Three months after my wife gave birth, I suddenly gained the ability to see the true owner of every object. The sofa was mine. The TV was mine. Even the potted plants on the balcony were mine. Excited, I looked at the baby crib my wife had just bought. There was a bold, floating label on it: "Owner: Xavier Vance." Who the hell was Xavier Vance? I had never heard that name in my life. I tried to comfort myself. Maybe it was a secondhand purchase, and the seller on eBay forgot to peel off the label. But in the days that followed, more and more things belonging to Xavier Vance started showing up in my house. The luxury perfume my wife brought home, the extra matching toothbrush in the bathroom. Even the haute couture dress she wore to work every day had a label that read: "Owner: Xavier Vance." That night, she came back from a business trip and leaned her exhausted head on my shoulder. "Leo, there's really no place like home." I stared at her. A massive, glowing label floated over her entire body: "Owner: Xavier Vance." I gently patted her back. "Let's not keep Xavier Vance's things in this house anymore, okay?"
Sienna's hand, which was wrapping around mine, froze mid-air. She still carried the chill of the outside air. Her shirt collar was slightly creased, and there were dark circles under her eyes. Before, if she came home like this, my heart would ache for her. I would make her hot soup. I would tell the nanny to take the baby to the nursery. I would whisper, "Go get some sleep, Sienna. I'll handle Jonah." But now, I could only stare at the words hovering over her chest. "Owner: Xavier Vance." It wasn't just her dress. It wasn't just her watch. It was her entire person. Sienna slowly let go of me, her jaw tensing. "Who did you just say?" I looked her in the eye. "Xavier Vance." The living room fell dead silent. From the nursery, our son Jonah let out a faint cry, and the nanny quietly hushed him. Sienna quickly forced a smile. But it was as dry as paper. "Are you just tired lately, Leo? I haven't been sleeping well post-partum, and you've been stressing out with me. It's easy to start overthinking when you're exhausted." She reached out to feel my forehead. I took a step back. Her hand froze in mid-air. I pointed toward the nursery. "Where did that crib come from?" "I bought it." "Where's the receipt?" Her brow furrowed. "It's just a crib, Leo. Why are you checking receipts?" "I asked you, where is the receipt?" Her expression darkened. "Leo, the baby just fell asleep. Do you really have to start a fight in the middle of the night?" Her words almost made me laugh out of pure anger. It had been three months since Sienna gave birth. I was the one waking up multiple times every night. When her breasts were engorged and she had a high fever, I was the one who carried her to the hospital. She was always on business trips. She was always in meetings. She was always busy. And now, simply asking where a crib came from made me the one "picking a fight." Sienna's father, Mike, walked out of the guest room with a robe thrown over his shoulders. He looked highly annoyed. "What's going on now? The baby is crying, and you two are still arguing?" Sienna rubbed her temples. "It's nothing, Mike." But Mike turned his glare on me. "Leo, I'm not trying to take sides here, but Sienna works incredibly hard to put food on the table. She just had a baby. You're the one staying home, so you need to be more supportive. Stop being so paranoid." I looked up at him. The diamond ring on his finger caught the light. Floating right above it were the words: "Owner: Xavier Vance." Suddenly, I had nothing to say. So it wasn't just Sienna. Even her father had accepted gifts from Xavier Vance. Mike grew uncomfortable under my gaze and quickly hid his hand behind his back. In that split second, I knew. He knew exactly who Xavier Vance was. I asked quietly, "Mike, that ring looks expensive. Who bought it for you?" Mike's face flushed. "I bought it myself." Sienna stepped in front of him. "Leo, don't take your anger out on Mike." I stared at her. "I'm just asking who Xavier Vance is." This time, she didn't answer immediately. After a long pause, she whispered, "He's an investor in our company." "He's been helping me a lot lately, and he sent some gifts. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to overthink things." How thoughtful. Even her lies were packaged as "protecting my feelings." I walked to the nursery door. My son, Jonah, was lying in that light-wood crib. His tiny hands were balled into fists, and his face was red from crying. Above the headboard, those words floated silently: "Owner: Xavier Vance." I turned back to Sienna. "Throw that crib out tomorrow." Her brow twitched. "The baby is sleeping fine. Why do you have to make a scene?" "My son is not sleeping in another man's things." Mike immediately raised his voice. "Leo, are you insane? That's an expensive, imported crib! You're just going to throw it away?" I stared straight at Sienna, pronouncing every word clearly. "I'm not the one who's insane." "Xavier Vance's things have crossed the line." Just as she was about to speak, her phone rang. The screen lit up. Caller ID: Xavier Vance.
