Cheated of My Child, I Rewrite Fate

My son, Ryan Fischer, gets into a car accident and urgently requires a blood transfusion. I get on my knees and beg my widowed sister-in-law, Serena Lowe, to donate her blood to him. However, my husband, Neil Fischer, stops me. "You can't use Serena's blood, because she's Ryan's actual biological mother," he says. I fail to understand the meaning behind his words. "Although Serena helps me take care of Ryan, he's still my child in the end!" I argue. After a momentary silence, Serena kneels before me. She reveals, "Now that things have come to this, I won't keep you in the dark any longer. Your actual son was smothered to death right after birth. Ryan is Neil's and my biological child. "We had you raise him because your family is well-off. They are capable of providing Ryan with a good education and job opportunities." I'm dumbfounded. I tug on the hem of Neil's shirt and beg him to tell me that Serena's lying, only to be coldly shaken off. He declares, "If not for this sudden turn of events, we would have kept this secret until your dying day." Consumed by rage, I suffer a sudden heart attack. And yet, Neil and Serena proceed to sign a Do-Not-Resuscitate order. Instead of saving me, they wheel me off to provide Ryan with a blood transfusion. As I lie on a hospital bed, dying in agony, their family hugs each other tearfully right next door. "That woman got exactly what she deserved. We can finally be openly reunited." When I next open my eyes, I find that I have returned to the moment before I gave birth. Chapter 1 In the gynecology department on the second floor, my widowed sister-in-law, Serena Lowe, was currently snuggled up to my husband, Neil Fischer. She was teasingly asking him to pick a name for her child. A nurse currently making her rounds covered her mouth and giggled at the sight. "You're the most lovey-dovey couple I've seen in the entire hospital. How enviable." My nails dug deeply into my palms at the sight. In my previous life, Neil sent Serena to the hospital, claiming that she was carrying the child of his martyred older brother, Liam Fischer. He left me at home to go through labor alone. I had a difficult labor, suffering a perineal tear and severe hemorrhaging during the process. Although I just barely survived the ordeal, I was left with countless health complications. Neil falsely claimed that Serena's child hadn't survived childbirth. Then, under the pretext that my health was poor, he had me and Serena raise my son together. I was deeply grateful back then and simply regarded Serena as an angel from heaven. I not only arranged a job for her but also frequently provided financial aid to her maternal family, who often mooched off mine. Serena accepted everything I gave without reservation, bleeding me dry to live a posh, glamorous life. I, on the other hand, remained blinded to the truth and ultimately met a lonely, miserable end. Looking back now, I had truly been such a fool. "Honey, would Liam be happy about you naming Serena's child for her?" At the sound of my voice, Neil and Serena scrambled away from each other. Neil's shame turned to anger, and he lashed out with accusations. "You're heavy with child, May! Why did you come running over to the hospital instead of awaiting labor at home?" Serena anxiously urged me to go home as well. "You're close to giving birth, so you shouldn't be moving around so much lest you cause complications with your pregnancy." I was so angry I laughed. "It's precisely because I'm worried about complications that I came to the hospital. Serena, return me the hospital bed my parents reserved for me!" Hospitals were rare in the 1970s, and there were even fewer specialized hospitals capable of handling childbirth cases. My parents, who felt bad for me, had gone out of their way to ask an old army friend to reserve a hospital bed for me. In my past life, I fell for Neil's lies and willingly gave up my bed for Serena. This time, I was going to protect my child. As soon as the words left my mouth, Serena teared up and rose to tug pleadingly at the hem of my shirt. "I shouldn't have been so pretentious. I'm just a widower, after all. I only deserve to give birth at home alone. I won't try to fight you." "That bed was always mine—" Before I could finish, Serena suddenly fell backward, pulling me along with her. She then let out a tortured scream and clutched at her stomach. "Why did you push me, May? My stomach hurts so much," she cried out. She landed on her back while my stomach struck the ground hard. A sharp pain instantly shot through my entire body. I looked down shakily. There was a pool of blood beneath me. Neil kicked me aside as if he didn't notice and scooped Serena into his arms. "Where's the doctor? Someone, help! My lover… Serena's about to give birth!" Neil hurriedly called for a doctor and midwife. Nobody noticed me amid the chaos. They placed Serena onto a stretcher wheeled over by a doctor. Just as they were about to rush into the delivery room, I used the last of my strength to grab onto Neil's pant leg. I begged, "Save me first. My water broke…" Neil's gaze darted between Serena and me. Eventually, he gritted his teeth and replied, "If you hadn't shoved Serena out of jealousy, we wouldn't be in this situation