Chapter 2 The Angel Baby Act
1123 Words
The next morning, sunlight spilled through the hospital blinds.
I was still nestled in Sarah's arms. Truth be told, I barely slept a wink all night.
But I played the part perfectly, looking like the sweetest, most hassle-free angel a parent could ask for.
When Sarah woke up, the very first thing she did was look down into my eyes. She found me staring right back at her, completely awake. A delighted gasp escaped her lips as she turned to Arthur. "Arthur, look! She's been watching me this whole time."
Arthur leaned in close and reached out a finger to stroke my cheek.
Instantly, I scrunched up my face, my lower lip quivering. My eyes turned red.
His hand hovered in mid-air before he awkwardly pulled it back. "Okay, Dad won't touch. Dad will just look."
Sarah couldn't help but laugh out loud. "She really is my little shadow. She won't let anyone else near her."
That was exactly right. I had to make sure that everyone around us recognized it: this baby accepted no one but her mother. Nobody was going to pry me from her embrace.
During morning rounds, the attending doctor came in with a team of residents. They gave me a thorough check-up and confirmed my vitals were perfectly healthy.
The newborn screening was scheduled, too. It was done in broad daylight, following strict protocols, and personally handled by the head nurse.
Arthur watched the entire process, never leaving for a single second.
I noticed a shift in his eyes compared to last night. Last night, his reaction was just gut instinct. Today, he was intentionally calculating every detail.
Once the room checks were finished, he made an excuse to buy breakfast and stepped into the hallway to make a phone call. His voice was hushed, but with my ears perked up in Sarah's arms, I caught every single word.
"Run a background check for me. Gemma Fox, a nurse here at the hospital. And get me the security footage from the third-floor maternity ward from last night. Send it to my tablet."
Good. Arthur was already suspicious.
For someone who started his career in security tech, a sharp intuition was second nature.
He had already begun his investigation.
At two in the afternoon, an unexpected guest arrived at our door.
It was a woman in her early thirties, wearing a faded floral hospital gown. She had a round face and a painfully friendly smile.
She peeked her head in and gave the doorframe a polite tap. "Hi there, Mrs. Sterling! I'm in room 206 next door. My name is Megan Davis. I just had a little girl yesterday, too. Since we both delivered on the same day, I figured it was fate! I just wanted to drop by and say hello."
Still weak and recovering from childbirth, Sarah was actually quite pleased to have someone drop by for a chat. "Oh, please, come in and sit!"
Entering the room was Megan, Gemma's cousin. And more importantly, she was the biological mother of the fake heiress, Emma.
In my previous life, Megan was the very woman who had smuggled her own daughter into the Sterling family, effectively stealing my entire life away.
Right now, she was smiling warmly as she walked into the room. Her eyes swept over me, and a fleeting, calculating gleam flashed in her gaze. "Oh my gosh, your daughter is so gorgeous. Do you mind if I hold her for a second?"
She reached her hands out.
The moment her hands came toward me, every alarm in my head went off.
I let out an earsplitting wail, my face turning bright red as my tiny arms and legs thrashed violently in the air.
Sarah quickly pulled me tighter. "Oh, I'm so sorry! She's been like this since last night. The second anyone else touches her, she loses it."
Megan awkwardly pulled her hands back. "Oh, no worries at all! Babies will be babies. Totally normal."
She didn't push the issue. Instead, she pivoted to casually chatting with Sarah about parenting hacks.
They talked about formula brands, diaper rashes, and postpartum diets.
And as they chatted, she subtly, inch by inch, shuffled closer to Sarah's side of the bed.
Every time Megan drifted a little too close to the bed, I started fussing again.
If she retreated, I calmed down instantly. By the third time, Sarah definitely picked up on the strange reaction. She kept her mouth shut, but an instinctive urge made her tighten her embrace around me.
Megan stayed for over half an hour before finally leaving.
At the door, she turned and said, "If you ever need to rest, just let me know! I'm right next door, and I can totally watch her for a bit."
Sarah gave a polite nod.
But as soon as the door clicked shut, Sarah looked down at me, her expression deeply thoughtful. "Baby, do you not like that lady?"
I nuzzled against her palm and blinked at her in total silence.
She smiled, but there was a serious, fiercely protective edge to it. "Okay. I'll keep her away from you."
Arthur came back around dusk. It was clear that something was amiss with his demeanor. With a grim countenance, he secured the door and leaned in close, whispering to Sarah, "I had my guys look into Gemma, the nurse we encountered last night. She's only been here three months. It turns out her entire background is a lie; both her credentials and her past employment record are entirely forged."
Sarah's eyes went wide. "What are you saying?"
Arthur continued, "And that security footage I wanted? The cameras in our hallway magically glitched during that exact time window. Blank screen. I've been in the security tech business for twenty years. I've never seen a glitch with that kind of perfect timing."
All the color drained from Sarah's face. She instinctively crushed me to her chest, her voice trembling. "Are you telling me... that woman last night wasn't actually here to give our baby a check-up?"
Arthur didn't answer right away. He sat on the edge of the bed, gripping Sarah's hand tightly while his other hand gently stroked my head. "Don't panic. I've already had my assistant contact the police, and I escalated the hospital's security detail. From this second forward, when I'm not in this room, no one—and I mean absolutely no one—touches Chloe."
Sarah nodded frantically.
I closed my eyes and rested my cheek against her heartbeat.
This time, Arthur was catching on before they ever had the chance to take me.
From here on out, all I had to do now was stay glued to Sarah and keep everyone else away.
- Writer
