Chapter 1Husband And His Old Flame Swapped My Baby While I Was In Labor

I know I gave birth to a healthy baby girl. But when I woke up, she’d been swapped with a baby with a cleft palate.

Dan, my husband, says I’m so upset I must be hallucinating. Tyler, my son, also claims his sister has a cleft palate and that I’m imagining things. But I happened to discover that Dan’s old flame, Sophie, had been born with a cleft palate herself.

I suspect they swapped my baby girl.

“She’s here! A baby girl! Look how precious she is—Mom, do you want to hold her?”

Though weak and exhausted, I gazed lovingly at the tiny, rosy face of my daughter as the nurse, Lorna, handed her to me. Her little nose scrunched up—adorable as could be. Gently, I kissed her forehead before drifting off to sleep, finally at peace.

When I woke, Tyler was leaning over the cradle, playing with the baby. I was a bit surprised, considering how he’d complained about having a new sibling.

“Mom, you’re finally up. She’s hungry. You better feed her.”

His tone was bossy, and I frowned slightly.

Tyler picked up the baby and plopped her into my arms, catching me off guard.

“Aah!”

I couldn’t stop the cry that escaped as I stared down at her face. She looked darker, wrinkly, and, worst of all, her upper lip and nose were connected by a gap—a cleft. Startled, she began to cry, the cleft stretching wider as she wailed.

“What’s wrong with you? You scared her!” Tyler shot me a disgusted look.

“This isn’t your sister.”

My voice came out louder than I’d expected.

I was sure, completely sure, that my daughter had been healthy—not this baby with a cleft palate.

“I didn’t think you could be so heartless,” Tyler said, his tone filled with disdain. “Just because she’s not perfect, you’re going to reject her? What kind of mother does that?”

“Besides, with all the money you have, it’s only a matter of time to fix her cleft, so why be so cruel? No matter what, she’s your child.”

Money wasn’t the issue; this just wasn’t my child.

“How did I end up with a mom like you? You’re nothing like Aunt Sophie. I wish she were my mom instead.”

Each word of his struck me cold. I stared at him, my mind racing as a thought chilled my heart—Sophie had been born with a cleft palate. I remembered seeing old photos from when she’d had it corrected.

“I don’t know who taught you to say all this, but I’ll ask you once: Where is your real sister?”

“What are you talking about? This is her.”

Tyler’s eyes darted nervously, avoiding my gaze.

Since he was five, Tyler had begged to have Aunt Sophie around, constantly looking for reasons to find fault with me. His attitude only slightly improved when I got pregnant with Ella.

As I looked at his face, it struck me like a slap that he might know something about all this. I let go of the crying baby in my arms and struggled to get out of bed.

“Where are you going?”

“Well, since you won’t tell me, I’ll go find out myself.”

“You can’t!”

I didn’t have time to listen to him.

Just then, Tyler charged toward me like a bullet and shoved me backward. I hit the floor, pain piercing through me. As I clutched my abdomen, a wave of fury rose within.

“I already told you! She’s your real sister. Stop making this harder than it needs to be!”

Whack—

I slapped him, firm and sharp.

“Don’t call me ‘Mom’ anymore. I’m done with you.”