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What the Cradle Hid
What the Cradle Hid
Author: Perfect Timing

Chapter 1

Author: Perfect Timing
The day my son was born, I held that tiny, wrinkled little bundle in my arms, my hands trembling.

Whitney Shaw lay on the delivery bed. Her lips were pale as she smiled at me.

"That 12-story commercial building in Cascade City? Put it all in the kid's name."

I lowered my head and kissed her forehead.

"And the profits from that piece of land we bought last year? Those shares belong to you too. Everything I earn is for you and our son."

Whitney gave me a look. "Will you stop already?"

"Nope. I'm happy."

The next day, our son was gone.

Whitney lost her mind. She spent six months searching for him before finally jumping off our balcony.

I drank myself to death on the streets. Even as I lay dying, I could still hear my son's first cry.

In this life, all I wanted was for my wife and son to be safe and happy.

All day, I did not let anyone touch my son. Whenever a nurse came to check his temperature, I stood right beside her, watching every move.

When the head nurse, Sienna Lawson, walked through the door and cheerfully announced that she was taking my baby for a newborn hearing screening, my back broke out in a cold sweat.

"Mr. Collins, your baby is due for his hearing screening. I'll take him to the examination room on the third floor and bring him back in half an hour."

She wore a mask that covered most of her face, leaving only a pair of gentle eyes visible.

The nurse beside her nodded along. "Ms. Lawson is doing the screening herself. She has plenty of experience."

I stood up and stepped in front of the crib.

"What screening? Is there an order form? Has the attending physician signed off on it? Where does it say the head nurse has to personally carry my baby to the examination room?"

Sienna paused.

"Mr. Collins, please don't worry. It's just a routine procedure..."

"I asked if there's an order form," I cut her off.

I pulled my phone out of the bedside drawer and opened the voice recorder.

"Please repeat that. Who sent you here? What screening are you performing? Which examination room are you taking him to? And what is the doctor's name? I want to record everything."

Her eyes curved above her mask, and a faint hint of annoyance flickered across them.

"Mr. Collins, you're being overly cautious. Newborn screenings are all scheduled through the hospital. We've been running this hospital for over a decade, and nothing like this has ever happened."

"I don't care whether anything has happened to anyone else." I picked up my swaddled son. He was sleeping soundly, his little face scrunched up. "I care about my son. Bring me the order form. I will carry him to the examination room myself."

Sienna's smile froze for a moment. "Mr. Collins, don't you trust me?"

"It's not just you." I stared straight into her eyes. "I don't trust anyone."

The room fell silent for several seconds. Sienna took a step back and forced a smile. "All right. Please wait here. I will go get the paperwork."

She turned and walked out.

The moment the door closed, I looked down at my son, then over at my sleeping wife, Whitney.

I still remembered the way she had cried in my previous life, until her eyes were red and swollen.

This time, no one was going to lay a finger on my son.

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  • What the Cradle Hid   Chapter 10

    Our son called out from up ahead, "Daddy! Look at me!"He stood on his scooter with both arms spread wide, as if he were about to fly."Don't let go!""I'm not letting go!"He glided several yards forward, then spun around and came back, stopping right in front of me. "Daddy, am I good?""You are.""Am I better than Teddy from kindergarten?""Much better."He grinned, showing the gap where his two front teeth were missing. His words came out with a slight whistle. "Then I'm going around one more time!""Don't go too far."He turned and sped off. The scooter wheels rolled over the paving stones, making a steady clack, clack, clack.I stood in the evening sunlight and watched him.He was almost six now, a little chubbier than he had been as a toddler. His legs still stumbled slightly whenever he ran, but he faced the sunlight with his whole body, every strand of his hair glowing.Whitney came over and stood beside me, gently bumping my arm. "What are you thinking about?""N

