Chapter 1

When I was just one month old, my mom's best friend recommended her an app called Infant Speech Translator.

She recorded three seconds of my crying, and a line of text popped up on the screen.

[My diaper is wet, my back hurts!]

Mom undid my swaddle clothes and checked. She found out the app was correct.

Over the next few months, the app seemed to get "everything" right about what I need.

My rich father and my naive mother trusted it more and more.

Then one day, Dad came home early, and the app produced these words.

[Why hasn't that strange man who keeps kissing me come back? Mom looks so happy when he's here.]

Through my supposed words, Dad decided Mom had cheated on him, and that I was another man's daughter.

Mom and I were thrown out with nothing, and we died in misery on the streets.

Meanwhile, my mom's supposed best friend used the chance to marry into wealth.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day she recommended the app to my mother…

Chapter 1

"The baby says her diaper is wet, and something hurts her back," Sandy Lane said as she held up her phone.

That same line of text appeared on the screen.

My mom undid my swaddle and took one look. Sure enough, I was soaked through.

"My goodness, this app is amazing!"

Mom's eyes widened in disbelief.

Sandy smiled gently as she handed the phone over.

"Nina, this is an app in the closed beta stage made by a friend of mine who works in the AI industry. There are only ten spots for the entire world, and I saved one just for the baby. Whenever she cries from now on, just record three seconds, and you'll know what she wants."

At this time, my dad came out of the study. He glanced at the phone screen and raised his brow. "Can an app understand baby talk?"

"Enzo, don't dismiss it that quickly," Mom said as she patted his arm. "It really did get it right just now."

I watched from inside my swaddle, my heart clenched as memories from my previous life surged back.

This was the app that had destroyed everything for Mom and me.

In my previous life, my mom Nina Weiss had trusted it completely. Every time I cried, she recorded it and then did whatever the screen told her to do. Because of that, my reactions always matched the recordings.

Little by little, she started believing everything on the screen.

Meanwhile, my dad, Enzo Jackson, had always been cautious. But after watching that happen, he began to believe it too.

And Sandy, Mom's best friend since childhood, always appeared at the perfect moment.

When I was five months old, Dad came home early from work and Sandy just happened to be visiting.

I cried once, and she immediately took out her phone to record me. A line of text popped up on the screen.

[Why hasn't that strange man who keeps kissing me come back? Mom looks so happy when he's here.]

Dad's face darkened at once.

No matter what Mom said, she couldn't defend herself. She cried and said she had never cheated.

Sandy stood beside us with red eyes and said softly, "Nina, a child wouldn't lie...and I certainly wouldn't."

Dad ordered a paternity test. The result showed that I wasn't his daughter.

Only later did I learn the report was fake. Sandy had bribed the testing lab.

Mom took me and left with nothing, her reputation in ruins. We moved into a basement in a rundown suburb.

Mom had to work three jobs during the day. By the time she came home at night, she was sometimes too exhausted to even eat.

The winter I was three, there was a gas leak in the basement. Mom pressed our only wet towel over my face, but she didn't last until the ambulance arrived.

I was sent to an orphanage. When I was six, a couple adopted me. My adoptive father was an alcoholic, and my adoptive mother was cold. Later, my adoptive father got so drunk, pushed me down the stairs.

My head hit the concrete floor. The moment I died, I finally remembered everything from when I was a baby.

That app was never an AI translator. Sandy had prepared every "translation" in advance. She had been planning to set my mom up from the beginning.

And now…

I was back.

Sandy was still chatting and laughing with Mom as she introduced the app's features.

I clenched my tiny fist.

This time, I would never let her win!

I took a deep breath and burst into loud sobs.

Chapter 2

I was bawling my eyes out.

Mom quickly picked me up and gently patted my back. "What is it? Don't cry, sweetheart."

At once, Sandy moved closer and raised her phone to record me for three seconds. A line of text popped up on the screen.

[I'm hungry. I want milk.]

But I had just eaten, and my stomach was still round.

Mom hesitated. "She ate less than twenty minutes ago..."

Sandy smiled. "Maybe she wasn't full before. Babies' appetites change all the time."

Mom tried to feed me, but I turned my head away with all my strength.

I wasn't hungry! I wasn't hungry at all! I was crying because you couldn't trust that app!

But I was only one month old, and I couldn't say a word. All my anger and panic could only come out as loud cries and sobs.

Dad stood nearby, watching me cry with a frown. "She doesn't look hungry."

Unease appeared on Sandy's face, but she quickly smiled again. "Maybe it was too noisy this time and affected the recognition. It's still in beta, after all."

Dad didn't say a word after that, but I saw the doubt in his eyes.

My first step was right. My dad was starting to doubt the app.

However, Sandy was more cunning than I had imagined.

Over the next few days, she came to our house every day, using the excuse of helping Mom take care of me. She learned my patterns.

When my diaper needed changing, when I needed milk, and when the gassiness would make me cry. After that, she edited matching translations into the app in advance.

I tried to control myself and not cry.

