4
810words
"No... it can't be... How is that possible? How can he be Type B?"
Terror filled Amber's face. She kept muttering, then collapsed onto the floor.
I knew she had figured it out.
I am Type A. My husband is Type O. There's no way we could have a Type B child.
But Amber is Type B. It's possible for her and my Type O husband to have a Type B child.
There were only two babies in the room that year. So the one in the operating room was her biological child.
Amber turned back, staring at me desperately, as if I held the only thread of hope.
"That's right. The one inside is your biological son."
"How does it feel to have sent your own son to his death? My dear sister."
Amber broke down, screaming at me, "You knew it! You knew all along, didn't you?"
I pretended to be confused. "Knew what? That you all conspired to switch my child? Or that you planned to use my son to seize the Collins family fortune?"
"My dear sister, did you really think I knew nothing? Did you think I became company CEO for nothing? Did you think you could stage a coup against me?"
"Even if he were my biological son, he's still your nephew! The Collins family raised you for over twenty years! Is this how you repay us?"
"Your child is a child, but mine isn't? You tortured your own son on your own every day, hen delivered him straight into a murderer's hands. Amber, you're really something special as a mother."
As we struggled, the operating room doors opened.
Amber scrambled over on her hands and knees, grabbing the doctor's lab coat, begging for good news.
But the doctor just bowed his head. "I'm sorry. The child's injuries were too severe. We couldn't save him."
Amber screamed and collapsed to the floor, completely unconscious.
Jax's funeral was small—he was too young and died unexpectedly. Only the closest relatives came.
By the time I arrived, quite a few people were already standing before Jax's memorial altar.
Seeing me, Amber, holding Jax's memorial tablet, rushed at me with reddened eyes.
"Vanessa! You monster! Why did you secretly switch the children!"
"If you had told me earlier that Jax was my son, I wouldn't have treated him like this! Now you've gotten Jax killed! Are you satisfied?"
Hatred filled her eyes; she seemed ready to skin me alive the next second.
Relatives who didn't know the truth really thought I had caused Jax's death and came forward to accuse me.
"Vanessa, what did this child ever do to you? Did you have to have him killed? He was your nephew! How could you be so vicious!"
"Even a vicious tiger doesn't eat its cubs! Jax was your nephew, almost your own son! You beast! How could you stand by and watch your own nephew die? You don't deserve to be human!"
"As company CEO, you lack even this basic tolerance! How can we trust you to manage Collins Corp? You should step down and make way for someone more capable!"
This comment sparked a growing chorus demanding my resignation.
Among everyone present, only Amber was genuinely grieving for Jax's death.
Even his biological father, my husband, was like Dad—eyes full of excitement, eagerly hoping the relatives would pressure me to step down so they could take control of the company.
Looking at these relatives with their varied expressions, I felt like laughing.
Some were genuinely outraged for Jax, but most were using this incident to challenge me, to force me to relinquish control of the company.
"What does Jax's death have to do with me? Wasn't he killed by you?"
Fearful I might say something, Amber panickily defended herself.
"My son is dead, and you still slander me! If it weren't for saving your son, would Jax have died? Now your son is fine, and you won't even acknowledge that we saved him?"
Everyone looked at me with disdain, anger, and annoyance.
"Your son's life was exchanged for Jax's! Since your son isn't here today, you kneel and kowtow on his behalf!"
As soon as Amber finished speaking, Dad and my husband stepped out of the crowd, trying to force me to my knees before Jax's memorial.
I couldn't break free, so I kicked over the table holding the offerings.
"Vanessa, you beast! You killed Jax, and now you wreck his memorial altar?"
"Worse than an animal! He was your own nephew! Heaven will strike you down for this!"
"Who do you think you are? Someone like you doesn't deserve to live in this world! Just die already!"
Curses, accusations, and weeping intertwined.
It was music to my ears.
