Chapter 4

I burst out of the yard clutching the swaddled baby. My entire body was trembling.

Ryan caught up to me in two strides, grabbing my arm before pulling both the infant and me into his embrace. His grip was as solid as iron. His voice was low against my ear. “Evelyn, calm down. Tell me what happened.”

“Your brother.” My teeth chattered, but every word came out crystal clear. “Logan. He took Aiden. He switched our son.”

Ryan did not ask why. He simply released me and turned to his personal guards. “Seal the yard.”

By the time Eleanor arrived, Logan’s yard had already been surrounded. One of the hairpins in her hastily arranged hair had come loose, and seven or eight older maids trailed behind her. The moment she saw the guards, she shouted, “Ryan! Have you lost your mind?”

One arm remained wrapped around my shoulders while the other cradled the sickly infant. His face was expressionless.

“Someone stole my son. I’m sealing the place to investigate. Why are you acting like that, Mother?”

Eleanor’s face went pale for a split second.

Just then, the yard gate creaked open. Logan stepped outside with surprise written across his face.

“Ryan, why have you brought soldiers to surround my yard?”

“Bring out the baby in your room. I’d like to see him.”

Logan’s expression darkened. “My son was only just born. He’s too weak to be exposed to the wind.”

Before he finished speaking, Camille Jameson came out of the house. She leaned weakly against a maid for support, and a wet nurse carrying a swaddled infant walked at her side.

Camille covered her mouth with a handkerchief and coughed softly. Her eyes were already tinged red.

“Evelyn, what are you doing?”

I tore free from Ryan’s grasp and rushed toward the baby.

Logan shoved me away without hesitation.

I had given birth only three days earlier. The force sent me stumbling backward. Before the back of my head could hit the ground, Ryan caught me with one arm.

Without warning, Ryan’s free hand whipped across. The slap landed squarely across Logan’s face.

Silence followed.

Logan’s head snapped to the side. Camille let out a shrill scream and staggered backward.

The maids and older servants rushed forward, shielding her while forcing the wet nurse carrying the baby to the very back.

The wet nurse kept her head lowered. Her hands shook so badly that she could barely hold the bundle.

I steadied myself. My cheek was still burning from where Logan had shoved me. I fixed my eyes on the wet nurse and spoke through gritted teeth,

“My son, Aiden, was born healthy. His cries were loud and strong. Someone drugged me with sleeping incense tonight. When I woke up, the baby in my arms had become this sickly child!

"My son has a crimson birthmark on his left wrist. This baby doesn’t! Logan, if you’ve done nothing wrong, then let me see your son. Just one look. If there’s no birthmark, I’ll leave immediately and never trouble you again.

“If you have nothing to hide, then what are you afraid of?”

Camille shrank behind her maid. She stopped coughing. Instead, she clutched the maid’s sleeve so tightly her knuckles turned white.

Logan covered his swollen cheek. Hatred burned in his eyes, but his lips remained tightly sealed.

Eleanor stood between us. Uncertainty flickered across her face.

She let out a sigh as she turned toward me.

“Evelyn, I know you’re worried about your child, but you can’t accuse Camille simply because you failed to keep watch over your own baby. She only gave birth herself a few days ago. As her sister-in-law, is this really appropriate?”

I looked at her. Three days ago, this very woman had stood beside my bed trying to take my son away. Now, she wanted to lecture me about propriety.

“Appropriate?”

I laughed.

“Someone stole my child, and you're worried about propriety? Fine. Then let’s have the authorities investigate. Since someone has no shame, there’s no reason for me to spare this family’s reputation.”

Eleanor froze for a moment. “This is outrageous!”

Robert Wesley strode into the yard with two clan elders behind him. He swept a glance over the guards surrounding the yard before glaring at Ryan. His face was as hard as iron.

“Have you lost all sense? You’re taking the Wesley family’s private affairs before the authorities? The heir has only been born a few days, and you’ve already brought government investigators to our door. You may not care about your own reputation, but the rest of our household does!”

Logan immediately seized the opportunity. Still clutching his reddened cheek, he said bitterly, “Ryan, you’ve trampled your own brother for the sake of one woman and compromised the Wesley family’s honor. How can someone like you remain the heir?”

Ryan lowered his eyes to me. Tears covered my face, and a fresh red mark remained where Logan had shoved me. He suddenly let out a cold laugh.

Then he turned to one of his guards. “Take my command token. Report this case to the Court.”

Everyone stared at him in disbelief.

Eleanor’s pupils contracted.

Robert’s lips trembled.

Logan blurted out, “You’re insane!”

Ryan did not even look at them. He drew me back into his arms. His voice was not loud, yet every person in the yard heard every word.

“If I can’t even trust my own wife, then I’ve failed as a husband. You can keep talking about family honor. I only stand by my wife and my son. No one leaves.”

The guards rested their hands on their swords and sealed the yard tight.

The marquis and Eleanor refused to let the authorities get involved. Instead, Eleanor acted first. She hurriedly summoned the clan elders to the ancestral hall.

It was not to investigate the missing baby. It was to decide whether I was still fit to remain the heir’s wife.

“She has clearly lost her mind after childbirth. She defied her elders and barged into her brother-in-law’s place.”

"Any one of those offenses is grounds for divorce.”

“The heir’s wife should uphold this family’s dignity, not become its greatest disgrace.”

“In my opinion, she should be sent to the country estate to recover. If her mind clears within three years, we can discuss allowing her back.”

Eleanor dabbed delicately at the corner of her eye with a handkerchief. “Everything I did was for my newborn grandson… Yet I’ve been treated like a thief.”

Murmurs of agreement rippled through the hall.

I stood alone before them. My heart grew colder with every passing second.

Right then, a commotion erupted outside. There were heavy, synchronized footsteps, the sharp clang of sword scabbards striking armor, and startled cries from the crowd beyond the gates.

The doors to the ancestral hall were thrown open.

My mother stood on the threshold. Behind her were two orderly ranks of armed officers. At their head stood a high-ranking official in crimson robes. His expression was stern.

Outside, curious townspeople packed the entrance like a rising tide, craning their necks to see inside.

The Chief Justice’s booming voice thundered through the ancestral hall, sending dust drifting from the plaque above.

“The Court has received a formal complaint alleging that the Wesley family switched their rightful heir at birth! By order of the court, I have come to investigate this case. Anyone who obstructs this investigation will answer to the law!”