  • What the Cradle Hid   Chapter 9

    I still had not figured out the name of the song, but its melody was gentle.Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, falling across the piano keys and my son's chubby little hands. I stood in the kitchen doorway with a glass of milk, thinking that this one scene alone would be enough to carry me through the rest of my life.Then one night, our son woke up crying.I dragged myself out of bed, mixed him a bottle of formula, and carried him around the living room, gently rocking him as I tried to soothe him. He lay against my shoulder, falling asleep between little sniffles, his tiny hand still clutching the collar of my pajamas.Whitney came out wearing a jacket and leaned against the bedroom doorframe, watching me. "You're walking around with him again.""He was crying.""Your arms are going to be too sore to lift tomorrow.""Even if I can't lift them, I'll still carry him."Whitney walked over and wrapped her arms around me from behind, resting her cheek against

  • What the Cradle Hid   Chapter 8

    Adrian confessed everything.Sienna had approached him with a proposal. She called it an 'operation' and promised him 150,000 dollars if everything went according to plan.Adrian's job was to adjust the air-conditioning and lower the cooling output on the fifth floor. According to him, the head nurse had told him, "The hotter it is, the more deeply the baby will sleep. He won't cry as much."He had found that strange, but he had not thought much of it.For someone who had spent half his life working as a maintenance technician, 150,000 dollars was the equivalent of two years' wages.He was also the one who opened up the ventilation duct.Sienna had instructed him to loosen the screws on the storage room's vent ahead of time. Then he moved the soundproofing insulation inside the duct at the corner, creating a crawl space large enough to hide someone."She said the baby would only be there for a little while. Someone would come to pick him up. I didn't know she was stealing a baby

  • What the Cradle Hid   Chapter 7

    Sienna suddenly let out a laugh. It was sharp and shrill, like nails scraping against glass."I calculated everything. The cameras, the locks, the soundproofing insulation. I even calculated when you'd fall asleep. I spent half a month planning this! And now, you're telling me it was all because of the air-conditioning?"Her voice rose higher and higher, and her handcuffs rattled wildly. When one of the officers beside her reached out to restrain her, she violently shook him off."I almost succeeded! I was this close! Your son was in my hands for three hours! I almost got him out of the building!"She glared at me, her chest heaving."I was so close..."I looked at her. Suddenly, her shoulders slumped, and tears began rolling down her face."Mr. Collins..." Her voice changed. It softened. "I didn't mean to do it. I just acted without thinking."She took a step forward, but the police grabbed hold of her. "My son is sick. He needs a lot of money for treatment. I had no other cho

  • What the Cradle Hid   Chapter 6

    Adrian Borman was found in the underground storage area in the basement. He had been hiding behind a row of old hospital beds, clutching a toolbox.When the police asked him why he had run away, he was so terrified that he wet himself."It wasn't me! I was just helping her move some things... She paid me... My grandson needs money for school...""Who paid you?" the police officer asked.Adrian trembled for a long time before finally forcing out the name, "Ms. Lawson."The information reached the hospital room while Whitney was giving our son some water. His throat was so raw from crying that he could only manage tiny sips from a spoon. After each sip, he let out a faint whimper.Whitney's eyes were red, and her hands were still shaking, but she insisted on feeding him herself.I sat beside her and watched in silence.The police called to ask whether I wanted them to arrest Sienna immediately.I told them there was no need to rush. She was still putting on her innocent act out

  • What the Cradle Hid   Chapter 5

    I shoved my entire body into the ventilation duct. My shoulders got stuck in the grille frame, but I forced myself through anyway. Two sharp edges tore open my arm, leaving bloody cuts. I did not even stop to look.After crawling about 15 feet, I reached a sharp right-angle turn. Someone had stuffed a thick layer of soundproofing insulation into the corner, completely blocking the vent that should have led back to the hallway.Behind the insulation was a narrow crawl space.My son lay on the floor, wrapped in a nurse's uniform. His little face had turned purplish, and his mouth was covered in drool and tears. His cries had grown so hoarse that they barely sounded like a baby's voice anymore.I reached in and pulled him into my arms, pressing him against my chest. His body was frighteningly hot. His clothes were damp but not completely wet, and his lips were dry and peeling."Daddy's here. Don't be scared. Daddy's here, son."He cried even harder, his tiny hands gripping my collar

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