

She said she had raised my real son as an ordinary kid.

Every day, she deliberately kept him undernourished and suppressed his wolf instincts.

Because the moment my son's wolf began to awaken, every Alpha in the pack would sense the pure blood flowing through him.

And their entire lie would come crashing down.

So she had to make sure he "died in an accident" before his awakening.

That was the moment I finally understood.

She had never intended to let my son grow up alive.

And Ryan had chosen her side long ago.

After I died, they even got married almost immediately.

My mate.

My child.

In the end, they became her mate and her son.

The three of them lived together in a picture-perfect family, flaunting their happiness right in front of me.

Now, seeing Isabella again, I wanted nothing more than to tear that smug face apart with my bare hands.

But just like in my previous life, she smiled and greeted me as if we were old friends.

"Can you believe our babies were born on the exact same day? We must be incredibly fated to meet like this."

What she didn't know was that I had already switched the babies back.

The child in her arms was the one who truly belonged to her, a kid with an ordinary bloodline and weak wolf instincts.

And she hadn't realized a thing.

That day, she came to my room again, carrying her baby and making small talk.

As we chatted, her eyes suddenly fell on the baby in my arms.

"Your baby has such a loud cry."

She smiled deliberately.

"His bloodline must be incredibly strong, right?"

I looked up at her.

The smugness on her face was almost impossible to hide.

"Maybe he'll awaken into a powerful Alpha just like you someday."

Then she glanced down at the baby in her own arms.

"Not like mine."

"The doctor said his wolf instincts are very weak. I don't even know if he'll be able to complete his first shift properly when the time comes."

She sounded as though she was complaining about her own son.

But she had no idea.

The baby in her arms was her biological child.

I nearly laughed out loud.

But Isabella clearly hadn't noticed anything.

She continued bragging about herself.

I simply watched her with a faint smile.

She probably realized she had said too much.

But she had always been remarkably stupid.

A moment later, she smiled again.

"By the way, have you decided on a name for your baby?"

I was just about to say no.

But before I could answer, the mate bond tightened painfully in my chest.

A second later, Ryan walked through the door.

"I already picked out our son's name a long time ago."

"He's going to be called Ethan."

Our son...

I sneered inwardly.

Who exactly was he saying that for?

Me?

Or Isabella?

I raised my eyes and deliberately smiled.

"His grandfather already picked out a name."

"Logan."

Ryan's expression stiffened.

In my previous life, my father had prepared more than twenty names for his grandson.

But I was afraid Ryan would think my family looked down on him.

So I had insisted on using the name he chose.

Sure enough, the moment Ryan heard the name, his expression changed.

"Maybe we should choose one ourselves."

Isabella immediately chimed in.

"Exactly. Names chosen by older generations are always so old-fashioned. You should listen to your mate."

"He's my son, not yours. Why are you so concerned?"

I shot back without bothering to hide my irritation.

Ryan hurried over.

"Don't get upset. Your dad's name is actually pretty nice. Let's go with it."

I gave a noncommittal hum and turned back to Isabella.

"What about your son? What's his name? And why haven't I seen his father around?"

She sighed.

"Well, my mate has been away on a business trip since last month."

"As for the name, people say a cheap name makes a child easier to raise. So we named him Runt."

I nodded.

"Yeah. That's a great name."

I smiled and gently teased the baby in her arms.

"Runt? Little Runt? Good boy?"

Isabella smiled proudly.

She had no idea that she had just given her own biological son one of the most degrading names imaginable.

She had no idea that the child in her arms was her own son—and that this time, I would be watching every move she made.

As for my real son, I would watch him awaken with my own eyes.

I would make sure everyone learned exactly what kind of bloodline flowed through his veins.

Then I would make Ryan and Isabella pay for everything they had done.

After we left the postpartum care center, Isabella quickly moved into the same luxury community where I lived.

From that day on, I kept a close eye on Runt, waiting for the evidence that would finally expose Isabella and Ryan.