Deed For A Stranger’s Child

1 The news of my wife's pregnancy drove my father mad with joy. On the spot, he had his attorney draft an agreement, gifting a luxury penthouse in the heart of downtown to my triumphant wife. My mother gripped her hands tightly, tears streaming down her face as she declared that our family’s greatest savior had finally arrived. And I stood there, my fingertips going dead cold, staring fixated at that deed of gift. We had been married for over six months, but I had only touched her once on our wedding night. … Bella gently stroked her flat stomach, tilting her head to look at me. I stared at her meticulously made-up face, a violent wave of nausea surging in my stomach. Digging my fingernails deep into my palms, I forced down the overwhelming urge to vomit. "How could I not be?" I forced a stiff, unnatural smile onto my face. "It's just such a huge surprise. I haven't fully processed it yet." Sitting at the head of the dining table, my father burst into a boisterous, booming laugh. He slammed his hand onto the wood, his face flushed with pride. "What are you standing there gawking for? Hurry up and sign it!" Father pointed at the thick stack of legal documents resting on the table. "This twenty-million-dollar downtown penthouse is a special reward for Bella! She is the ultimate hero of our family right now!" Our family's private attorney immediately stepped forward, holding out a sleek fountain pen toward me. I looked at the pen, a chill creeping up from the tips of my fingers. My mother sat beside Bella, her eyes rimmed red with emotion as she wiped away tears. She unclasped a deep green jade bangle from her wrist. The jade was exquisite, practically glowing with translucence, a priceless heirloom passed down from my grandmother. She had worn it for thirty years without ever taking it off. Mother pulled Bella’s hand up and forced the bangle onto her wrist. "You deserve this, my dear!" Mother choked out through her tears. "This bangle is only passed down to the women of our family. I'm handing it to you now as a welcome gift for my grandson." Bella lifted her wrist, admiring the vivid green jade with a triumphant glint in her eyes. She shot a subtle, sidelong glance at me before leaning coyly toward my father's side. "Thank you, Mom. And thank you, Dad," Bella said, her voice dripping with sweet affection. "Honestly, as long as our family is happy together, that's all that matters. Dad, you really didn't have to spend so much." She naturally reached over, straightening the collar of my father's suit jacket. The weight of her body leaned almost entirely against him. "It's all thanks to Dad's wonderful guidance. I'm just lucky to be part of this family." Father patted the back of Bella's hand with a satisfied smile. "Good girl. Whatever you want in the future, just tell me." Watching the scene unfold before me, I stood up abruptly. The legs of my chair scraped against the hardwood floor with a harsh, ear-splitting screech. "I'm a bit overwhelmed. I need to use the restroom." I turned on the faucet, splashing icy water onto my face over and over again. Lifting my head to look into the mirror, I felt as though a blinding green light was glowing right above my head. We had been married for half a year. I had only touched her once on our wedding night after getting completely plastered. Shortly after, my father assigned me to an isolated, closed-off project in a remote region, keeping me away from home for months. The creature growing inside her stomach couldn't possibly be mine. Taking a deep breath, I pulled out my phone and dialed Cole, a trusted private investigator I knew well. "Cole, it's me," I murmured, my voice dropping into an icy register. "Look into someone for me. My wife, Bella." "I want her complete timeline from the day we married until now. Hotel check-in records, medical visits, daily routes, everything." "Money is no object. I want the most detailed report possible." Hanging up, I composed my expression and walked back out to the living room. My father was already busy making grand arrangements. "Tomorrow, I'm throwing a massive family banquet!" Father declared with a grand sweep of his arm. "Invite every single relative and friend! I want to announce this incredible news to the entire world!" Bella reclined on the sofa, twirling the jade bangle on her wrist. Seeing me walk over, she instantly screwed her face into a frown. "Honey, why do you smell like smoke?" Bella covered her nose, waving her hand dramatically. "The doctor said pregnant women shouldn't breathe in secondhand smoke. It's terrible for the baby's development." I didn't smoke at all. But I didn't bother defending myself. Bella turned toward my mother, pouting her lips dramatically. "Mom, for the baby's health, could my husband sleep in the guest room tonight?" Mother immediately grew tense, nodding repeatedly. "Yes, absolutely! The pregnant mother comes first. Son, just bear with it for a few days and sleep in the guest room." Father put on a stern face to lecture me as well. "You're a grown man, act like one! Get to the guest room right now. Don't go around irritating my precious grandson!" I clenched my hands into tight fists, my fingernails digging painful crescents into my palm. "Alright," I said quietly, keeping my voice entirely flat. "Take good care of the baby." Late that night, I lay on the cold, stiff mattress in the guest room, completely devoid of sleep. My phone screen suddenly lit up. Cole had sent an audio message. I tapped play. "Boss, your wife's daily routine is surprisingly clean. No records of her checking into hotels with other men," Cole's voice sounded subtly strange through the speaker. "But there is a very bizarre coincidence. I'm still verifying it, but I'll send you the full breakdown tomorrow." 