Chapter 1

"Fiona, the baby's condition is unstable. We need you, as the temporary guardian, to sign off on the subsequent treatment."

I put down my pen and looked across the conference table. Opposite me stood Sean. He was holding a newborn, his eyes bloodshot.

"Sean," I said, my voice incredibly calm. "This baby is the biological son of you and Hailey, isn't it?"

The conference room fell dead silent.

Sean's face turned paper-white. "What are you talking about?"

I turned my phone screen toward him. On it, the barcode from the luxury maternity retreat, Hailey's payment records, and the timestamps of his car entering and leaving the retreat's garage were neatly lined up.

"Do you want me to call the police so they can verify the parents' identities?"

The baby started crying.

Sean took a step back, looking as if the ground had been swept from beneath his feet.

As for me, I simply picked up the European clinical fellowship offer, an opportunity that had taken me two long years to secure, and slipped it back into my folder.

In this life, I was done raising anyone else's child.