When she said I was hungry, I did my best and refused to cry. When she said I was sleepy, I forced my eyes wide open.

However, she had plenty of tricks.

Once, while changing my clothes, she quietly slipped a thin, loose thread into my sock. The thread caught between my toes. It itched and stung, and I endured it for a full three minutes.

But a baby's nerves were far more sensitive than an adult's, and the itch soon became unbearable. In the end, I couldn't hold it in and I started crying.

Sandy took out her phone at once. The screen showed, [There's something in my sock. My foot feels awful.]

Mom took off my sock and found the thread.

"Oh my god," Mom gasped. "It can even tell us about a tiny thread?"

This time, even my dad was stirred. "It's pretty accurate."

I trembled with anger. Sandy was the one who put that thread there! But I had no proof, and I could not speak.

After that, Sandy grew even bolder.

She kept creating small problems, then used the app to translate them accurately.

When making the formula, she deliberately made the water a little too hot, and the app showed, [The milk is too hot.]

She secretly folded the towel under my back into a hard corner, and the app showed, [Something is digging into my back.]

Every time Mom checked, she found that the "translations" were true.

Once, twice, five times, ten times.

My mom's amazement turned into dependence. Meanwhile, my dad's suspicion turned into silent acceptance.

"Enzo, this app is practically a miracle tool for parenting," Mom said as he held Dad's hand in excitement. "Every time the baby cries, I have no idea what to do. Now that I have this, it's like using a cheat code."

Dad glanced at the phone and didn't question it again. "It does seem useful."

Sandy waved it off modestly. "As long as Nina is happy. I just wanted our sweet baby to be more comfortable too."

I lay in Mom's arms and looked at Sandy's gentle, harmless face.

A chill ran down my back. It had been the same in my previous life.

She first used tiny things to build a wall of trust. Once trust was fully earned, she would then stab us right in the back.

On the eleventh day, Dad returned from a business trip.

Sandy came by with some gifts and smiled as she greeted him. "Enzo, your business trip must have been tiring."

Mom didn't notice Sandy's tone or the look in her eyes, but I saw everything clearly. When Sandy looked at Dad, her eyes held greed, possessiveness, and absolute resolve. What she wanted had never been friendship.

She wanted the Jackson family.

She wanted my dad.

That night, my stomach was bloated with gas again. I was in so much pain that I broke out in a cold sweat.

Sandy had been waiting nearby, her eyes patient, like a hunter waiting for the kill.

I clenched my jaw and forced myself not to make a sound. But she walked over, pretended to tuck me in, and pressed her fingers lightly against my stomach.

I screamed in pain.

After Sandy finished recording, the screen showed these words.

[A man came to our house today. He was tall and handsome, but he didn't look like Dad.]

Mom froze. "What man?"

Sandy put on a puzzled look, too.

"Nina, has any other man been to your house lately? Maybe the baby remembered it wrong."

"No..."

Mom shook her head and didn't take it seriously.

Dad raised his head and looked at Mom a little longer.

Mom didn't notice.

I did.

The seed of suspicion had already been planted.

Chapter 3

After that, I tried every counterattack I could think of.

Every time Sandy took out her phone to record me, I forced myself to quiet down.

Once, Mom was holding me and talking to me when Sandy came over, her fingers secretly reaching for my lower back. She was going to pinch me, but I suddenly rolled over and got into my mom's arms instead.

Sandy's hand missed. She froze for a second, then smiled and said, "Oh, the baby has so much energy today. She can roll over so neatly already."

I lay against my mom's chest, my heart pounding. I had dodged it that time, but Sandy knew more than one trick.

Another week passed.

Dad had to work late on a project and didn't come home for five days straight. Sandy practically moved into our house and kept Mom company every day.

"Nina, you've been working too hard. Let me take care of the baby tonight. You should get some real sleep."

Mom was so touched that her eyes turned red. "Sandy, thank you. You're treating me better than a real sister would."

My stomach churned when I heard that.

A real sister? She was the one who indirectly killed you!

That night, after Mom fell asleep, Sandy held me in the living room. With no one watching, she no longer had to play pretend.

She looked down at me, her eyes cold. "Have you been refusing to cry on purpose lately?"

Her fingers pinched the sole of my foot, and she slowly tightened her pinch. It was so painful, but I pressed my lips together and forced myself not to make a sound.

Sandy's gaze turned vicious. "You won't cry, huh?"

She let go and took a needle out of her pocket. Then, she pricked my heel.

This time, I couldn't hold back and I burst into a loud cry. She raised her phone at once.

While I cried, I kicked hard and struck her wrist. The phone slipped and almost flew out of her hand.

However, Sandy caught it quickly and frowned. The recording was still complete.

The screen showed these words: [During the day, Mom took a package from a man, and that man touched my face.]

She put away the phone in satisfaction and muttered to herself, "I'll show your dad tomorrow."

My whole body went cold.

On the day Dad came home, Sandy made a table full of good food.

"Enzo, Nina was exhausted these past few days while you were gone, so I helped out a little."

Dad nodded politely.

