Reborn at My Daughter's Celebration

I was with Lucas for five years. I gave birth to a daughter for him.

On the day of our daughter's first-month celebration.

I had just finished breastfeeding in the lounge. The moment I came downstairs holding my daughter, a shrill scream rang out in the banquet hall: Someone help! She stole my baby!

I jerked my head up to see a strange woman rushing toward me, eyes brimming with tears.

And my husband stood right beside her, his eyes ice-cold.

He shielded the woman and barked orders at the security guards: "Grab her! Don't let this child trafficker get away!"

I desperately tried to explain, desperately called his name, telling him the child was mine.

But the family photos, birth certificate, postpartum care center records, pictures with friends and familyin every piece of evidence, the mother wasn't me.

Even the people closest to me said I had never been married, let alone given birth to a child.

In the end, I was beaten to death at my daughter's first-month celebration, branded as a child trafficker trying to kidnap someone else's baby.

When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the moment right after I finished breastfeeding.

Outside the door, the sound of guests' laughter filled the hall.

**1**

That day was my daughter's first-month celebration.

Until I walked into the hall holding her, everyone pointed at my nose and called me a child trafficker.

The banquet hall was filled with clinking glasses and elegantly dressed guests at the celebration.

Outside, I had just finished nursing my daughter in the lounge, my heart full of joy, ready to receive everyone's blessings.

I had been with Lucas for five years. To give birth to this daughter, I had nearly left half my life on the delivery table.

I still clearly remembered that nightmy water broke early and the massive hemorrhaging left my entire body ice-cold.

Lucas burst into the delivery room despite the doctor's attempts to stop him, and fell to his knees beside the hospital bed with a thud.

His eyes were bloodshot, his hands gripping my freezing fingers so tightly, his tears scalding hot as they fell onto the back of my hand.

"Honey, don't fall asleep! As long as you pull through, I swear on my life I'll protect you and our child! Even if I have to give up everything else, all I want is for you and our daughter to be safe!"

That was the only belief that kept me going through that brush with death.

But on the day of the celebration, that belief was viciously torn to shreds.

The moment I pushed open the banquet hall door, the glaring crystal chandelier light made me squint.

Before I could even manage a smile, a shrill female voice suddenly exploded across the entire venue.

"Someone help! Stop her! She stole my baby!"

I jerked my head up. A woman in an elaborate designer gown pushed through the crowd like a madwoman, rushing toward me.

Her eyes were bloodshot.

And my husbandLucas, the man who swore to protect me with his lifewas holding her shoulders tightly, shielding her by his side.

The look he gave me held nothing but disgust.

"Where's security? Are you all dead?"

Lucas pointed at me.

"Hold her down! Don't let this child trafficker escape and hurt my daughter!"

I froze in place, my brain instantly crashing.

I desperately protected my daughter in my arms as she started crying from fright, screaming at him with everything I had.

"Lucas! Have you lost your mind? Look carefullyit's me, Jade! I'm the one who gave birth to this child!"

But what happened in the next half hour became a hell I would never forget.

The family photos displayed on the celebration's big screen showed that strange woman as the mother. The birth certificate pulled from City Hospital clearly printed "Lena Young" in the mother's column.

Even the top-tier postpartum care center where I had stayed for a month had her listed as the VIP client in their system.

Like a lunatic, I dialed my mother's number. The voice on the other end was cold and guarded.

"Are you some kind of scammer? My daughter Jade is a workaholic who doesn't even have a boyfriend, let alone a child. Call again and I'm reporting you to the police!"

So I was labeled as a mentally disturbed child trafficker.

Enraged guests surrounded me. I don't know who kicked me first, followed by the brutal blows from security guards' batons.

I curled up tightly on the ground, using my back to shield my daughter in my arms.

In the chaos, a leather shoe kicked me hard in the temple. My head slammed into a sharp table corner with a "bang." Blood blurred my vision.