2 Early the next morning, Bella was scheduled for her first official prenatal checkup at a private clinic. She stood before the vanity mirror, humming a light tune while meticulously applying her makeup, her mood soaring high. "The appointment is at ten. Don't be late," I called out as I headed downstairs. Just as I reached the foyer, my father's voice chimed in from the living room. "Bella, why don't I drive you? I know the directors at that private hospital. I can arrange the best specialist for you." He was already dressed in a tailored suit, tossing his Mercedes car keys in his hand. I took a few quick strides, blocking the front door. "Dad, I'll take her. I'm her husband. Accompanying my wife to her checkup is my responsibility." The smile on my father's face stiffened for a second before snapping back to normal. "Right, right. You young couple go ahead." Yet the look he cast toward Bella carried a subtle, lingering reluctance. The atmosphere inside the car was suffocatingly tense. Bella sat in the passenger seat, touching up her lipstick while casting mocking glances at me out of the corner of her eye. "Well, well, did the sun rise from the west today?" Bella sneered mockingly. "Usually, you wouldn't even touch me if I asked, but today you're playing the devoted husband." She snapped her compact shut with a loud click. "What's wrong? Afraid Dad will steal your spotlight, or afraid people will find out you can't even get it up?" The veins on the back of my hands bulged as I gripped the steering wheel tightly. "Fasten your seatbelt," I spat out cold words, refusing to take her bait. Bella rolled her eyes, begrudgingly pulling the belt across her chest. "Boring man. I really don't know what I ever saw in you." Inside the VIP examination suite at the private hospital, the doctor held the freshly printed ultrasound scan, smiling at us. "Congratulations to you both. The fetus is developing exceptionally well." The doctor pointed at a tiny black speck on the monitor screen. "Based on the gestational sac measurements, she is currently ten weeks pregnant. Very healthy." I stared fixated on the number on that screen. Ten weeks. Which meant two and a half months ago. At that exact time, I had been assigned by my father to oversee a closed-off mining project in a mountainous region three thousand miles away. For a whole month, I didn't even have a cell signal, let alone a chance to come home. This child could not possibly be mine. Bella stroked her stomach, her face radiating pure bliss. She turned her head toward me, the corners of her lips curling upward into a sharp sneer. "Honey, did you hear that? The baby is very healthy." That smile was nothing short of a direct provocation. Taking advantage of the moment when Bella went to the restroom to collect a urine sample, I walked briskly toward the blood lab at the end of the corridor. "When she comes in for her routine blood draw later, quietly draw an extra vial," I whispered, slipping a thick envelope into the nurse's coat pocket. "Don't let her notice." The nurse caught my drift and gave a subtle nod. Ten minutes later, the nurse handed me a sealed vial containing maternal blood packed with cell-free fetal DNA. That very afternoon, a courier whisked the sample away to an out-of-state third-party forensic lab for expedited, confidential processing. When we returned home from the hospital, I stepped through the front door and froze. The entire estate was decked out in festive decorations, looking more extravagant than a holiday celebration. The living room was piled high with top-tier designer baby gear. Father was directing several contractors, measuring dimensions in the south-facing room with the best sunlight. That room used to be my private study. "Tear down this wall and replace everything with eco-friendly padding!" Father barked orders loudly. "The crib needs to be custom-made from raw, unpainted hardwood! I've already drawn up the blueprints, follow them precisely!" Seeing Bella walk in, Father dropped his tape measure and rushed over eagerly. "Bella, you're back! You must be exhausted." Father carefully supported Bella's arm, treating her as if she were made of fragile glass. "Sit down and rest. I personally simmered bird's nest soup for you." Watching my father bustle around her, pouring out relentless affection and warmth, the cloud of suspicion in my chest grew darker and heavier. Cole's words about a bizarre coincidence echoed loudly in my mind. For the next three days, I lived like a walking ghost. Every day, I watched Bella lord her power over the household while my father bowed to her every whim. I could only choke down the sheer disgust, playing the part of a dull, invisible spectator. On the evening of the third day, the family sat around the dining table, enjoying dinner in apparent harmony. Father was enthusiastically brainstorming names for the baby. Suddenly, my phone vibrated intensely inside my pocket. I pulled out my phone. It was an encrypted email. The expedited DNA test results had arrived. 