My mom went silent for a moment after processing what I'd said.

She even lunged forward, trying to snatch my phone away.

I nodded firmly.

"Yes."

"And you're the one I suspect."

"What?"

Her eyes went wide with shock.

She pointed at me, her hand trembling violently. "Meryl! What nonsense are you spouting? How can you blame your child's death on me? I'm your mother! Your own mother!"

"Do you have any idea how much I've worried about you all these years?"

"From the moment you got pregnant, haven't I treated you like royalty every single day? And for what? All I wanted was for you and the baby to be safe! All I wanted was for my grandchild to be born healthy!"

"You lost the baby, and you're hurting—I understand that! But you can't throw accusations at your own mother! You're going to be the death of me!"

Arnold had recovered from his initial shock by now. His brow furrowed as he stepped between us, his tone reproachful.

"Meryl, you've gone too far. I've seen how Mom has treated you these past months."

"Maybe she's a little superstitious, always going on about New Year's Eve being auspicious, but she doesn't have a malicious bone in her body! She's the person who loves you most in this world! You shouldn't say things like that about her!"

I looked at Arnold and let out a mocking laugh.

"Why are you getting so worked up?"

"Or maybe... you're the one who killed my baby?"

The muscles in Arnold's face twitched.

"Meryl, do you even hear yourself? I wanted this child more than anything! I've been waiting for him for three years!"

"When he was born, I was right outside waiting! I didn't even get to see his face before they rushed him in for resuscitation! How could I have possibly killed him? Tell me!"

His frustration was obvious.

"I think Meryl's just been through too much. She's not in her right mind."

My mom wiped her face with her sleeve and gently patted my shoulder, her voice choked with tears.

"Sweetheart, I know you don't want to believe this was fate. But it was. We have to accept it. Stop overthinking. Just rest, and everything will pass. Mom's right here with you..."

That was when Captain Bryan Fletcher walked in.

The air in the room seemed to freeze.

My mom rushed to explain. "Officer, it's nothing, really. My daughter just gave birth, but the baby didn't make it."

"It was an accident—everyone here can confirm it! The baby was born without a heartbeat. There's really nothing to investigate. I'm sorry you came all this way for nothing..."

The doctor who had delivered my baby sighed and turned to Captain Fletcher. "Captain, the staff here are familiar with this patient's situation."

"This wasn't her first pregnancy. It was her fourth. The previous three children also... passed away shortly after birth."

"It's just... fate, I suppose. Every time, the baby is gone the moment it's born. We do everything we can, but there's nothing more to be done."

Murmurs of sympathy rippled through the room.

After all, my case was well known among the hospital's longtime staff.

Captain Fletcher pressed his lips together when he heard this. He turned to me with a look of resignation.

"We understand how you feel. But without evidence, we can't open a murder investigation. Please try to rest and take care of yourself..."

He turned to leave.

But then I shouted after them:

"I have evidence!"

"The baby was murdered!"

III

"Evidence?"

"What evidence?"

At the mention of evidence, Captain Fletcher and the others turned back.

My mom jolted as if struck by lightning. She practically lunged at him, grabbing his arm.

"Officer! Don't listen to her nonsense! She's lost her mind! My daughter just lost her baby—she's in shock, she's not thinking straight! You can't believe a word she says!"

As she spoke, she shoved me back onto the bed, her fingers digging into my flesh hard enough to leave bruises.

"Meryl! Lie down! Stop talking! I'm begging you—stop embarrassing yourself!"

"Let go of me!"

I wrenched free of her grip with a strength that surprised even me.

"The baby didn't die by accident. He was poisoned before he was even born."

The room went silent. Inside the ward and out in the hallway—not a single sound.

Then my mom let out an even more piercing wail:

"Poisoned?! How is that possible! How can a baby still in the womb be poisoned!"

The doctor nodded slightly and explained, "From a medical standpoint, if the mother shows no signs of poisoning, the probability of a fetus absorbing toxins through the placenta is extremely low. And typically, there would be obvious warning signs in the mother's condition first."

"This patient had all her prenatal checkups with us. Every indicator was normal. It's... highly unlikely."

Doubt flickered across Captain Fletcher's face.