I stared at the name and let out a cold laugh. Sienna reached out to decline the call. But I snatched the phone first. "Answer it." "Let me hear what kind of urgent, professional business an investor has with you in the middle of the night." Sienna yanked the phone out of my hand. She didn't use force, but she was fast. Fast enough to show how terrified she was that I might actually answer it. The call timed out. Mike immediately tried to smooth things over. "It's business. You shouldn't poke your nose into things you don't understand." I looked at him. "Mike, you seem to know so much. Did Xavier Vance teach you that?" Mike's face stiffened. Sienna lowered her voice, warning, "Leo, that's enough." "Enough?" I looked around the house, seeing all the things that belonged to Xavier Vance. The crib, the perfume, Mike's ring. Even the brand-new humidifier on the coffee table had Xavier Vance's name floating over it. This house suddenly felt completely foreign to me. The next morning, Sienna personally dismantled the crib. She promised she would order a new one. Mike stood nearby, muttering about how dramatic and troublesome I was. I ignored him. Just as the wooden boards were being moved to the door, a delivery courier arrived. "Sienna? I have a local delivery from Mr. Vance." The courier handed over a sleek, white gift box. Floating above it were the words: "Owner: Xavier Vance." Sienna's expression shifted. "Give it to me." But I tore the packaging open before she could reach it. Inside was a set of baby silver bracelets. If you didn't know where they came from, they would look like a very decent, elegant gift. But engraved on the inside were two words: Jonah. My son's name. I had never made his name public. I looked up at Sienna. "How does he know our baby's name is Jonah?" Mike quickly chimed in. "Sienna probably just mentioned it casually during business chats." I stared at him. "Do you usually discuss your grandson's name with corporate investors, Mike?" Mike shut his mouth. Sienna reached for the box. "I'll handle this." I didn't let go. "Handle it how? By thanking him on my behalf? Telling him not to spend so much next time?" Her forehead creased with deep frustration. "Do you have to be this sarcastic and bitter?" Suddenly, I threw the silver bracelets onto the hardwood floor. A sharp, metallic clang echoed through the room. Mike roared, "Leo! You're out of your mind!" The silver bracelets rolled to Sienna's feet. She looked down at them but didn't pick them up. I said coldly, "My son doesn't wear things bought by outsiders." Sienna closed her eyes. "Xavier Vance is not an outsider." As soon as the words left her mouth, she froze. The living room became dead silent. I looked at her, my heart sinking inch by inch into a dark abyss. "Not an outsider?" She wanted to backpedal, but I didn't want to hear it anymore. I turned, walked into the nursery, and scooped Jonah up into my arms. Sienna blocked the doorway. "Where are you going?" "Back to my parents' house." She stepped closer to block me. "The baby stays here." I looked up, my eyes cold. "Say that again." Her voice was tight and low. "He's too small. Traveling is bad for him." I looked down at Jonah. He was a tiny, soft bundle. There was no label hovering over him. He didn't belong to anyone. He was his own person. But the new blanket wrapped around him had a glaring, painful line of text floating above it: "Owner: Xavier Vance." A wave of icy chills washed over me. Xavier Vance's reach had already wrapped itself around my son. That afternoon, while Mike was taking a nap, the nanny quietly slipped a business card into my hand. "Leo, I shouldn't be saying this, but you need to be careful." The card read: Aura Haven Premium Maternity & Infant Care Center. Managing Director: Xavier Vance. My fingers clenched around the card so hard they turned white. The nanny whispered, "I was sent here by that center. Sienna told me to only follow Mr. Vance's instructions." I looked at her. "Do you know who I am?" Her face flushed. "You... you are Sienna's husband." "Then why don't you listen to me?" She looked down, unable to meet my eyes. "You weren't the one who signed the contract." I let out a bitter laugh. So in this house, I couldn't even get the nanny to listen to me.