3 "Something urgent came up at the office. I need to handle it." I stood up abruptly. No one cared about my departure. I walked straight onto the balcony, sliding the glass door shut behind me. The crisp autumn night wind carried a bite, but it couldn't cool the cold sweat dripping from my palms. I opened the encrypted email and typed in the long password. The page loaded. I skipped past the complex data analysis and scrolled directly to the final conclusion page. The bold black lettering on the screen stabbed brutally into my eyes: [Comparative analysis of genetic loci between the submitted samples shows approximately 25% genetic similarity.] [Conclusion: Does not align with a biological parent-child relationship, but aligns with an uncle-nephew or grandfather-grandson relationship!] I lifted my head sharply, staring through the glass door toward the dining table. I was an only child. I had no brothers. A 25% genetic match proved a singular, hideous truth that defied all moral boundaries. The baby inside Bella's stomach belonged to my father! A violent wave of nausea surged from my gut. I bent over the balcony railing, dry-heaving uncontrollably as bitter bile rose in my throat. A suffocating chill rushed from the soles of my feet straight to the top of my skull, making my entire body tremble. My own father had knocked up his mistress, forced her onto his biological son as a wife, and expected me to play the official father to his illegitimate child! It was the most absurd, disgusting joke on earth! Just then, my phone vibrated again. Cole's comprehensive file hit my inbox. I opened the document, revealing a dense layout of photos and timeline comparisons. Bella's daily routine was indeed clean, with no records of hotel stays with other men. However, twice a month, she visited an elite day spa on the outskirts of the city for a four-hour session. Surveillance footage pulled by Cole showed that during every single spa visit, my father's black luxury SUV was parked in the alley behind the spa's rear entrance. The two of them shared a private treatment suite. The timeline spanned a whole year. They had been sleeping together long before I ever met Bella! Suppressing the murderous rage boiling inside me, I took several deep breaths of cold air. Slipping the phone back into my pocket, I slid open the glass door and walked back into the dining room. The scene unfolding before me struck every nerve in my body. Father was using his own chopsticks to pick up the tenderest piece of fish belly, reaching across the table to place it intimately into Bella's bowl. "Bella, eat more fish. It's good for the baby's eyes," Father murmured, his gaze soft and dripping with tenderness. Bella lowered her head coyly, taking small bites. "Thank you, Dad. You're so good to me." And my mother, kept entirely in the dark, was happily ladling chicken soup for Bella. "Yes, Bella, your father never even picks up food for me! He really treats you like his own daughter." Mother smiled warmly, her face full of affection. Watching this sickening charade, I pulled back my chair. "Mom, Dad, I'm full." My voice sounded so eerily calm that it unsettled even me. Father set down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth with a napkin. He stood up, clearing his throat as he looked down at me. His eyes carried an unquestionable authority mixed with a subtle, calculating gleam. "The family banquet is tomorrow," Father said, leaning his hands on the table. "In front of all our relatives, I have a major announcement to make regarding you." The next day's banquet was a grand affair, packed with distinguished guests and flowing wine. Father wore a dark red velvet suit, his face glowing as he stood on the stage holding a microphone. He announced the joyful news of Bella's pregnancy to the entire room. "This is a monumental blessing for our family! I'm finally going to be a grandfather!" Thunderous applause erupted below the stage. Relatives raised their glasses, showering our table with a barrage of cheap flattery. Father dramatically produced an elegant velvet box containing the keys to the luxury penthouse, placing them solemnly into Bella's hands. Dressed in a haute couture gown, Bella lifted her chin with pride, soaking in the envious glares of every woman in the room. Then, Father shifted the topic. He turned his gaze toward me, sitting silently in the corner of the room. "To provide the strongest financial security for our family's future eldest grandson..." Father intentionally raised his voice so every soul in the hall could hear clearly. "...I have decided to transfer thirty percent of my shares in the family corporation to this unborn child in advance!" He looked around the room, his face wearing a facade of grand generosity. "Everyone present today shall be our witness!" The crowd gasped in shock. Even my mother, who had been maintaining a polite smile, froze in place. That thirty percent stake was the final line of defense my maternal grandfather had left for me before his death. It was the sole proof of my mother's family investing their fortune into the family business decades ago. I looked at my father's hypocritical, righteous face on the stage. I looked at Bella's greedy expression, practically salivating at the thought of swallowing everything whole. I couldn't hold it in for another second. Letting out a cold laugh, I slammed my hands on the table and stood up. The sound of my chair clattering onto the floor echoed harshly across the banquet hall. I marched onto the stage, slamming a thick document folder directly onto the main table. "Transfer my shares to your bastard child?" I locked eyes with my father's stunned gaze. "Dad, isn't your math a little too loud?!"