The next day, I woke up refreshed after my beauty sleep. I turned on my phone and saw countless missed calls. All of them were from Raymond.

Before I could even react, another call came in. I tapped answer. Raymond’s anxious voice came through the phone.

“Honey, where did you go? I’ve been looking for you all night.”

I said in a relaxed tone, “I was feeling a little bored at home by myself last night, so I crashed at my friend’s place. Why? What’s going on?”

“The baby’s mother showed up. She says she saw you take the baby yesterday. If we don’t find the baby, she’s going to call the cops. Just give the baby back to her already.”

Perfect. I wanted to see who the baby’s mother really was.

After I hung up, I got up, washed up, and drove straight back to the neighborhood.

Raymond was pacing anxiously at the neighborhood entrance with a middle-aged woman in her thirties.

As soon as I appeared, he rushed toward me. However, when he saw that I was alone, his footsteps halted.

“Honey, where’s the baby?”

I looked confused. “What baby? I already told you yesterday that I didn’t find any baby.”

As soon as the middle-aged woman behind him heard that, she collapsed onto the ground and wailed, “It was you! I saw you take my baby away yesterday. Give me back my baby right now!”

Due to her shouting, many onlookers gathered at the entrance.

I observed the woman. She had a slightly plump figure. Her clothes were plain and simple. There were many pigmented spots on her face.

More importantly, she clearly looked several years older than Raymond. Unless he was blind, he would not cheat on me with a woman like that.

It was obvious that this woman was just a decoy. Raymond was protecting the real mother of the child.

I said, “Look, lady, you need proof before you start accusing people. I’m not some kidnapper. Why would I take your baby? Come on! I don’t even know you. How could I have taken your child?

“Throwing around accusations like that is straight-up slander. Honestly, I should be the one calling the cops.”

The woman cried miserably with snot and tears streaming down her face.

“My husband died when I was in my forties. This baby was born after his father passed away. After he was born, I was so scared I wouldn’t be able to raise him.

“So, I left him at the entrance of the neighborhood. I just wanted my child to be adopted by a rich family so he would never have to worry about food or clothes.

“But I regretted it. After being apart from my baby all day yesterday, I didn’t sleep a wink last night. Please, just give my child back.”

Raymond also chimed in to help her.

He said, “Honey, since she’s admitted she was wrong, just give the baby back to her already. Don’t separate a mother from her own child.”

I frowned at him and said, “Dear, how many times do I have to tell you that I didn’t find any baby? Why are you believing a random stranger over me?”

Raymond was stunned and speechless for a moment.

The woman knelt in front of me and kept begging. She said, “Miss, I truly know I’m at the wrong. From now on, even if I have to beg on the streets, I’ll never abandon my baby again. Please, I’m begging you. Just give my baby back. My baby is my whole life.”

I looked at her with a serious expression.

“I seriously did not take your baby. Is it possible that you remembered wrong or mistook me for someone else?”

She instantly denied it.

“No way. I remember clearly that it was you. You were wearing a blue dress yesterday with roses embroidered all over it.”

Raymond chimed in, saying, “That’s right, honey. Yesterday you were wearing that exact dress.”

Thanks to the woman’s and Raymond’s remarks, the bystanders concluded that I had taken the baby. They all urged me to return the baby immediately.

“After nine months of pregnancy and the pain of childbirth, she wouldn’t have thought about abandoning her baby unless she had absolutely no other choice.

“Sure, she was wrong to do it. But at least she came to her senses in time. That’s not too late. Just give the baby back to its mother.”

“A newborn shouldn’t be away from its mother for too long. Did you hide someone else’s baby? If you don’t hand it over right now, we’re calling the cops on you.”

I had a helpless expression as I said, “If a baby really got abandoned at the neighborhood entrance, then the security guard at the gate would definitely know about it. If you don’t believe me, go ask the guard.”