I called my father. The moment the call connected, Mike barged into the room and snatched the phone right out of my hand. "Are you trying to run to your daddy and complain again?" I stood up. "Give me my phone back." Mike hid the phone behind his back. "Even if the kid has your last name, he is still a part of our family. You can't just run off to your parents' place every time you throw a tantrum." I reached out to grab it. He stepped back aggressively. I was a grown man, but he was an elder, so I couldn't use brute force. In the scuffle, my foot caught on something. I tripped and slammed hard into the bedframe. The sharp pain made my vision go black for a second. Jonah woke up from the impact, and his loud, startled cries instantly filled the room. Sienna walked through the front door just in time to see me clutching the bedframe in pain, while Mike held my phone. Her expression changed. "Mike! What are you doing?" Mike immediately played the victim. "What did I do? He wanted to take the baby away, and I was just trying to stop him! Is that a crime now?" Sienna walked over to support me. "Where did you get hurt?" I shoved her hand away. "Give me my phone." She took it from Mike but didn't hand it over to me right away. "Leo, we need to talk." I stared at her. "Talk about Xavier Vance?" Her face darkened. "Do you have to drag him into literally everything?" "Am I the one dragging him in?" I pointed toward the nursery, my voice shaking with rage. "The crib is his. The blanket is his. The nanny is his. The ring on your father's finger is his. Even you belong to him!" "Sienna, tell me. What else in this house doesn't belong to him?" A flash of panic finally crossed her eyes. It wasn't out of guilt. It was because I had hit the nail right on the head. That night, she was on the phone in her study. The door wasn't fully closed. Holding Jonah, I stood in the hallway and heard her lowered, hushed voice. "Keep the evaluation report on hold. Don't let him find out." I couldn't hear what the person on the other end was saying. Sienna interrupted irritably, "Xavier, don't push me." "I told you, I will handle the baby's situation." My entire body went rigid. Jonah shifted in my arms, and I instinctively covered his ears. In the study, she spoke again. "The guardianship agreement is just a backup plan. I don't actually plan on executing it." Backup plan. Those words felt like a needle stabbing straight into my throat. I took a step back, and my heel bumped against a storage bin. The study door swung open instantly. Sienna stood in the doorway, her face turning pale in a second. I stared at her. "What evaluation report?" "And who is the baby you're planning to 'handle'?" She took a step toward me. "Leo, it's not what you think." I backed away. "Then what is it?" Her jaw clenched. "The company is facing a massive crisis. Xavier invested a lot of money to save it. He is a control freak; he likes to arrange everything in advance." "And?" "I never wanted to hurt you." I burst out laughing. "You guys are doing a psychological evaluation on me. A stay-at-home dad taking care of our baby. You are secretly evaluating me. You placed a spy nanny to watch my every move, and you are preparing a guardianship transfer agreement." "Sienna, and you have the audacity to call that 'not wanting to hurt me'?" Her face was white as a sheet. At 3:00 AM, while she was deep asleep, I quietly took the keys from her coat pocket. I unlocked the safe. Inside, there was only a single manila envelope. Floating over the envelope were the words: "Owner: Xavier Vance." I tore it open. The first document was an equity pledge agreement. The second was a personal loan contract. The title of the third document made my blood boil. Pre-Divorce Child Custody and Settlement Plan. The clauses were written with absolute precision. After the divorce, our son Jonah would be placed in the sole custody of his mother, Sienna. Leo is suffering from emotional instability and is deemed unfit to care for an infant independently. And at the very bottom, there was a handwritten note. As the sole sponsor of Jonah's growth trust fund, Mr. Xavier Vance reserves the right to participate in the child's education, healthcare, and lifestyle arrangements. My fingers trembled so violently I could barely hold the paper. He didn't just want Sienna. He wanted my son.
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