Chapter 904
The more Harry talked, the more convinced he became, his excitement growing visibly.
"Mr. Frane, this has to be it! There's no bigger leverage than this! When Ruby bribed to get Bob out, she was planning to use him to kill. That night, when Bob made his move, Ruby must've been watching everything from the shadows. Swapping out Taylor would've been a piece of cake for her. She must've planned this escape route for herself from the start!"
Harry clapped his hands together emphatically. "And the doctor who operated on Mrs. Frane fled the country. With our connections and influence, we should've found him by now, but he's been completely off the grid. We thought the Price family had hidden resources and channels, but now it seems the doctor didn't escape through their network at all. It was Ruby who helped him leave. That's why we've been chasing the wrong lead for months!"
Harry's excitement grew as he spoke, but he noticed Jackson had been unusually quiet.
Harry fell silent, looking at Jackson with some apprehension.
If Taylor might still be alive, Jackson should be the happiest person. No one knew better than Harry how much pain and guilt Jackson carried over Taylor's loss, unable to forgive himself.
Jackson had personally buried Taylor, and Lillian had left Miracalia because of it. In just two weeks, Jackson had lost nearly ten pounds.
Sleepless nights had plagued him, and now that there was a glimmer of hope, shouldn't Jackson be more excited than Harry?
Could Harry's deductions be wrong? Had he just given Jackson false hope, reopening old wounds?
Just as Harry was about to apologize, Jackson's hoarse voice broke the silence.
"Take a look at this video."
A video? What video?
Harry, puzzled, walked around the desk. Jackson's long fingers clicked the mouse.
The computer screen played a video, and Harry immediately recognized it as footage from an interrogation with one of the nurses.
But he didn't recall anything significant from that interrogation. Jackson must have a reason for showing it again.
Soon, Harry caught the key detail.
"I thought I heard a faint cry from a baby, then someone shouted that the mother was hemorrhaging. The operating room went into chaos, and I was sent to contact the blood bank for an emergency transfusion, so I didn't get close to the operating table again."
"You heard a baby cry?"
Harry heard himself asking in the video.
"I think I did, but I might have been mistaken. No, I must have been mistaken. Mrs. Frane gave birth to a stillborn. I must have been wrong."
"Are you sure you were mistaken, or did you really hear a baby cry? Think carefully before you answer!"
The nurse in the video looked pale and nervous. After a long pause, she spoke.
"I was mistaken. I've been having nightmares lately, always hearing a baby cry. I got confused."
At the time, Harry had dismissed it because of the nurse's final answer. It wasn't detailed in the interrogation report.
But now, it felt different.
Jackson spoke in a low voice, "When the nurse changed her answer, she seemed certain, but her eyes were unfocused. She had doubts. She probably didn't want to be questioned further and wasn't sure herself."
Harry noticed the same thing, feeling frustrated.
"So, she did hear Taylor cry."
Jackson continued, "When Taylor was born, this nurse was closest. She was then sent to get blood, and another doctor was sent to deliver the umbilical cord."
Harry added, "So, during that time, only one doctor was at the operating table. They had the chance to swap Taylor with a prepared stillborn without anyone noticing!"
Jackson agreed.
But with so much time passed, this miraculous turn of events made Jackson worry he was being too hopeful, imagining things.
He feared that if it turned out to be false, it would hurt Lillian even more.
After all, this was based on Ruby's vague hints and manipulations.
Ruby was cunning and deceitful; she might be using Taylor to manipulate them, just to escape punishment.
Jackson had to be cautious.
"I'll go to the police station myself. This time, I'll get Ruby to talk!" Harry said, determined, turning to leave.
Jackson stopped him. "We can confirm if Taylor is alive with a DNA test."
Harry's eyes lit up. "Right, a DNA test! But wait, the child was cremated and buried."
You can't test DNA from ashes. And even if you could, it would take days to exhume the grave and return to Miracalia. It would be faster to get Ruby to talk.
Jackson then pulled something from his suit pocket.
"We can test this."
Harry saw it was a black, folded handkerchief.
It was clear Jackson had kept it in his suit pocket for a long time, treasuring it.
Curious, Harry wondered what was inside.
Jackson unfolded the handkerchief, revealing its contents. Harry's eyes welled up.
Inside was a piece of paper, Lillian's first ultrasound report, worn and creased from frequent handling. Wrapped in it was a lock of hair, tied with a red string, varying in length, thickness, and color.
