The Brother Who Stole My Life Got the Rebirth He Deserved

Before my younger brother was even married, he got a girl pregnant. She gave birth to a baby boy at a small clinic, and then both she and my brother disappeared. The doctor found my family using the address my brother had left behind and dumped the baby on me. My parents begged me to adopt him. Since I was a single man with no plans to marry, I somehow ended up raising the child alone. After struggling to raise him, my brother finally returned—with a wealthy woman covered in diamonds and gold at his side. He held his son and sobbed, claiming that I had been jealous of him, stolen his child, and kept father and son apart. My son cut ties with me without hesitation and threw himself into my brother’s arms. My parents kicked me out of the house, too. The neighbors cursed me from every direction. In despair, I jumped from a building and killed myself. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day my brother’s child was born. It was barely dawn when someone knocked on my front door. I woke up drenched in cold sweat. In my previous life, this was exactly when the clinic doctor had banged loudly on our door, waking the entire neighborhood. She had handed me the baby in front of everyone and scolded me for abandoning a girl after getting her pregnant. Only later did I find out the child belonged to my younger brother. My parents begged me to keep him. Since I had no intention of getting married anyway, I agreed. I ended up regretting that decision more than anything. Now, when I heard the knocking, I jolted awake. I climbed out of bed and opened the door. A familiar face stood outside. “Alex Carter, you abandoned the baby right after he was born? Don’t you know child abandonment is a crime?” The neighbors had all come outside. One by one, they craned their necks to watch the drama. I stared at the doctor. Then I took off my slipper and smacked her across the face. “You shameless old hag! You came here to frame me?” “I don’t even have a girlfriend, let alone a baby!” “Who sent you here to ruin my reputation? I’ll beat you to death!” My sudden attack left the doctor speechless. At that moment, Mrs. Harris from across the street finally reacted. “That’s right! Alex goes to work every day. I’ve never even seen him with a girlfriend!” “Did you get the wrong house?” “I know her. Isn’t she the doctor from that clinic downtown?” I glared at the doctor. “You run a shady clinic, and now you’ve come here to extort me? Call the police! Call them now!” The moment I mentioned the police, the doctor panicked. “I—I’m not going to argue with you!” I grabbed her by the hair. “You’re not going to argue with me? You think you can just walk away?” I pulled out my phone and called 911. “Hello? Someone is trafficking an infant!” “Don’t make things up!” “When the police get here, you’d better explain everything. Otherwise, I’ll tear your clinic apart myself!” Heaven had given me another chance at life. All the humiliation I had suffered before came pouring out. By the time the police arrived, the doctor was holding the baby with a swollen, bruised face. I stood nearby, gripping my slipper and glaring furiously. The neighbors gathered around. After hearing what had happened, the officers looked at the child. He had clearly been born only hours ago. The umbilical cord was still attached. “What is going on? Start talking!” “The man who came with the pregnant girl left me this address and his name!” The doctor pulled a medical file from her pocket. The officers checked it. The address was indeed mine, and the name matched mine, too. I folded my arms. “I have no idea what this is. Someone must have used my name. They’re trying to make me take responsibility for a child that isn’t mine.” Just then, my parents appeared. “Alex, you’ve always said you don’t plan to get married. Why don’t you just adopt the baby?” “Mom, Dad, what are you talking about? How can I randomly adopt a child of unknown origin?” “I don’t even know who his parents are. What if they’re drug addicts? Bad genetics can be inherited. I’m not raising some ungrateful little brat!” My parents were completely speechless. The doctor’s face turned ugly. She shoved the baby into my arms. “This is your family’s child. I’m done with this! Tell Ryan to raise his own son. If I’d known your family was this unreasonable, I never would have come!” The entire street erupted. Everyone finally realized that the baby belonged to my younger brother, Ryan Carter.“You’re full of it! First you said he was my child, and now you’re saying he’s Ryan’s. Do you have any proof? Without proof, you want to dump this baby on our family? Officer, I strongly suspect she’s trafficking an infant!” I shoved the baby back into her arms and crossed mine. My mother stared at me in shock. “Alex!” “Mom, Dad, don’t be foolish. There are scammers everywhere these days!” Mrs. Harris chimed in. “You two had better stop talking nonsense. This doctor came here saying the baby was Alex’s, and now she says he belongs to Ryan. Nothing she says makes sense!” “Exactly. Who knows where she got that baby?” The doctor jumped to her feet. “My name is Gloria Hayes, and I have never lied in my life! I’ve run my clinic for years. Why would I scam anyone?” “Last night, Ryan brought a pregnant woman to my clinic and begged me to deliver the baby!” “I still have the phone he gave me as collateral!” She pulled a phone from her purse. I took one look and recognized it. It really was Ryan’s phone. My parents froze, too. This time, there was no denying it. The baby was Ryan’s. The neighbors immediately began whispering. “Ryan is still so young, and he got someone pregnant? Who’s the girl?” “Who knows? You never see him around. She was probably some troublemaker he met outside.” “Wait, isn’t Ryan barely twenty?” “Stop talking about my son