I suspect the nanny has been drugging my mother-in-law with sleeping pills. Even though we don't get along, I still wanted to warn her. But when I went to find her, I overheard her on the phone with an old friend. "I deliberately picked a young, pretty nanny. My son is in his prime—there's no way he can resist her!" "My daughter-in-law's pregnancy is already unstable. When she gets upset, she'll definitely miscarry!" "She dared to cross me—this is what she gets!" Listening to my mother-in-law's triumphant voice, I wasn't even angry. After all, the person who snuck out of the nanny's room in the middle of the night last night wasn't my husband. I'm somewhat responsible for my mother-in-law's broken leg. I accidentally spilled water on the floor while getting a drink. A delivery arrived that I needed to sign for, so I didn't have time to clean it up. But I never expected such a coincidence—my mother-in-law also went to get water, stepped right on the wet spot, slipped, and even fractured her leg. After that, our already strained relationship became downright tense. Although I didn't think it was entirely my fault, I had spilled the water, so I put up with her passive-aggressive comments during this time. Besides that, I found myself paying more attention to her, and that's how I noticed something odd. My mother-in-law has diabetes and always gets up once or twice during the night to use the bathroom. I'm pregnant too and need to pee frequently, so we often ran into each other in the bathroom. But a few days after the nanny arrived, I stopped seeing her at night. At first, I didn't think much of it. I figured we were just going at different times. Until one night, after my mother-in-law took her medicine, the nanny took the cup to the kitchen to wash it. I saw white powder at the bottom of the cup. The next day, when the nanny went to wash the cup again, I pretended to look at my phone but actually turned on the camera and zoomed to 10x. Sure enough, the powder in the cup was crystal clear. I thought about it for a while. The nanny probably didn't want to get up at night to take care of my mother-in-law, so she was giving her sleeping pills. This could be a big deal or a small one, so I wanted to tell my mother-in-law first and see if she'd fire the nanny or call the police. But I never expected her to harbor such vicious intentions! I touched my belly, trembling with anger. This was her own grandson! In the room, my mother-in-law was still gleefully describing to someone my "miserable state" after the "miscarriage." I sneered silently. The person who snuck out of the nanny Linda's room in the middle of the night wasn't my husband. I'd like to see who ends up miserable! Linda and my father-in-law were being quite careful. If I hadn't gotten up to use the bathroom last night and caught them, I still wouldn't know they'd gotten involved. But no matter how careful, they'd eventually slip up. The shirt Linda wore today had a rather large collar, and when she moved, you could inadvertently see the red marks below her collarbone. My mother-in-law asked with feigned surprise, "Linda, what happened there? It's so red!" Linda's face flashed with panic as she nervously explained, "It must be mosquito bites." My mother-in-law looked at me meaningfully. "Well, you do have such fair, tender skin—you attract mosquitoes!" I pretended not to understand and calmly continued eating. Seeing no reaction from me, my mother-in-law started praising Linda's beauty, figure, and cooking, pointedly saying that any family who married such a daughter-in-law would laugh in their sleep. Linda blushed shyly throughout, as if embarrassed by the praise. Compared to her bold behavior at night, I almost couldn't help laughing. This woman was quite interesting. After my mother-in-law went for her afternoon nap, Linda came to find me. She said, "Grace, you know a lot of people. If there's anyone suitable, could you introduce me to someone?" "I like men older than me—more experienced, stable, and they know how to care for a woman." This was practically spelling it out. I was quite surprised. Although young women nowadays joke about "old men being low-maintenance with benefits, and you can find someone new when they're gone," everyone knows that's just a meme. But listening to Linda now, was she serious? My father-in-law is fifty-one this year, and Linda just turned thirty! I probed, "I do have someone in mind, but he's twenty-one years older than you. Could you accept that?" Linda smiled. "I could accept that." Our eyes met, and we both understood each other's unspoken meaning. If Linda wanted to climb up the social ladder, she'd naturally deal with my mother-in-law herself—no need to dirty my hands. I was satisfied. And by pulling in me, the daughter-in-law carrying the Lee family heir, beforehand, she was satisfied too. That left only one question: should I tell my husband about this?