"You don't believe me? Fine. Then do an autopsy!"

The moment those words left my mouth, my mom panicked. She shrieked, "Meryl, stop this! The baby suffered enough already! And now you want them to cut him open?"

"Do you want your own child to be mutilated even in death?!"

Captain Fletcher frowned and asked, "Ms. Fox, what makes you suspect this?"

I tugged at the corner of my mouth, my gaze sliding toward my mom.

"Fine. I'll tell you. The first suspicious thing."

"My due date was supposed to be after the New Year. But my mother insisted that babies born on New Year's Eve are blessed with fortune—destined for wealth and greatness. She threatened to kill herself if I didn't agree to an early C-section on New Year's Eve."

"Why did it have to be New Year's Eve? Once could be coincidence. But twice? Three times? Four?"

"Every single one of my babies died on New Year's Eve! Every single time, she was the one who pushed for it—who arranged everything—who made sure I gave birth at that exact moment! How is that not suspicious?!"

Tears spilled down my mom's face again. Her voice dripped with wounded innocence:

"Who do you think I did this for?! Everything I've done has been for you! For the baby! Everyone knows children born on New Year's Eve are blessed—it's been said for generations! I just wanted my grandchild to have a good life. Is that a crime?!"

"Meryl, has your heart turned to stone?! How can you twist your mother's love into poison—into a murder weapon?!"

She beat her chest, sobbing so hard she nearly collapsed.

The murmuring around us swelled again.

To most people, an old woman's superstitious beliefs—however stubborn—came from a place of love.

Captain Fletcher seemed swayed by this reasoning.

He shook his head, a note of resignation in his voice. "Ms. Fox, your mother's actions may be rooted in superstition, but that hardly constitutes a motive for murder."

I had expected him to say that. A bitter smile crossed my face.

"Is that so?"

"Then let me give you my second piece of evidence."

This time, I turned to Arnold.

"This pregnancy was never my choice."

"Arnold forced himself on me one night in May. That's how this baby was conceived."

Captain Fletcher's frown deepened.

"Are you saying your husband raped you?"

A beat of dead silence—then someone snorted.

The laughter spread like wildfire, rippling through the ward and into the hallway.

"She says her husband raped her..."

"Oh my God, she's completely lost it..."

"Rape? Between a married couple? That's hilarious."

"Poor thing. The trauma's finally broken her mind."

Arnold's face flushed crimson, then drained to a sickly gray-white.

"Meryl!"

The veins in his neck bulged as he lost control.

"Do you even hear yourself?! We're married! Legally married! That night I just had a few drinks, I was in the mood, and I wanted to be intimate with my own wife—what's wrong with that?! How is that rape?! You're my wife! If I want to sleep with you, that's my goddamn right!"

"You've completely lost your mind!"

I looked at him, my voice ice-cold.

"You're telling me you didn't calculate the timing? You got me pregnant on that exact day so the baby would be born today."

"If that's not premeditation, what is?!"

"Bullshit!"

Arnold finally snapped.

The gentle, refined mask he always wore shattered completely. He was unrecognizable.

"When your first three babies died, I didn't even know you! Are you saying I killed those three too?! Huh?!"

"What—I spent years scheming to get close to you, begged to marry you, all so I could murder your children? For what?! Am I insane?!"

"Divorce! We're getting divorced! I must've been cursed in eight past lives to marry a jinx like you! You kill your own babies and then accuse your husband and mother of being murderers! Psycho! You're a complete and utter psycho!"

His rebuttal rang with conviction. He looked like he might actually cry.

The people around me stared with a mix of pity and disbelief.

And then—Mom had actually called in a psychiatrist.

"Dr. Lawrence! Dr. Lawrence, please examine my daughter! She just lost her baby, she's traumatized, she's spouting nonsense—accusing people of murder, accusing people of rape!"

"She must be schizophrenic! Check her, please—does she need a sedative? Should she be committed? We can't let her keep making a scene!"

"Just give her a shot to calm her down!"

But watching how desperately Mom wanted me silenced...

It only made me more certain I was right.

"Mom, you're awfully eager to shut me up."

"You're scared, aren't you?"

"Scared everyone will find out that the graves of my three dead babies—"

"—are empty."