The day I came home from the hospital, barely a month after giving birth, a post caught my eye: 【Partied a little too hard during my pregnancy and caught HIV. Now my baby’s been born with it too. How do I pin this on someone else?】 Someone in the comments suggested she just infect her husband, then they’d be bound together for life. But the original poster was clearly against it: 【No way!! I can’t do that to him!!】 A sarcastic user shot back: 【There aren’t many ways to transmit it, especially to a baby that small. You can’t exactly claim she got it from drinking someone else’s breast milk, can you?!】 Seeing the words [Liked by Poster] next to that comment, I felt a corner of my mouth twitch in disbelief. The user was being sarcastic, but she seemed to have taken it as genuine advice. Just then, a notification popped up from my building’s resident group chat: 「@Apt 1503, I heard you just had your baby… Congratulations…」 1 I stared at the profile picture and name on my phone, a little baffled. Apt 1003? She must be the new tenant who moved in a little while ago. But we’ve never even spoken. What was this all about? I thought for a moment and typed back a polite reply: 「Thank you.」 After that, the group chat went silent. Maybe she was just being nice. Still, how did she know I was home already? Before I could dwell on it, my doorbell rang. The security screen showed a woman holding a baby, glancing around nervously as she knocked. 「Apt 1503, it’s me, from 1003… Could you open the door…?」 I frowned at the tense look on her face, but I got up and opened the door anyway. The moment it swung open, the woman’s face split into a brilliant, wide smile. I froze for a second. That wasn’t the expression I’d just seen on the screen. But she was a neighbor, so I pushed down my unease. 「Hi, can I help you?」 「I heard you just had a baby, so I brought you some milk. To help you get your strength back…」 As she spoke, her eyes drifted, not so subtly, down to my chest. A wave of goosebumps broke out across my skin. The forum post I’d just read flashed through my mind. I immediately refused. 「Thank you, but I can’t accept any gifts.」 The words had barely left my mouth when her expression stiffened. Seeing the shift in her face made my own stomach clench. But in the next instant, she was smiling again, a picture of earnest sincerity. 「It’s just a little something. My son is only three months old. I was hoping our kids could be playmates!」 Only then did I look down at the baby in her arms. He was bundled up tightly, his face hidden. All I could see was a tiny sliver of his forehead. So that was it. She was looking for a friend for her kid. That seemed reasonable enough. We’re neighbors, after all. Maybe I was just overthinking things. But the milk… I kept my voice polite. 「They can definitely play together when we run into each other, but please, take the gift back.」 Her reaction was immediate. She seemed to panic. She shoved the carton of milk down by my feet, spun around, and bolted for the stairwell. I instinctively took a couple of steps after her, but then I remembered my daughter was sleeping alone inside and stopped. Whatever. I’ll just have my husband return it when he gets home. But before I could, she was back at my door. 2 After Sarah from 1003 left, I took a nap with my daughter. My alarm hadn’t even gone off when a frantic pounding echoed from the front door. I checked the monitor. It was her again. The second I opened the door, she grabbed my hand. 「Please, I’m desperate, you have to help me!」 Her face was a mess of tears. I instinctively pulled my hand back and took a step away. 「What’s wrong? What do you need help with?」 As soon as I spoke, the baby in her arms started to wail. I watched the crying infant, a prickle of suspicion running down my spine. He was sound asleep just a moment ago. How did he start crying on command? While I was trying to figure it out, her hand shot out and she grabbed my breast through my nursing pajama top. 「Wow, these are really something, aren’t they? You must be eating well.」 「You must have a ton of milk. My supply’s dried up. Could you give us a little?」 She was actually trying to unbutton my pajamas as she spoke. I was stunned for a second by her audacity, then I snapped back to reality and slapped her hand away. 「What? You want my milk?」 「Yes, exactly! Your milk!」 I struggled to keep my composure. 「We don’t even know each other.」 「Oh, is that what you’re worried about? Well, if he drinks a little of your milk, we’ll get to know each other real fast, won’t we?」 「Besides, you had a girl. Girls don’t drink that much. My son can help you with the surplus! Think of it as… milk-sharing!」 「And who knows! Maybe after sharing your milk, our kids will grow up close. They might even get married one day!」 