Return of the Abandoned

"That's bullshit. First, you say the baby is mine, now you say he's Sophie's. Do you have any proof? Without evidence, you think you can dump a child on us? Officers, I strongly suspect he's trafficking a baby!"

I shoved the baby back into Dr. Leonard Price's arms and folded mine, not planning to deal with him any further.

Mom stared at me in shock. "Lynn!"

"Mom, Dad, stop being naive. There are scammers everywhere these days!"

Mrs. Hale chimed in beside us, "Richard, Elaine, don't spout nonsense. This doctor came up saying the baby was Lynn's, and now suddenly it's Sophie's? He's full of lies!"

"Exactly! Who knows where he picked that child up!"

Dr. Price exploded. "I, Leonard Price, have never lied! I've run my clinic for years. Why would I scam anyone? Last night, your younger sister, Sophie, came running into my clinic begging me to deliver her baby! I even have the phone she pawned!"

He reached into the bag slung over his shoulder and pulled out a phone. At one glance, I recognized it instantly. It was Sophie's.

My parents froze. There was no denying it now. The baby was Sophie’s.

The neighbors erupted instantly.

"Sophie? She's so young! She actually had a child? Who's the father?"

"Who knows? She barely shows her face around here, always wearing loose clothes. I really didn't expect she was pregnant!"

"Probably hooked up with some delinquent and had this child in secret!"

"Don't you talk nonsense! My daughter is perfectly fine!" This time, Mom shot up, furious. "Say that again! I'll tear your mouth apart!"

Dr. Price snorted. "Please. Sophie told me herself. After she gave birth, she wanted the baby brought here so her sister could raise him. Officers, I even have a letter she wrote!"

He pulled out an envelope.

In my last life, this letter never existed.

When Sophie came back and publicly condemned me, Dr. Price had even stepped forward to help her, forcing me into a dead end. This scumbag was never a good person.

Dr. Price curled his lip. "If I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have come. What bad luck."

The officers sighed. "This is a family matter. You all should handle it yourselves."

I grabbed Officer Daniel Brooks by the arm. "This is not a family matter. You're basing everything on a phone and a letter and concluding that my sister gave birth and ran away? What if she died in the clinic?"

That made the officers pause. It sounded plausible enough that they immediately escorted Dr. Price back to his clinic.

My parents hurried after them. I rushed inside to pack. I was never staying in this house. Not again.

When I stepped outside with my luggage, a neighbor spotted me. "Lynn, where are you going?"

"I'm moving out. Before this child ends up dumped on my parents again, and I get stuck raising him. If Sophie wanted to have an illegitimate child, that's her problem, not mine. I'm not even married. If my future in-laws see this, they’ll think I was sleeping around!"

The neighbors nodded furiously.

"That's right, Lynn. You have to think about yourself."

"What a mess. Sophie really has guts—having a baby and running off!"

"Who knows, maybe Dr. Price did something to her!"

"No way!"

I didn’t bother listening to the rest. I left as quickly as possible. By the time my parents returned, I had already moved into the company dorms.

Not long after, my phone rang. It was Mom.

The moment I picked up, her voice was frantic. "Lynn, where did you run off to?"

A baby's cries echoed loudly in the background.

"I moved out," I said flatly.

"How could you move out? If you move out, what about the baby?"