Chapter 4

Was this child determined to drive me to suicide again?

I forced down the rising rage in my chest and threw the decision back to Austin. "You decide where we do the checkup. There are dozens of hospitals in this city. Pick any one you want!"

Austin rubbed his temples, looking exhausted.

"Never mind. Let Serena arrange it. We'll monitor the whole process. There shouldn't be any issues."

I thought about it and agreed. If we watched every step, nothing could go wrong.

Serena looked incredibly uncomfortable, but she had to play along, taking my mother through the entire panel of tests.

A few days later, the detailed medical reports arrived.

Seeing that every single index was perfectly normal, I let out a massive sigh of relief.

Although I didn't know why the baby's voice was trying to ruin me, the black-and-white paper proved my mother was healthy.

That was an undeniable fact.

Serena forced a relieved smile. "See? Helen is perfectly healthy. You guys were just worrying over nothing!"

But the moment she finished speaking, the baby’s voice rang out loud and clear:

*[Mommy is so incredibly charming. She actually got Aunt Serena to throw away her professional ethics just to forge this fake medical report!]*

Austin snapped. He grabbed Serena's arm in a vice grip.

"Serena! Do you swear on your medical license that this report is real?"

Serena looked deeply hurt, biting her lip without saying a word.

Her silence made it look like I had indeed begged her to forge the report.

I opened my mouth to explain, but the baby seemed even more anxious than I was:

*[Mommy, quickly tell Daddy to let go of Aunt Serena!]*

*[Oh no! If Daddy looks at Aunt Serena's Snapchat, he'll see the texts where Mommy and Grandma discussed how to fake the illness and scam his money! Then the whole marriage fraud will be exposed!]*

I had never plotted any of this!

We met at a college party and married for love. After marriage, I never coveted his money. I even offered to sign a prenup, but he was the one who insisted we didn't need one.

We had been married for six years...

I thought he wouldn't doubt me over some bizarre, baseless voice in my womb. Yet, he impatiently snatched Serena's phone right out of her hand.

When he opened her Snapchat and saw the meticulously forged text messages—detailing how my mother and I planned to fake an illness, demand exorbitant medical fees, and drain his bank accounts—his hand began to shake violently.

"What is the meaning of these messages?"

Serena nervously tried to claw her phone back, casting a sorrowful look at me.

"Austin, that was years ago. What's the point of bringing it up now?"

"I want answers!" Austin roared, his eyes bloodshot.

Serena squeezed out a couple of tears, looking miserable.

"When Chloe first approached you, it was indeed because of your family's money... She told me her mother was sick and needed a lot of cash, so..."

"You're lying!" I screamed, shaking with rage. "Austin, don't listen to her! Those texts are fake!"

I grabbed Austin's arm, begging him to believe me.

But he shoved me away in disgust. "Chloe, I never realized you were such a conniving, cold-blooded snake!"