Chapter 5

Jaclyn quickly got back up and frantically searched the room for her child, mumbling, "Where's my child? Baby, where did you go?"

But she searched every corner of the room and found no trace of her child.

Brenda, the mom, comforted her with a pained expression.

"Jaclyn, think carefully. Did you perhaps carry the baby somewhere else?"

"A child less than one year old can't get out of a crib by themselves!"

At this, Jaclyn's eyes suddenly lit up as if she'd remembered something.

"Yes, someone must have carried him away just now!"

With that, she violently grabbed my shoulders.

"Aha! I knew it! I wondered why I didn't see the guy you're seeing earlier. He must have snuck off with my baby in the commotion!"

"Vivian, if you dare harm my child, I'll take your life!"

She demanded the building management lock down the complex immediately. The security guards and informed neighbors helped with the search.

Thirty or forty people searched the complex for over half an hour, but found no suspicious figures.

Mr. Davis comforted Jaclyn.

"Don't worry, as long as the child is still in the complex, we'll find him. If not, we'll call the police!"

Jaclyn shook her head violently.

"No! We can't call the police! It'll scare the baby! My baby has a congenital heart condition!"

Mr. Davis frowned, then continued.

"But this is a big deal, you should at least tell your family, like your husband?"

Unexpectedly, Jaclyn reacted even more strongly.

"No! Not yet! The baby isn't even one year old yet! I want to give him a surprise!"

Her words confused everyone, but I sensed something was off.

I frowned and spoke up.

"Her baby isn't in the complex anymore. You can turn this place upside down, and you still won't find him."

Mr. Davis was furious.

"Did you really take her child? Do you know kidnapping a child is a felony?!"

Mark, a male neighbor, angrily slapped me across the face.

"You animal! It must be because Jaclyn interrupted you and your lover messing around that you retaliated by taking her child!"

Hearing this, Jaclyn rushed at me, pinning my arms down tightly.

"You bitch! My baby is so small, and he has a heart condition! How could you be so cruel!"

"Tell me now, where is my baby?!"

I gritted my teeth and said, "I told you, your baby died a long time ago!"

Everyone gasped, thinking I had killed the child.

They all cursed me, as if I were some evil, cold-blooded monster, completely disregarding my explanations.

Until Mr. Davis said, "We should call the police first."

Soon, the police arrived.

Rose, Jaclyn's next-door neighbor, provided surveillance footage from her front door.

The footage showed that from the moment Jaclyn left her apartment to bang on my door until her child disappeared, no one entered or left her room.

Building management checked the main gate cameras next. No child was seen leaving the complex. Not then, not ever.

After a full investigation, the police concluded there was no evidence of an abduction.

In fact, the records showed that for the past month, only Jaclyn had been seen coming and going from Unit 706. Not once was a child with her.

All eyes once again fell on me.

Because from the very beginning, I was the only one saying her child was already dead.