I didn't need long to make my decision. To me, my child was definitely the most important. But to my husband Ryan, I wasn't sure who mattered more—his mother or an unborn child. I didn't want to gamble on that. I decided to say nothing, but this left me feeling somewhat guilty toward Ryan. So when he came home drunk from another business dinner, even though the heavy smell of alcohol and smoke on him made me nauseous, I still took care of him personally. I wiped him down with a hot towel and changed him into pajamas. He mumbled groggily, "Honey, you're so good to me." "How's the baby? Today I..." Before he could finish, he fell asleep and started snoring. As I took his changed clothes to put them in the hamper, my gaze suddenly stopped on his shirt collar. Only the size of a fingernail, the color quite faint, but the red was glaring. I reached out to touch it, then smelled it. Instantly, I was certain—it was lipstick. Thinking about how guilty I'd felt all day, I found it utterly ironic. After a long moment, I tossed the shirt into the hamper, then took Ryan's phone from his pocket. Using his fingerprint to unlock it, I opened his messages. I found it quickly. That woman's profile picture was a glamour shot—a typical Instagram face with a curvy figure. I clicked into their chat history. The earliest message was from five months ago. I remembered that date clearly, because that was the day I found out I was pregnant. That day, Ryan had cried tears of joy. I expressionlessly took screenshots of all the chat records. After finishing everything, I lay down in bed. Ryan had cheated. The marriage was definitely over. But the baby was already over six months along. He could move in my belly now. I couldn't bear to give him up. But if I kept the child, would Ryan fight me for custody? And there was my father-in-law. He was particularly obsessed with bloodline and legacy, so he definitely wouldn't easily let me take the child away. The divorce needed careful planning. I needed a foolproof solution. I ran through all the people and situations in my mind, and finally realized the key to breaking this deadlock was Linda. I quickly formed a plan, and I believed Linda would definitely cooperate. The next day, I found an opportunity to tell Linda my plan. Linda agreed immediately, because our goals were aligned to some degree. After laying our cards on the table, I couldn't help being curious. "Why didn't you choose Ryan?" If nothing else, Ryan was at least young! Linda raised an eyebrow. "Because he's too young." I paused, then understood. Linda came from a poor family with little education. Her only asset was being young and pretty. That was an advantage to my father-in-law at his age, but not much to Ryan. Linda said mockingly, "Margaret told me outright that someone like me serving her son was my good fortune!" "She's just looking down on me because of her husband's status. If that's how it is, then I'll take everything from her. I'll make her regret it!" Linda's eyes filled with tears, looking like someone who'd endured endless humiliation and was finally fighting back. But she didn't mention at all that my father-in-law had built his fortune from scratch and was the undisputed authority in the family, while Ryan was just a spoiled rich kid living off his parents—no power, no money, no ability. But I just smiled and said nothing, pretending to believe her.
After that, I focused on my pregnancy while patiently waiting for news from Linda. Every night, she continued drugging my mother-in-law as usual, then meeting secretly with my father-in-law. The two of them got increasingly bold. A couple of times they almost got caught by Ryan, but fortunately I reacted quickly and covered for them. Before long, Linda told me—it worked! Looking at the clear two lines on the pregnancy test, my feelings were complicated. She got pregnant so quickly, and my father-in-law was fifty-one! When Ryan and I got married, we tried for three years without success. I drank Chinese medicine like water. When I finally got pregnant, my morning sickness was severe. I couldn't keep anything down. Partly because this child came so hard-won, even though I knew aborting him would make the divorce easier, I couldn't bear to let him go. Thinking of this, I asked Linda, "Have you thought this through?" "What if things blow up and he doesn't acknowledge the child, or takes it out on you?" Linda touched her belly, saying nonchalantly, "If he acknowledges it, this is his son." "If he doesn't, then this is evidence that he forced me." I began to feel grateful that Linda and I were on the same side now. Otherwise, someone like Linda—not just my mother-in-law, but even Ryan and I together couldn't match her! I looked at her and said softly, "Let's do it tonight." Any longer, and I was afraid Linda might get rid of me too. Besides, today was my mother-in-law's birthday. What better day to give her a big present on this special occasion? My mother-in-law was very happy today. She did her makeup, got her hair done, sprayed perfume, and even though her leg was still in a cast, she changed into a custom-made dress. She ordered a huge spread from a five-star hotel—lobster, king crab, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall... basically whatever was most expensive. The whole family ate and chatted. The atmosphere was lively. My mother-in-law was delighted and even opened a bottle of wine my father-in-law had brought back from abroad. Smiling, she told Ryan to drink more. "Once the bottle's open, you can't keep it. No sense wasting it." "Besides, you're at home. If you get drunk, you can just go rest." Ryan had been eyeing this bottle that cost hundreds of thousands for a long time. Hearing my mother-in-law's words, he drank freely, finishing almost the entire bottle himself. His eyes lost their clarity, and his speech became slurred. "You *#% I have ¥# separately have &..." My father-in-law had also drunk quite a bit. Probably tired, he said, "Let's call it a night. Everyone go rest." Linda pushed my mother-in-law's wheelchair to take her to her room, with my father-in-law following behind. My mother-in-law instructed Linda, "Ryan drank a lot. Grace is pregnant and it's inconvenient for her, so help take care of him." My father-in-law said impatiently, "If he's drunk, he'll just sleep. What's there to take care of?" Linda gave my father-in-law a grateful smile. Their gazes were so suggestive you could practically see sparks flying. My father-in-law, probably drunk and forgetting Ryan and I were still in the living room, put his hand on Linda's waist, with clear intentions to move lower. My mother-in-law sat in the wheelchair, oblivious. I poured a glass of honey water for Ryan. "Drink this, you'll feel better." He took it and drank more than half, then wobbled into the bedroom. I poured the remaining half down the kitchen sink and washed the glass clean before returning to the bedroom. Ryan was already asleep. I turned off the light and got into bed. Ryan slept restlessly, first tossing and turning constantly, then mumbling about being hot. After a while, he got up, opened the door, and went out. I heard the sound of flushing water. He must have drunk too much and gone to the bathroom. But he didn't come back. In the darkness, I opened my eyes and listened carefully to the sounds outside. "Ahh!" A shrill scream suddenly rang out, shattering the peaceful night.