In the final second before my sight went completely dark, I saw Lucas holding my daughter, gently comforting her, while that woman named Lena leaned against him, watching me die in a pool of blood.

"Bzzzz" A sudden ringing filled my ears, followed by a warm, soft sensation in my arms that made my entire body shudder.

I snapped my eyes open.

I was sitting on a leather sofa. My daughter in my arms had her eyes closed, her tiny pink mouth still making little sucking motions, smelling of milk.

Outside the door, I could faintly hear the cheerful chatter and laughter of the gathered guests.

My entire body turned cold. Cold sweat instantly soaked through the clothes on my back, my fingers trembling violently.

I had been reborn. Back to ten minutes before the celebration began, right after I finished nursing.

This time, I bit down hard on my lower lip until I tasted blood, confirming this wasn't a dream.

I would absolutely never again carry my daughter into that slaughterhouse that wanted my life.

**2**

I had to preserve ironclad evidence.

I held my daughter tightly, my chest heaving violently, forcibly suppressing the trembling that seemed to carry the phantom pain throughout my body.

I couldn't panic.

I absolutely couldn't rush out to confront them directly. That would be suicide.

"Creak" The lounge door handle was gently pressed down.

Every muscle in my body instantly tensed as I stared fixedly at the door.

Lucas walked in wearing that perfectly tailored pure black designer suit.

The light fell on his chiseled profile. His eyes were as tender as always, tender enough to drown in.

He walked softly to my side and naturally reached out to straighten my slightly disheveled collar. Then he lowered his head, his lips gently touching our baby's forehead, his tone indulgent.

"Honey, you worked so hard. It's chaotic with all those people outside, so don't rush. I'll go handle things first. You can rest, and we'll go downstairs together when you're ready."

He then walked over to the water dispenser, skillfully filled half a cup of warm water, tested the temperature against the side of the cup, and brought it to my lips.

"Here, breastfeeding takes a lot out of you. Drink some warm water, and be careful not to catch a chill."

Looking at this face I knew all too well, seeing the love that seemed ready to overflow from his eyes, a trace of doubt arose in my heart.

His attentiveness toward me was too real.

Every bowl of hot soup, every embrace over these five yearscould it all have been an act?

Could I have just had a nightmare caused by postpartum depression?

But the instant he turned to grab a tissue, I clearly caught a flash of impatience at the corner of his mouth.

In that second, the excruciating pain from my shattered skull in my previous life shot through my entire body like an electric current.

It wasn't a dream! Today was the day they wanted my life! I forced myself to pull out a weak smile and accepted the water cup.

"Honey, I got up too fast and feel a bit dizzy. Let me sit for five more minutes to recover."

Lucas didn't suspect anything and gently ruffled my hair. "Okay, I'll tell the staff not to disturb you. I'll wait for you both downstairs."

The door closed. The instant the lock clicked into place, the weakness on my face vanished completely.

I didn't trust people's hearts. I only trusted evidence!

I immediately pulled out my phone, opened the front camera, and framed both myself and my sleeping daughter in the shot.

Suppressing the tremor in my voice, I spoke clearly to the camera.

"My name is Jade Chen. Today is April 8th, 2026. The location is the third-floor lounge of the InterContinental Hotel. The child in my arms is the biological daughter of Lucas and me."

I then zoomed in the camera, focusing on the birth certificate.

After recording the video, I didn't save it locally.

Lucas had built his fortune in IT. He had countless ways to destroy the data on my phone.

I quickly logged into my backup email, packaged the video with a detailed explanation, set it to send automatically in ten minutes, with the recipient being my most trusted best friend, Nina Lee.

Then I picked up the Polaroid camera on the table, originally meant for taking commemorative photos for guests.

I held it close to my daughter's little face, with the data I'd sent to my friend visible in the background.

"Click."

The photo slid out, the image gradually developing. The picture of mother and daughter nestled close together was crystal clear.

I looked around, my gaze locking on the gap in the sofa.