A resident instantly went to the security booth, pulled the guard over, and asked, “Guard, when you were on duty yesterday, did you see this woman take the abandoned baby from the side of the neighborhood entrance?”

The guard shook her head and said, “No. Everything was normal when I was working yesterday. I didn’t see any baby at all. I definitely didn’t see this lady take one.”

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at the middle-aged woman who was still kneeling on the ground and started to criticize her. One of them said, “Well, it turned out you’re the liar. We almost got fooled by you.”

“I heard there are criminal gangs these days that specifically stake out fancy neighborhood entrances. Then, they come up with all kinds of excuses to run scams and shake down the residents for money.”

“I think she must be one of those people. She pretends that one of us took her baby. Then, when the resident can’t produce the baby, she demands a huge payout to walk away. Let’s call the cops right now and have her arrested.”

The middle-aged woman panicked. She waved her hands frantically and said, “No. No, I’m not a scammer. I swear I’m not a scammer.

“I really did leave my baby at the entrance yesterday. I really did watch her take my baby away.”

She grabbed the hem of my shirt desperately.

“Where did you take my baby? Just give me back my baby already!”

Raymond became extremely anxious at that moment as well.

“Honey, I believe she’s telling the truth. It’s been twenty-four hours now. If something happens to that baby, you’d be a murderer.”

I looked at Raymond coldly and questioned him harshly, “So, you’re saying both me and the security guard are lying? Raymond, what’s your deal? You’d rather believe some random stranger over your own wife?”

The crowd also spoke up for me.

“Everyone in this neighborhood is either rich or well-connected. Who in their right mind would hide some random baby?”

“Exactly. I believe Scarlett and the guard are telling the truth. This woman is clearly making up false accusations.”

Some people even looked at Raymond with suspicion.

“You know, your attitude has been pretty weird this whole time. You’re so convinced your wife hid the baby. Are you working with this fat lady or something?”

Raymond looked a little guilty and said, “I-I just thought the way she was freaking out didn’t seem fake.”

I glared at him.

“Oh, really? Didn’t you say last night that the security guard told you I picked up a baby?”

The security guard denied it. She said, “I didn’t even talk to him yesterday. How could I have told him anything like that?”

“Dear, you tell me. Why have you been so sure since last night that I took the baby?”

Raymond was speechless under my questioning. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead.

Just then, the woman’s phone rang once. She pulled out her phone and looked at it. Then, she raised her voice and said, “I have proof that you were the one who took the baby.”

She then opened the surveillance footage on her phone and showed it to the crowd.

The video clearly showed me standing in front of a baby for several minutes. Then, I made a phone call and carried the baby into the neighborhood.

With the surveillance footage as evidence, Raymond regained his confidence.

“Honey, the evidence is right here. What excuse do you have left now?”

The onlookers also quickly changed their stance. They began to pressure and accuse both the security guard and me. The security guard cracked under the pressure first and confessed the truth.

“It was her. She paid me five thousand dollars to go along with her and change my story. She’s the one who took the baby. I had nothing to do with it.”

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at me.

Raymond put on a concerned act and persuaded me, “Honey, just bring the baby out already. Otherwise, if this ends in a police station, even I won’t be able to save you.”

The woman looked at me fiercely, like she was about to tear me apart.

“The facts are clear now. You teamed up with the security guard to kidnap my baby. Give my baby back right now, or I swear I’ll go after you with everything I’ve got!”

Everyone turned to look at me and mutter a continuous stream of accusations.

“I never thought she could be this kind of person. Her staying in our neighborhood is an embarrassment to all of us homeowners here.”

“I heard she has been married for several years and still has no children. She must’ve stolen someone else’s baby because she cannot have her own.”

“Guys, call the cops right now and arrest this kidnapper. Let her rot in prison for life!”

Facing everyone’s accusations, I calmly pulled a paternity test report out of my bag.

“Raymond, can you explain to me why the baby she abandoned tested positive for a father-son relationship with you?”