right now! Serena's not in the best health and needs a doctor present for delivery. "Just hang in there. Once she's successfully given birth, you can have the doctor's attention!" Chapter 2 The next time I woke up, my once-round belly was flat. My younger sister, June Sullivan, was sitting at my bedside, her eyes teary. She had rushed over to the hospital the moment she heard. "May, while you were unconscious, Neil secretly swapped your baby with Serena's. That bastard! But I swapped them back while they were off registering the birth. It's a good thing you called me over to keep watch, or we would have spent our entire lives living in the dark!" When I unwound the swaddling clothes and saw my son for the first time, tears flowed uncontrollably down my face. In my previous life, I'd spent my entire existence helping Serena raise her child, never once seeing my own son. So, this was my actual child. Just as I was about to breastfeed him, the ward door slammed open, and Neil stormed into the room. When he saw me holding our son, he slapped me heavily across the face. My stomach dropped. I didn't think he'd realize that I'd swapped the baby back so soon. Contrary to my expectations, however, Neil bellowed angrily, "May Sullivan, you jealous bitch! You'd even harm your own sister-in-law! That shove of yours caused her to lose her child! That was Liam's child she was carrying! You've ended his family line!" I covered my stinging cheek and sneered inwardly. So, Neil and Serena's plan was to take advantage of the situation to gaslight me and force me down the same path as my previous life. Unfortunately for them, their plan would fall through. Wiping away her tears, Serena leaned in close to my bedside and said in a choked voice, "Nobody's at fault. I'm just unlucky. May, from today onward, I'll treat your son as my own and help you raise him well." As she spoke, she reached out to pick my son up. June shielded the child and me, then slapped Serena hard across the face. "You're right—you're an unlucky person, so stay away! Don't spread your bad luck to May!" she snapped. Serena's hand froze in midair, her face turning pale with shock. Seeing this, Neil glared furiously at June and me. "Your older sister caused the death of Serena's child! She isn't even holding you two accountable for it, yet you dare to hit her?" he yelled at June. He lunged forward to rip my son away from me. June stubbornly threw her body in front of him to bar his way. "Neil Fischer, you bastard! Don't touch my nephew, or I'll get Mom and Dad to deal with you!" Neil's steel mill was only staying afloat thanks to my parents' financial support. He hated it when people used that card against him, so he immediately exploded with anger. "Not only am I going to touch him, but I also intend to give him to Serena as compensation for her child's death! Let go!" When Neil tried to forcefully pry my hands away, I bit his arm in a fit of desperation. Seeing this, June went wild with rage and clawed at Neil frantically. "Let go! Don't hurt May!" Incensed, Neil let go of me and kicked June. I rushed over to check on her, but she pushed me away. "Call for a doctor first! Protect the child!" she cried out. I let go of her with teary eyes and, with my son shielded in my embrace, rushed to the doorway to shout for a doctor. "Help! He's trying to take my son away!" A doctor arrived on scene in response to my cries. I quickly tried to ask for help, but to my surprise, the doctor actually nodded and bowed toward Neil. "What's going on, Mr. Fischer?" he asked. Neil replied, "My wife is suffering from postpartum psychosis. She's colluding with her younger sister to harm the child. Do you have any sedatives on hand? Sedate her quickly!" "I'm not psychotic!" I yelled. Before the words had fully left my mouth, the doctor pinned my struggling body down to the bed, a syringe already in hand. June was so angry that she lunged forward to pull the doctor off me, but she was similarly pinned down and sedated by the doctor's accompanying security guards. As my muscles and nerves gradually went numb, my hands hung limply at my sides. All I could do was glare fixedly at Neil. Neil was wholly unaffected. He scooped up my child and handed him to Serena. "Don't worry. I'll help you get whatever you want," he told her. Serena's tear-streaked face instantly melted into a smile. On the other hand, tears were streaming uncontrollably down my face. The equipment at Neil's steel mill was outdated, and his business should've gone bankrupt ages ago. I was the one who had begged my parents to use their retirement funds to upgrade his machinery and hire workers. I was the one who had asked June to use her connections to bring in clients. It was entirely due to my family's sacrifices that his business had finally taken off. Neil had once knelt before me and swore that he would repay me in the future and ensure that I led a great life. Yet here he was, abusing his power as plant manager to steal my child away. Serena and Neil cradled my baby in their arms, cooing playfully at him as they discussed potential names. Just then, Neil's assistant—James Clark—called from outside the door, "Mr. Fischer, the car is ready and waiting. Will you be heading home now?" Serena smiled shyly. "I'm just a widower. I