I folded that Polaroid tightly and forced it deep into the crevice with all my strength.

After finishing all this, I tucked the folded birth certificate against my skin inside my bra and took a deep breath.

With this ironclad evidence, let's see how you can cover the sky with one hand today! I held my daughter tight and walked toward the banquet hall.

The moment I stepped out of the hallway and my hand touched the banquet hall door handle, a voice I could never forget even in death came from inside.

"Stop her! She stole my baby!"

**3**

I took a deep breath and yanked the door open.

The woman named Lena from my previous life was pointing at me, crying out shrilly.

Everything was replaying according to my previous life's script.

Lucas almost instantly stepped forward and pulled Lena into his embrace. The moment he turned to look at me, the deep affection from the lounge vanished without a trace.

"Security! Lock the doors! Hold her down!"

The hundreds of guests in the venue instantly erupted in commotion. The music cut off abruptly, and countless pairs of eyes fixed on me.

"I stole a child?"

I stood firmly in place, let out a cold laugh, held the baby with one hand, and pulled out my phone with the other.

"Lucas, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't just say whatever you want. Whether or not I'm a child trafficker, the video will prove it!"

My fingertip quickly tapped open my gallery, moving toward the high-definition video I had just recorded.

But the instant my finger touched the screen, it flashed violently and the video image turned into a blinding snowstorm. File corrupted.

My heart sank heavily.

Local network interception!

I immediately switched to my email backend to check the scheduled email to Nina.

Sent boxcompletely empty.

Draftscompletely empty.

"Can't produce evidence now? Child traffickers these days are so brazen they dare show up at a celebration to cause trouble after stealing a baby!"

My mother-in-law charged forward like a protective mother tiger, pointing at my nose and cursing.

"You shameless crazy woman! My daughter-in-law Lena has been on stage the whole time. The baby you're holding is clearly my family's precious grandchild!"

I gritted my teeth and looked toward the nanny, Mrs. Zhang, who had been hiding behind my mother-in-lawthe woman who had taken care of me for an entire month.

"Mrs. Zhang!" I stared directly into her eyes.

"You made me different postpartum meals every day. You're the one who applied medicine to my C-section wound daily! Tell everyone heream I or am I not this child's biological mother!"

Mrs. Zhang's whole body shuddered. She didn't dare meet my eyes at all.

Her face deathly pale, she cowered and took a step back, her voice shaking like a sieve.

"Miss... I think you've got the wrong person... I've been taking care of Mrs. Lena Young on stage this whole month."

The hotel's general manager also immediately stepped forward, presenting a thick contract.

"Security, do something! This woman clearly has mental problems. The person who booked the venue, coordinated the process, and paid the final bill has always been Mr. Lucas and Miss Young. We've never seen her!"

I watched helplessly as the digital evidence I had thought foolproof was erased into thin air, as the people who had spent day and night with me betrayed me in public without hesitation.

The surrounding guests had already started whispering, their eyes shifting from watching a spectacle to wariness and contempt.

Security guards' riot forks were already pressed against my shoulders.

This suffocating feeling of being isolated by the entire world, of having my identity stripped away, hit even more fiercely than in my previous life.

I shielded my daughter, who had started sobbing from fright, bit through the tip of my tongue, letting the metallic taste spread through my mouth to maintain my last shred of clarity.

I screamed at the top of my lungs, my voice piercing through the entire hall.

"Fine! You've all conspired together, is that it? Call the police! Call them right now! Let the police investigate! I don't believe even the public security system and the hospital's internal network can help you maintain this lie!"

**4**

The shrill sound of police sirens soon rang out downstairs at the hotel.

Ten minutes later, four police officers sealed off the scene.

I looked at the lead officer.

"Officer, this is my husband Lucas. This child is the one I carried for ten months and risked my life to deliver! They're conspiring to kidnap my child and even fabricating evidence!"

Before the police could speak, Lucas had already stepped forward in his tailored suit, handing over his business card.

