“Am I the expert here, or not? Someone said, someone said, then why don’t you have that person do the checkup instead? Your family members are really something!”
“There are plenty of reasons for a big belly! The baby could just be growing faster, or the mother might be overnourished…”
I caught sight of myself in the mirror, looking miserable, and let out a bitter laugh. The hospital didn’t believe me. My wife didn’t believe me. Yet I kept clinging to a voice I couldn’t even be sure was real.
I sank down in the corridor, feeling defeated. Just then, my wife walked toward me, and that voice came again.
“Did you go to that hospital on Turner Street for the checkup? Of course, the result was normal. That hospital’s records were already tampered with by them!”
I shot up from the chair, my eyes falling on the address on the medical record, Turner Street.
My whole body collapsed inside, my heart pounding wildly. I couldn’t wait any longer. I had to tell my wife everything that had happened these past days.
But just as I pushed myself up from the chair, that voice came again.
“Dad, don’t go!”
“Mom just met with that man. In three days, she’ll take me and run far away. Before that, she’s going to make you transfer all the property. You’d better think of a way!”
As the voice faded, my wife suddenly grabbed my hand. “Lucius, you said once I got pregnant, you’d transfer the family property into my name. Hurry and do it, let me be happy sooner…”
My vision went dark, and I slid down against the wall, powerless.
In those few seconds as I fell, my mind spun.
If what this child said was true, then why hadn’t the DNA report in my previous life matched?
If the child was lying, why did every clue fit perfectly?
I had been given a second life, yet even now I was still being dragged along by this voice, as if I had understood nothing at all. Fear rose and wrapped around me, swallowing me whole.
I began to wonder, could it be that the thing in her belly was controlling how everything unfolded? It seemed to sense any movement that made a sound. With that thought, an idea suddenly came to me.
Ignoring my wife’s faint look of displeasure, I rushed into the doctor’s office. I grabbed his pen and quickly wrote, [I want a DNA test done through your overseas branch! I’ll pay whatever it takes!]
This was a private hospital. The doctor didn’t like me, but the chance to earn a commission made him nod right away. He scribbled back, [Results in 72 hours.]
“Husband, why do you always look so troubled whenever I bring up the property? Do you regret it?”
On the way back, those were the first words my usually quiet wife spoke. My heart jumped, but I forced a smile.
“How could I? The auditors are still working these days. We'll handle the transfer once the audit finishes in three days.”
My wife didn’t reply. All the way, the voice that spanned two lives kept circling in my mind. As I was on the verge of believing it again, my wife pressed two sheets of paper into my hand.
“This is the property waiver agreement. These past days, your absentmindedness has been obvious. You saying you don’t want this child is probably because of this. But I truly just want to live a good life with you.”
I slammed the brakes, pulling the car to the roadside.
That voice came again, perfectly timed, “Dad, don’t believe her words! This is a trap to capture you by letting go! Your time isn’t long, only three days! They’re about to act!”
Days of nonstop torment had pushed me to the edge. I left my wife in the care of the housekeeper, using work at the company as an excuse, and didn’t go home for three days and nights.
I locked myself in the office, staying awake for seventy-two hours straight. Was she cheating or not? Was the child mine or not? My head was filled with nothing else.
I set an alarm, and when it rang at the fifty-ninth minute, I jumped up from the floor to the desk, brushing off the ash that had gathered on me.
In my inbox sat a single email from overseas. With bloodshot eyes and trembling hands, I clicked it open. It was a freshly issued DNA report.
The mouse wheel turned slowly as I scrolled, my eyes widening as I stared at the result. The moment I saw it, everything hit me.