「Don’t worry, we won’t take it for free. We’ll pay you. How does five dollars a session sound? We can pay you weekly!」 「A carton of formula is way more than that, so you’re getting a great deal. You won’t lose out, I promise!」 My jaw was on the floor. I had never, ever heard of "milk-sharing" put like that. After a moment of shock, I found my voice. 「Sorry, no. I barely have enough for my own daughter. There’s nothing extra for anyone else.」 Her face twisted in annoyance. 「How much can one little girl drink? If she’s not full, just give her formula!」 「Look at the size of you! There’s no way you don’t have enough milk! I’ve done my research. A woman with your… assets… you’re prime wet nurse material!」 I almost laughed out of sheer fury. So now she was auditioning me? 「Why don’t you buy your own damn formula instead of coming here to beg?!」 I moved to slam the door in her face. But she wedged her foot in the jamb. 「Fine, fine! If we can’t share, then just pump some for me!」 「Let’s compromise. We’ll go halfsies. Your daughter can have the morning milk, and my son can have the afternoon milk. How about that?」 「But if I have to give him formula for the other half of the day, you’ll have to compensate me for the cost!」 Her demands were getting more and more insane. I kicked her foot out of the doorway. And slammed the door shut with a deafening bang. The rest of the evening passed without another visit from Sarah. I thought that was the end of it. I couldn’t have been more wrong. In the middle of the night, a bloodcurdling wail ripped through the entire apartment complex. 3 I was jolted awake. It was two in the morning. Rubbing my temples, I stumbled onto the balcony. It was the sound of a baby crying, and it seemed to be coming from directly below our floor. A shiver went down my spine. I thought of Sarah and her visit today, and my mind instantly cleared. As I peered over the railing, I saw lights flick on in the building across from us, windows opening as people looked over in our direction. The crying was sharp and piercing, an assault on the dead quiet of the night. I frowned. A baby’s cry is loud, but this was… amplified. Unnaturally loud. Soon enough, a man from the opposite building couldn’t take it anymore and yelled out his window, 「Are you insane? Some of us have to sleep!」 I shook my head. You can’t just tell a baby to stop crying. But to my utter astonishment, after the man shouted, the crying miraculously stopped. Just like that. Gone. My eyes widened in shock. What? How was that even possible? With the noise gone, the lights in the other apartments began to go out, one by one. My mind was buzzing with questions, but the pull of sleep was too strong. I didn’t investigate any further. Soon, I was fast asleep again. But as I drifted in the fog of a deep dream, I heard what sounded like an air-raid siren. I shot upright in bed, heart hammering. When my eyes focused on my familiar bedroom, I let out a breath of relief. It was just a dream. No. Wait. That sound outside… It was the baby’s cry again. But this time it was different. It wasn’t just crying; it was the sound of a child choking on its own sobs, dry-heaving for air. And the volume was even more ear-splitting than before. Lights flashed on across the complex again. We were all awake. This time, the man across the way yelled several times, but the wailing didn’t stop. It just kept echoing through the courtyard. That’s when the group chat exploded. 【ARE YOU KIDDING ME? WHOSE KID IS THIS? IF YOU CAN’T SLEEP, FINE, BUT LET THE REST OF US!】 【Seriously, I have to work tomorrow! This is ridiculous!】 【Comfort your damn kid instead of torturing the entire building!】 【Building management, do something! Figure out which apartment it is!】 Before management could reply, she jumped in herself. 【@Apt 1003, I’m so sorry, everyone. That’s my son. He’s crying because… he’s starving.】 The moment I saw her name, my stomach dropped. A terrible premonition washed over me. 【My milk supply is too low, and he refuses to take a bottle. I’m at my wit’s end. That’s why I went to the owner of 1503 today and begged her to spare a little life-saving milk for him.】 【She’s so… blessed… with so much milk, but she told me she’d rather pour it down the drain than give any to my son. I just… I don’t know what else to do!】 【I even brought her a gift, and she took it, but she still wouldn’t help. I… sigh… I’m so, so sorry to be bothering you all.】 Her tone was sincere. She even posted a picture of a baby with a face flushed red from crying. Immediately, the tide of anger turned. 【@Apt 1503, it’s just a little milk! How can you be so heartless?】 【Yeah, that poor baby sounds miserable. Just let him have some! It’s not like it costs you anything!】 【She took the gift and still refused to help? What kind of person does that?】 