couldn't possibly have such nice things." Neil's gaze was filled with distress. "You've suffered so much for my… for Liam's sake, so it's only right that I treat you well." As he spoke, he helped Serena down the stairs. It was only after he was halfway there that he remembered that I was still lying there, sedated. "Oh, right. Fetch May back in a wooden cart, so she doesn't embarrass me any further out here!" By the time I was wheeled home in the bumpy wooden cart, the sedative's effects had worn off. I stood on shaky legs and opened the front gate, only to see Serena unbuttoning her top and breastfeeding my child right in front of Neil. Neil was staring fixedly at Serena's bare chest. When the creak of the gate interrupted them, he glanced over at me, his expression twisting into annoyance. "You should feel blessed that Serena's willing to help you raise your child. You should respect her and be grateful toward her from now on. Don't make me regret marrying you!" he yelled. As soon as the words left his mouth, Serena suddenly cried out, "This isn't my son!" Chapter 3 Serena mumbled, "How could this be? I personally swapped… I confirmed it with my own eyes!" Neil tried to comfort her, but Serena abandoned all pretense and started screaming, "He's definitely not my child! I specifically hung a locket around my child's neck because I was afraid of getting them mixed up!" "Could a light-fingered nurse have stolen the locket?" Neil reasoned. I laughed coldly at the sight of their agitation. My parents had gone out of their way to have the locket crafted, hoping it would bring my child good fortune. Neil had borrowed money from me back then, claiming that the factory wasn't doing well and he needed money to pay the workers. It turned out that he'd given that money to Serena. When Serena spied my mocking smile out of the corner of her eye, she instantly broke out into cold sweat. "What are you laughing at, May? Where's my son? Did you swap my son away? Answer me!" she demanded. She lunged toward me and shook me violently, her nails digging deeply into my flesh. Neil, his expression filled with anxiety, urged as well, "Well? Out with it! Serena's just given birth and can't handle excessive stress!" In my previous life, I ran a persistent high fever after childbirth. Neil, who was busy taking care of Serena, had simply tossed me a bottle of rubbing alcohol and told me to rub it over myself to bring down the fever. When I was bleeding out uncontrollably, he tossed me a handful of withered herbs and told me to burn them down into an applicable paste myself. So why wasn't Serena allowed to experience even minimal stress? I didn't want to get caught up with them, so I simply snatched my child away and made to leave. However, Serena wasn't having it. She shoved me to the ground in a burst of strength, then pinned me down with a knee against my stomach. "Where's my son?" she screamed. Tears streamed down my face from the pain, and a steady flow of blood was flowing down my thigh onto the ground, yet I felt incredibly liberated. "Your son? Didn't your son die during childbirth?" I asked mockingly. Serena and Neil exchanged a glance, after which Serena slapped me vehemently across the face. She screeched, "So, you knew about it all along! You must've hidden my son away! Give him back to me!" She threw her full weight into the knee on my stomach. Blood flowed unceasingly from my lower body, and my vision kept going black. Just then, someone suddenly lunged toward Serena from the front gate. "How dare you hit my daughter? Is the Sullivan family really nothing to you?" When I recognized the newcomer, tears flowed even more heavily down my face. It was my mother, Dahlia Murray. "Mom! Forget about me! Just protect my son!" I shouted at her. Although Mom didn't know what was going on, she still heeded my instructions and rushed over to scoop up my son, who had fallen to the ground. The courtyard was in chaos. Serena slowly climbed to her feet and wailed loudly. "Neil, save our child!" Neil, overcome with rage, threw caution to the wind and reached out to give Mom a hard shove. "Your daughter hid Serena's child away! Why are you here to stir up even more trouble?" he roared. Mom was shielding my son with one hand. Neil's shove caused her to stumble and hit her head violently against a stone ledge. She let out a single groan before going silent and motionless. Terrified, I scrambled over to her on my hands and knees. When I saw the gaping wound on Mom's head, I burst into tears. "Neil Fischer, you'd better send Mom to the hospital or I'll never forgive you!" I screamed. Neil was also shocked to see the extent of Mom's injury, but Serena caught him by the arm just as he was about to stride over to us. "Neil, my child still hasn't been found…" Neil stopped and glared coldly at me. "Tell us where Serena's child is, or I won't help you." My blood ran cold at the sight of him. "If not for my parents' kindness, your factory would've gone bankrupt long ago, so how dare you hold Mom's life over my head now, Neil Fischer? Where's your conscience?" A flash of guilt crossed Neil's expression, but then he shook his head icily. "Serena and I can afford to wait, but your mother can't." I was so overwhelmed with grief and rage at his frigid reply