"Hello, Officer. I'm Lucas, CEO of StarPath Technology. I don't know this woman. She suddenly barged into my daughter's first-month celebration, not only attempting to kidnap the child but also spouting complete nonsense. I suspect she has serious delusional disorder." The officer frowned.

"Miss, since you claim the child is yours, do you have concrete evidence? We can't go on words alone. We need to verify hospital records immediately."

"Check it!" I didn't hesitate, my eyes bloodshot as I stared at Lucas.

"City Central Maternity Hospital, last month on the 8th at 2 AM, VIP Operating Room 3, C-section! Check the real records in the system!"

The officer immediately signaled his colleague to contact headquarters for verification.

The wait felt exceptionally long.

When the officer who went to verify came back, his eyes held a trace of wariness as he looked at me.

"Officer, what did you find?"

I asked urgently.

The lead officer looked at the file screenshot sent to his phone, his expression completely darkening.

"The files from City Maternity Hospital show that the woman who gave birth in VIP Operating Room 3 on the 8th of last month was named Lena Young. The mother on the medical birth certificate is Lena Young, and the family member who signed as birth companion was Lucas."

He pointed at the band on my daughter's ankle.

"Even this anti-swap ankle band number 89757 that you keep emphasizingwhen scanned in the system, the corresponding mother is still Lena Young. Miss, how do you explain this?"

In my previous life, my mind would have gone completely blank at this point, driven to a complete breakdown.

But now, I let out a cold laugh, yanked open my jacket zipper, and pulled out the birth certificate I'd kept close to my body inside my bra.

This time, let's see what they have to say!

The officer paused, quickly taking the paper. It clearly stated: Mother: Jade Chen.

Just when I thought everything was settled.

The next second, the officer let out a surprised "Huh."

"Miss, this birth certificate of yours is fake."

I stood there frozen. How could this be! This birth certificate clearly was...

Boom.

An ominous premonition swept through my entire body. I turned to look at Lucas. He smirked and gave me a challenging smile.

"No, no, no! I still have evidence!"

In my previous life, I called my mother, but she denied everything about me.

In this life, I could only count on my best friend Nina.

I dialed Nina's number, but what she said next made my heart turn cold.

"Lucas? I've never heard of him. Jade has always been single."

"That's impossible! I sent you all the evidence. Why are you lying!"

Seeing my agitation, the police stepped forward, afraid I might hurt someone.

The panic made me feel somewhat lost. Why was this happening? Had my memory really become confused?

No, that's not right. I still had one more piece of evidence.

"Officer, please, I have one more piece of evidence! Please come with me to see it."

With that, I led the police and guests back to the lounge. Even if the birth certificate had been fake from the start, that Polaroid might give me a sliver of hope.

Everyone watched as I frantically searched the sofa crevice, their doubts growing louder.

"Still lying. This person is terrifying."

"Oh my God, she's really crazy..."

"Delusional, right? Running to someone else's celebration to have a breakdown, forging all this evidencethis was clearly premeditated!"

"Hurry up and send her to a psychiatric hospital. Don't let her hurt the baby!"

The doubting voices around me made me frantic, but no matter how I searched, I couldn't find that Polaroid.

But I clearly put it right here!

Just as I was growing more and more desperate.

The police completely lost their patience too.

Ambulance 120 personnel arrived. Two male orderlies carrying restraint straps and sedatives walked toward me.

The shadow of my previous lifebeing pinned down as a lunatic, beaten to death by a moblike a massive black tsunami, instantly shattered my rationality.

Was I going to die here again? Be completely erased by them again? Just as my whole body trembled, on the verge of complete collapse, my peripheral vision suddenly caught Lucas raising his hand, lowering his head to adjust his French cuff.

In that instant, as if a thunderbolt split open my chaotic mind.

I jerked my head up, staring at Lucas.

I finally understood why he had painstakingly laid this net over five years, finally knew why he absolutely had to make me give birth to this child.