chapter 2
"You're a liar!" I shouted, shoving the baby right back at him. "First you say he's mine, now you say he belongs to Judy? Where's your proof? You have none! You just want to dump this baby on us. Officer, I'm telling you, this man is trafficking infants!"
I crossed my arms again, making it clear I was washing my hands of the situation.
"Cathy!" my mother gasped, horrified.
"Mom, Dad, don't be so naive! The world is full of scammers!"
Mrs. Richards chimed in from her doorway. "She's right, you two. This doctor shows up claiming the baby is Cathy's, then changes his story to Judy. He's obviously lying through his teeth."
"Yeah, who knows where he got that baby!" another neighbor added.
The doctor practically jumped up and down. "My name is Zero Theresa, and I don't lie! I've been running my clinic for years. Do I look like a con artist?"
He pointed a shaking finger at me. "It was last night! Your sister, Judy, came begging me to deliver her baby!" He rummaged in his medical bag. "I even have her phone as collateral!"
He produced a smartphone. One glance and I knew it was Judy's. My parents froze. The proof was undeniable. The baby was Judy's.
The neighborhood gossip erupted. "Judy? She's just a kid! Who's the father?"
"Who knows! You never see her around much, and she always wears such baggy clothes. I can't believe she was pregnant!"
"God knows what kind of trouble she got into out there."
"You shut your mouths! My daughter is a good girl!" my mother shrieked, finally finding her voice. "Say one more word and I'll tear your tongue out!"
Dr. Theresa sneered. "Please. Judy told me to bring the baby here as soon as it was born. She said her older sister would raise it. Officers, I even have a letter she wrote herself!"
He pulled a sealed envelope from his bag.
There was no letter in my last life. In fact, when Judy had returned to destroy me, Dr. Theresa had stood by her side, helping her spin her lies and pushing me closer to the edge. The man was a snake.
"I never should have gotten involved," Dr. Theresa muttered. "What a damn headache."
The police officer sighed, seeing the situation for what it was. "This is a domestic dispute. You all need to handle it yourselves."
I grabbed the officer's arm. "This isn't just a domestic dispute! He's expecting us to believe my sister had a baby and ran off based on nothing but a phone and a letter? For all we know, she could be dead in his clinic!"
The officer's expression sharpened. He saw the logic in my words. He immediately grabbed Dr. Theresa. "Let's go. You're taking us to your clinic. Now."
My parents trailed after them. I didn't waste a second. While they were gone, I threw my life into a suitcase.
I was not staying in this house.
As I was leaving, a neighbor saw me. "Cathy, where are you going?"
"I'm moving out," I said loudly enough for everyone to hear. "If I stay, that baby will end up in my parents' hands, and we all know who they'll expect to raise it. Judy's the one who had a kid she couldn't handle, not me. Why should I be responsible? I'm not even married! What would my future husband's family think if they saw me with a baby?"
They nodded in agreement. "You're right, Cathy. You have to think about yourself. Go on, get out of here."
"That poor girl. Judy has some nerve, just having a baby and running away."
"Who knows, maybe that doctor did something to her"
"No way!"
I didn't care what they whispered about. I just needed to run.
By the time my parents got home, I was already settled into my company's dormitory. It wasn't long before my mother's call came.
The moment I answered, her frantic voice filled my ear. "Cathy, where did you go?!"
I could hear a baby crying in the background. "I moved out," I said calmly.
"How could you move out? What are we supposed to do with this baby?!"