that I laughed until tears came to my eyes. "Fine. I'll tell you, then. Serena, I swapped our children back." Serena's legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground. "So, the child I smothered to death with my own hands… was my son?" She lunged forward like a madwoman and lifted my son into the air, her face streaked with snot and tears, looking as if she was about to throw him to the ground. "May Sullivan, you bitch! How dare you scheme against me? Since my son is dead, I'll make sure your son dies too!" she screamed. I stepped forward to snatch my son back, but Neil kicked me aside. "May, you're a mother yourself. How could you be so cruel?" he asked angrily. "You homewreckers are the vicious, ruthless ones here!" I yelled right back. I struggled to snatch my son back, but weakened from childbirth as I was, I failed to catch him. I could only watch helplessly as my son, still swaddled in cloth, fell and rolled into a well. I frantically rushed forward, screaming for Neil to save him. Neil simply scooped Serena, who had fainted from crying, into his arms. He then ordered his driver to bring a car over. "This is what you deserve for scheming against someone else, thinking you were so smart! If anything happens to Serena, I'm never letting you off!" he declared. With that, he strode away with Serena. Chapter 4 I dragged my bleeding body over to the well and leaped in, not daring to pause even for a moment. The freezing water raised goosebumps all over my skin. Still, I reached out and fumbled around as if I couldn't feel the cold. When I made contact with the swaddling cloth, I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders. With Mom unconscious on my back and a wailing infant in my arms, I made my way to the hospital, step by step. My vision wavered, yet I dared not falter. I finally reached the hospital just before my strength left me completely. As soon as I walked through the door, I saw Serena and Neil cuddled together. Serena was clutching Neil's shirt collar with a traumatized look on her face, crying her eyes out. "She's so ruthless, Neil. What are we going to do from now on?" she asked him. Neil placed his hand over Serena's and sighed. "She owes you the life of your child. From today onward, I'll make sure she doesn't walk all over you. When we get home, I'll personally mix misoprostol into her food and tell her it's a supplement. I'll make her spend the rest of her life atoning for causing our child's death! "Once you're in better health, we can try for another child. We'll tell the world that the child is May's—that way, your reputation will remain intact. Since she now has no children of her own, she'll have no choice but to go along with it." Serena whined gratefully and snuggled up to Neil. Just as I was glaring resentfully at them, my son abruptly started crying. Serena looked up. As soon as she saw me, she started crying again. "Why does her child get to be fine while mine is dead?" she wailed. "I want that bastard dead, Neil! A life for a life!" Neil leaped to his feet, his arm darting out to grab my son. I glared at him in hate and shouted shakily, "He's your child too, Neil!" Neil froze, only to see Serena run quickly up the stairs. She called out as she ran, "I failed to protect you, my son, so I'm coming to join you right now…" Upon hearing this, Neil snatched my son away and scrambled after her. I handed Mom off to the doctors before stumbling upstairs after them. I was just in time to see Serena leaning half her body out of a window while Neil desperately attempted to pull her back. I ignored them and snatched my son back. I was planning to leave right then and there, but Neil yanked me back by the hair. "May, you conceived a bastard child with another man while I was away, then went out of your way to flaunt that child in front of Serena, who just lost hers! How utterly unforgivable!" I stared blankly at him, dumbfounded. "What nonsense are you spouting? He's clearly—" Before I could get my words out, Serena pointed a finger at me and started yelling, "You had an affair and still insisted on keeping the bastard child! You're truly despicable, May!" I suddenly caught on to their intentions. There were many eyes and ears around us. They intended to create a situation that would lead to my son's death by ruining our reputation. I wanted to leave, but my path was completely blocked off by patients who had gathered to watch the drama unfold. They openly hurled insults and criticism my way. Serena and Neil, who acted as if they had the moral high ground, snatched my son right out of my arms. "This bastard child's existence is a disgrace in and of itself! I'll just kill him right now!" Neil bellowed. I screamed and lunged forward, but Neil moved too fast and had already thrown my son out the window. At that moment, I felt utter despair. My only thought was to jump out the window after my son. However, just as I leaned out the window, I saw a figure clad in military uniform catch my son squarely from below. He looked up and offered me a comforting smile. "Everything's alright now." Immediately afterward, military officers flooded into the hospital ward. "Murdering an infant in broad daylight? Cordon off this hospital immediately and carry out a thorough investigation!"