Chapter 4 Face to Face

Lost in thought, I was startled when the baby in the crib suddenly began to cry.

Chloe hurried over, scooped him up, and gently patted his back as she soothed him.

I stepped closer for a look. The moment I saw him, a chill shot through my body. Behind his right ear was a tiny skin tag. My eyes widened in disbelief.

Six months ago, when I was seven months pregnant, the ultrasound had shown that my baby had the same tiny skin tag behind his right ear.

The doctor had told me it was a harmless congenital defect that could be removed with a simple procedure after birth. How could this be possible?

"How old is he?" I asked, unable to stop myself.

"Six months. He just turned six months old."

Still rocking the baby, Chloe sighed. "He's just so frail. He's always getting sick. The doctor said it's because he was born premature."

My hands began to shake. "Premature?"

"Yeah. I was terrified of giving birth, so I told my husband I didn't want to go through it myself. He couldn't bear to see me suffer, so he arranged for IVF and hired another woman to carry the baby for us."

She let out another sigh. "Turns out the surrogate wasn't very healthy. She went into labor at seven months. The baby spent two months in the NICU after he was born. We almost lost him."

"What happened to the surrogate?"

Chloe shrugged, unconcerned. "She took the money and left. My husband said people like that couldn't stay around. He was afraid she'd come back asking for more money someday, so he paid her off and sent her away."

I stared at the baby in her arms, tears welling in my eyes. A terrifying thought slowly took shape in my mind.

Could this be the baby I had supposedly lost at seven months? If it was true, Hunter deserved to be torn apart piece by piece.

I forced myself to steady my trembling voice. "You never met the surrogate?"

Chloe frowned as she thought about it. "I don't know. I never saw her. My husband handled everything."

She studied my face, concern creeping into her expression. "Are you okay? You look so pale."

I shook my head. "I'm fine. I skipped breakfast, and my blood sugar's a little low."

She looked at me suspiciously, as if she wanted to say something, but held back.

Just then, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Hunter. "I'm working late tonight. I won't be home. Get some sleep."

I stared at the message before slowly lowering my phone.

…

At that moment, someone knocked on the front door.

"That has to be my husband!" Beaming, Chloe carried the baby out of the nursery.

A few seconds later, the door opened. Then I heard a familiar voice.

"Babe, did you miss me?"

"I did! Oh, by the way, the City Hall representative came by today to verify some information. She's still here."

Footsteps headed toward the nursery. I stood in the doorway and watched the familiar man walk in. He wore a charcoal-gray suit, with a briefcase hanging from one hand.

The instant Hunter saw me, he froze. The color drained from his face as if he had seen a ghost.

In that moment, every emotion inside me disappeared. I looked at him coldly, smiled, and took one step forward. "What is it? Surprised to see your dead wife standing right in front of you?"