At dinner, Sandy showed Dad the translation records she had gathered over the past few days. She scrolled through them one by one.

[The man had such a nice voice. Mom kept laughing when she talked to him on the phone.]

[That man came last time and brought me a toy. It was so much fun!]

[Mom told the man not to come anymore, but the man said he missed Mom.]

The dining table stayed silent for five full seconds.

Dad put down his fork and looked at Mom. "What man?"

Mom looked completely confused. "What man? Aside from you and the delivery man, no other man has been to our house at all."

"Delivery man?" Dad's tone shifted slightly.

Sandy spoke at the perfect moment, her voice careful and reluctant. "Enzo, the app would sometimes mention a man earlier... I was too embarrassed to tell you because I was afraid you would overthink it. But the baby kept bringing him up, so I think... I should let you know."

My mom finally grew anxious. "Sandy! What do you mean by that?"

"Nina!" Sandy grabbed Mom's hand, her eyes turning red. "Of course I believe you. But… I'm only telling the truth. I just say whatever the app displays. I wouldn't dare make anything up!"

Dad finished dinner in silence and did not say a word, but I saw the way he looked at Mom. It had already changed.

Once suspicion took root, it would easily grow.

Another three days passed.

One of Mom's male college classmates came to the city on a business trip and stopped by for a visit. They chatted in the living room for less than twenty minutes. The classmate played with me for a short while before leaving.

That night, Dad came home. Sandy was also "just happened" to still be there.

While changing my diaper, she quickly pinched the inside of my thigh. A wave of pain hit me, but I buried my face in the blanket and bit hard into one corner.

This time, I absolutely could not cry.

Sandy waited five seconds, ten seconds, fifteen seconds. Her expression shifted, and her fingers reached for the sole of my foot again.

Just as she was about to succeed, my mom walked out of the kitchen and asked, "Sandy, are you done changing the diaper?"

Sandy pulled her hand back, the smile on her face perfect. "All done. The baby was especially quiet today."

This time, she failed to record me crying.

But she didn't panic. She carried a bottle of warm milk toward me and smiled.

"It's time for the baby to drink milk."

The bottle had just reached my mouth when I smelled something sharp… She had added something to the milk! Something spicy!

The moment my lips touched the nipple, my tongue felt like it was on fire. My face got all red, and I bawled my eyes out.

This time, I couldn't hold it in.

Sandy immediately raised her phone at.

The screen showed these words:

[That man came again today. He even kissed me. Mom was beside us, smiling so happily.]

Dad's face turned completely dark.

"Enzo, listen to me. That was my college classmate. He only stopped by because he was passing through," Mom said.

Dad said coldly, "What about the footage from the security camera?"

Sandy lowered her head at the perfect time and said softly, "Enzo... The living room's security camera seems to have broken last week. I did ask Nina to call someone in for the repairs..."

My mom's whole body shook.

The camera was broken…but she had no memory of Sandy telling her to ask for repairs.

Chapter 4

Dad asked his assistant to pull the footage. However, all the data from that camera was damaged.

"It broke last week. The memory card burned out," the personal assistant said.

What a coincidence.

In my previous life, I hadn't known how the camera broke. In this life, I had seen it clearly.

Three days earlier, Sandy had smashed the camera while Mom was taking a nap. She thought no one saw her, but she had forgotten that my crib was in the corner of the living room.

I had watched the whole thing.

But I couldn't expose her.

A two-month-old baby could only cry, and Sandy had already hijacked the meaning of my crying. Every time I cried, she would translate it into something to use against my mom.

Dad's attitude was becoming colder and colder. Mom tried to explain, but he wouldn't listen. "You say there was no one, then why did the app say that? Can AI make something out of thin air?"

"Enzo, it's just a phone app!" Mom was so anxious that tears kept rolling down her cheeks. "How could it really understand a child's words?"

"You were the one who called it a miracle parenting tool at first," Dad said with an icy voice. "Now that it says something you don't want to hear, it's fake?"

Mom had no answer to it.

That was the cruelest part of Sandy's plan. She had spent half a month letting Mom and Dad see the app's miracle for themselves. She slowly built trust up by using those minor accurate predictions. Once there was enough trust, it would be enough to bury my mom alive.

Sandy stood beside us, tugging at the corner of her clothes with a conflicted look. "Nina, why not… Why not do a paternity test? That would prove your innocence too."

"Yes." Dad decided at once. "We'll do it tomorrow."

Mom wiped her tears and agreed. "Then we'll do it. I have nothing to hide."

She didn't know Sandy would tamper with that test report.

No… I absolutely could not let history repeat itself!

Early the next morning, Dad had the driver take Mom and me to the paternity testing lab. Before we left, Sandy crouched down and smiled sweetly as she reached out to hold me.

I widened my eyes and stared hard at her.

For a moment, Sandy's smile froze.

I clenched my tiny fist and used every bit of strength in my body to knock the phone out of her hand. The phone hit the floor with a sharp smack.

It landed with its screen facing upward.

Everyone looked at the screen. The Notes app was open, and the whole screen was filled with text written in advance.