【@Apt 1503, say something! Stop playing dead! I can see your lights are on!】 I stared at my phone, my heart sinking with every new message. The forum post swirled in my mind. Why was she so obsessed with MY milk? Because in that post, breast milk was linked to one thing. HIV. I didn't respond in the group chat. My fingers flew across the screen, frantically searching for the original post I had seen earlier. But as I searched, I found something else. A new post. From a different user. 4 The content of the post was chillingly similar to the one I’d seen before. 【I contracted HIV from a prostitute before my wife and I got married. I thought if I used protection we’d be fine, but our baby was still infected.】 【My wife seems to think it’s her fault, and now she wants to find a scapegoat to pin it on. After all, with the three of us, the medical bills are going to be insane. It would be great if we could find a sucker to cover the costs!】 【We’ve picked a target. A woman in our building who’s always feeding the stray dogs downstairs. And she just had a girl. From the looks of it, the girl won’t be too ugly when she grows up, which could solve my son’s future relationship problems too.】 【But she’s resisting. How can we make her give up her milk?!】 The poster’s profile picture was a blurry photo of a man’s back. I clicked on his profile. Nothing. It was completely empty. But the location tag was the same as mine, and the events he described mirrored my day exactly. My alarm bells were screaming. I was about to close the page when I noticed the faint, semi-transparent background photo behind his profile pic. The view from that window… it was identical to the view from mine. A roar filled my ears. This wasn’t a coincidence. It was a confirmation. The sucker they were talking about was me. A wife who contracted the disease during her pregnancy? A husband who hid his illness before they were married? A baby born with the virus? It was them. The family in 1003. So the husband had it first, and he gave it to his unsuspecting wife. And they had an innocent, sick child. No wonder. I’d been wondering why the husband wasn’t stopping his wife from begging for another woman’s breast milk. It turns out they each had their own twisted agenda. One partied too hard during her pregnancy, the other hid his past before the wedding. A match made in viral hell. And they wanted to infect me, make me pay for their entire family’s medical bills, and support them for the rest of their lives. Breast milk isn’t a guaranteed way to transmit HIV. But if they "accidentally" broke the skin on my nipple while the baby was feeding, contact with blood would make the chances skyrocket. If I got infected, I’d have no way to prove my story. But their plan was even more monstrous than that. They weren’t just targeting me; they had my daughter in their sights as well. If I had given in, if I had shown them a moment of pity, my daughter’s entire life would have been ruined. What a venomous, evil family. A tidal wave of pure terror and rage surged in my chest. I scrolled down. The top comment was even more depraved: 【Just cause a scene. Make so much noise that nobody in the building can get any peace. They’ll pressure her into feeding your son just to shut you up.】 【If that doesn’t work, go kneel at the entrance to your building. Make everyone see how cold and heartless she is.】 【Don’t be afraid of losing face. That one act of begging could secure your family’s future.】 【Worst case, get physical. As long as he drinks her milk, the blame is stuck to her for good.】 【Then you strike first. Accuse her. It won’t matter if she’s actually infected or not. In everyone else’s eyes, she will be.】 My fury shot through the roof. I stood up, ready to storm downstairs and confront them. But before I could even take a step, the building manager called. 「Mia? The family from 1003 is kneeling downstairs. The baby is screaming its lungs out. Please, can you just help them out?」 「You’re a mother too. Surely you can understand how she feels.」 「And if this continues, the whole complex will be up all night. Can’t you just… make a little sacrifice?」 My phone was buzzing nonstop before I even hung up. I glanced at the screen. The group chat was exploding with notifications. I didn’t need to look to know what they were saying. I didn’t say another word. I just ended the call. Then, I pulled out a small address book, flipping through the pages as I dialed one number after another. By the time I hung up the last call, the sounds from downstairs were growing louder, more chaotic. Then I took out a baby bottle and carefully, deliberately, pumped it full of milk. Swirling the bottle gently, I stepped into the elevator and headed down. Once he drinks this milk, I thought, he won’t be wanting mine anymore.
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