When I came out of the room, my in-laws' bedroom door had also opened. My father-in-law's face was ashen. He didn't even put on shoes as he strode toward the living room. My mother-in-law sat on the bed, anxiously asking, "What happened? What's going on?" I looked at her deeply, then also headed to the living room. The living room light wasn't on—only the streetlight outside provided dim illumination. You couldn't see clearly what was happening. But the crying and calls for help explained everything. "Ryan, let go of me!" "Please, I'm begging you." I reached out and flipped the switch. With a "snap," the light came on, illuminating everything in the living room. Linda's clothes were disheveled as Ryan pinned her on the sofa, struggling desperately. Seeing us, she cried out, "Help me!" My father-in-law pulled Ryan off and slapped him across the face. "You animal!" Then another slap. "What kind of drunken madness is this!" After two consecutive slaps, Ryan seemed to sober up a bit, looking at my father-in-law in confusion. "Dad?" Linda sobbed uncontrollably. "I came out to use the bathroom, and he suddenly grabbed me. He even..." "I didn't want to, but I couldn't fight him off." Just then my mother-in-law dragged herself out with her broken leg. Seeing the handprints on Ryan's face, she demanded of my father-in-law, "Why are you hitting our son?" "She's just a nanny—so what if our son slept with her? It's no big deal!" Linda said aggrievedly, "Just because I'm a nanny means anyone can abuse me?" My mother-in-law responded righteously, "What else?" "If my son hadn't been drunk, you think he'd look twice at you?" "Him sleeping with you is your good fortune!" Although I already knew what kind of person my mother-in-law was, hearing these words directly still shocked me with her shamelessness. My father-in-law was furious. "What are you saying!" Just as my mother-in-law opened her mouth to respond, Linda suddenly clutched her belly and looked at my father-in-law. "James, my stomach hurts so much." "Please save our child." I looked at my mother-in-law. She stood frozen like she'd been struck by lightning. My father-in-law was both shocked and delighted. "You're pregnant?" Linda nodded through tears. "James, will the baby be okay?" "My stomach really hurts. Am I going to lose him?" My father-in-law quickly said, "Don't talk nonsense. I'll take you to the hospital." He half-supported, half-carried Linda out the door. My mother-in-law instinctively tried to follow but forgot about her broken leg. She stumbled and fell. Her face contorted in pain, yet she still managed to call out, "What do you mean 'James'?" "What child?" "Linda, you bitch!" "Ah, my leg! It hurts so much!" I sighed and took out my phone to call 911. See? How kind I am. Then I looked at Ryan. He'd actually leaned back on the sofa and fallen asleep. Did they use too much of that drug? Would the paramedics be able to tell when they arrived? I shook him hard several times, then avoiding my mother-in-law's line of sight, pinched his arm hard twice. He groggily opened his eyes. I said with concern, "Ryan, Mom's leg needs medical attention. You've had too much to drink, so stay home. I'll let you know if there's any news, okay?" I coaxed him into the bedroom. The drug must have worn off because he didn't make a fuss. As soon as he lay down, he started snoring. I looked at him deeply, then closed the door and came out. Soon, the ambulance arrived. As she was being loaded into the ambulance, my mother-in-law kept cursing. "That bitch!" "I'll kill her!" "I'll kill that bastard child!" The doctor efficiently hooked my mother-in-law up to equipment while exchanging glances with his colleague. The drama was right in front of them, but they couldn't fully enjoy it. I imagine they were dying of curiosity. At the hospital, the doctor wheeled my mother-in-law off for examination. After a while, the doctor told me her leg was fine, but her tailbone was fractured. Also, my mother-in-law's blood pressure was too high—it had shot up to 180. The doctor said for a long time to come, my mother-in-law would need bed rest and to stay calm and avoid stress. I said gratefully, "Thank you, doctor. I understand." Looking at my mother-in-law in the hospital room demanding to be discharged, my eyes were full of mockery. What to do? The days ahead held nothing but stress for her!
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