like that!” This time, my mother leapt to his defense. “Say one more word and I’ll tear your mouth apart!” Gloria sneered. “Ryan told me to bring the baby here after the birth and have his brother raise him. Officer, I also have a letter Ryan wrote himself!” She pulled an envelope from her bag. In my previous life, there had never been any letter. Even when Ryan came back and accused me, Gloria had defended him. Together, they had pushed me into a corner until I died. That woman was rotten to the core. Gloria curled her lip. “If I’d known this family was such a nightmare, I never would have come. What awful luck!” The officer sighed. “This is a family matter. Handle it yourselves.” I grabbed his sleeve. “This is not a family matter! You’re going to decide my brother abandoned his child based on one phone and one letter?” “What if this woman’s illegal clinic was unsanitary and the baby’s mother died from blood loss?” The officer paused. My question clearly made sense, so he immediately took Gloria back to the clinic. My parents followed them. I hurriedly packed my bags. There was no way I was staying in that house. As I left, one of the neighbors spotted me. “Alex, where are you going?” “I’m moving out. That way, when this baby ends up in my parents’ hands, nobody can force me to raise him.” “Ryan got some girl pregnant and ran away. Why should I be responsible? I’m not even married yet. How am I supposed to find a girlfriend after this?” The neighbors nodded. “You’re right, Alex. You need to think about yourself. Go!” “What a tragedy. Ryan got a girl pregnant and ran off!” “Who knows? Maybe Gloria killed the girl!” “Surely not!” I ignored their gossip and left as quickly as I could. By the time my parents returned, I was already at the company dormitory. Soon afterward, my mother called. The moment I answered, she spoke urgently. “Alex, where did you run off to?” I could hear the baby crying in the background. “I moved out.” “How could you move out? What are we supposed to do with this baby?”Apparently, my parents had gone to the clinic and confirmed that the baby belonged to Ryan. Gloria really had delivered the baby for Ryan’s girlfriend. But I still couldn’t understand why they insisted on dragging me into it. “Mom, what does this baby have to do with me? He isn’t mine!” “The most important thing is finding his parents. I have to work. I’m hanging up.” I ended the call and went to work as usual. A little later, Claire from the office quietly came over. “Alex, do you have a girlfriend? I could introduce you to someone.” I had planned to refuse, but then I changed my mind. “Sure. Who do you have in mind?” “My niece. She’s three years older than you, used to serve in the military’s performing arts division, and now runs a small restaurant.” “Want to have lunch together?” I agreed immediately. Claire was thrilled and called her niece right away. In my previous life, she had watched me struggle to raise the child and introduced me to several side jobs. She had also urged me to find a woman and start a family. I had refused because I was afraid the child would be mistreated. Looking back, I had been painfully stupid. I met Claire’s niece, Lily, for lunch. We got along surprisingly well. We exchanged numbers and agreed to take things slowly. When Claire came back and asked how it went, I nodded. “She’s nice. I’d like to get to know her better.” Claire was ecstatic. “I’m telling you, if this works out, she’ll treat you well. I watched her grow up. She’s hardworking and can handle anything!” I blushed, which only made Claire more excited. That was how Lily and I started dating. Half a month passed. My parents never came looking for me, and I never went back. Then, unexpectedly, my mother came to my workplace. I was in the middle of work when the security guard suddenly called. “Alex, come outside! Your mother dumped your son at the front gate. Come take the kid away. He’s been screaming nonstop!” My mind went blank. “What baby? I’m not married! Where would I get a son? Don’t make things up!” I deliberately raised my voice so the entire office could hear. The guard sounded helpless. “How would I know? Get down here and see for yourself!” After I hung up, everyone stared at me. “What happened, Alex?” “I don’t know. The guard said someone claiming to be my mother brought my son here.” Claire gasped. “You have a son? That’s unbelievable. Come on, let’s go take a look!” “Yeah, is someone trying to extort him?” “Alex has a son? Doesn’t he live alone?” “Who knows? Young people have complicated private lives these days.” Claire looked at me suspiciously. I acted completely confused, and she couldn’t read anything from my expression. When we reached the security gate and saw the baby, everyone was stunned. “He doesn’t even look a month old!” “Who could be this cruel? If the baby were a few years old, Alex might never be able to clear his name!” “Exactly. No matter what kind of person Alex is, he wouldn’t abandon a newborn, would he?” I laughed coldly inside. The security guard looked miserable. “The person claimed to be Alex’s mother. I had no idea what else to do!” I asked him to pull up the security footage. The person who had left the baby was someone I didn’t recognize. I immediately made up my mind. “Call the police. That woman isn’t my mother, and I don’t know her!” Everyone hesitated. I spread my hands. “This is an abandoned infant. I work in sales and have handed out countless business cards. Who knows who’s pretending to be my mother? I’m not raising someone else’s child.” Everyone agreed that it made sense. The police arrived and took the baby away. I deliberately asked where they would take him. “Where else? If we can’t find his parents, he’ll be sent to foster care.” After hearing the answer, I finally relaxed. In this life, I would never raise that ungrateful child again.