Jackson gently touched the hair before handing it to Harry.
"Get it tested. We need the results as soon as possible."
Harry carefully took it and hurried out.
Jackson watched him leave, clenching his fist slightly.
He had personally laid that child to rest, and at the last moment before the cremation, he had taken a lock of the baby's hair.
At the time, it was just a keepsake.
Later, when Lillian left Miracalia, he collected all the hair from her pillow and pulled out some of his own, tying the three locks together and folding them into the handkerchief he always carried.
He never imagined it would come in handy like this.
Jackson looked down at the ultrasound image spread out before him, Taylor's tiny face clearly visible.
He reached out to touch it, his voice hoarse and filled with emotion.
"Taylor, you have to be alive. Mommy and Daddy miss you so much. Please don't let this be false hope, okay?"
At the police station.
Ruby had been beaten into unconsciousness and was discovered by the guards, who took her to the infirmary.
When Ruby regained consciousness, she felt pain all over, as if her bones were filled with nails.
She groaned, and a cold voice sounded in front of her.
"Taylor was swapped out. He's still alive."
The voice was chilling and absolutely certain.
Ruby's mind was still foggy, her thoughts not yet clear.
Hearing this, she was shocked and instinctively opened her eyes wide.
Her eyes showed clear shock, confusion, and panic.
She even blurted out, "How did you..."
But when she realized she was in the police infirmary and saw Jackson standing a few steps away, looking down at her with a cold expression, all her memories came flooding back.
Her expression froze, and her voice cut off.
"Mr. Frane, you really are impressive, beating me like this and still walking into the police station as if it were nothing."
Ruby's voice dripped with sarcasm.
Jackson's expression didn't change, but his hands, hanging at his sides, clenched into fists.
The veins on the back of his hands stood out, showing his barely contained emotions.
He spoke, his voice even more hoarse.
"There's no need to change the subject. Your reaction just now gave me all the answers I need."
The DNA test results wouldn't be ready until the morning.
Jackson couldn't wait, so he had come to the police station in the middle of the night.
Ruby gritted her teeth, enduring the pain, her heart filled with resentment.
She had planned to use this information as bait to get Lillian and Jackson to write her a letter of forgiveness. Then, she would reveal this crucial information.
At that point, Jackson and Lillian would do anything for their son, and she could use that to secure her freedom.
But she hadn't expected Jackson to be so sharp, figuring everything out.
She laughed coldly, "Mr. Frane, I never thought you'd be the type to have such daydreams."
She refused to admit anything easily, thinking Jackson must still be uncertain and was just trying to trick her.
She knew the bait had to be doled out slowly to be most effective.
And she needed to buy time.
Jackson took a step forward, his lips curling slightly.
"Is that so? But the DNA test results have already given me the answer."
Ruby was stunned. "That child was cremated and buried, wasn't he?"
Even though Jackson was already certain, hearing Ruby say this made his heart clench.
Ruby referred to "that child." If the stillborn had truly been Taylor, she wouldn't use such a detached term; she would say "Taylor."
Jackson exhaled slowly, his clenched fists gradually relaxing.
He thought he didn't need to wait for the DNA results.
Taylor was indeed alive; the stillborn was not their Taylor.
"I kept a lock of that stillborn's hair, Ruby. There's no need to hide anymore."
Ruby saw that Jackson was truly convinced and stopped denying it.
She propped herself up, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"You're not as stupid as I thought. Yes, that stillborn wasn't Lillian's baby. I had it prepared in advance. I always like to have a backup plan. I swapped your child with the stillborn."
She had hoped Lillian would die on the operating table, taking the baby with her.
But in that situation, if Lillian and the baby survived, the doctor couldn't kill them in front of everyone.
And the doctor refused to murder her.
But swapping the baby was easy enough.
To ensure she had a backup plan, Ruby had prepared the stillborn.
It was both a way to protect herself and to see Lillian and Jackson torn apart over the loss of their child.
Otherwise, with Jackson by Lillian's side, it would be much harder to kill her.
"Where is Taylor now?!"
Ruby was lost in thought when her collar was suddenly grabbed.
Jackson, unable to control his emotions, had stepped forward and grabbed her collar.
His grip tightened, and Ruby immediately felt her breath cut off.
Her face turned from pale to purple, veins bulging on her forehead, her eyes filled with malice. She spoke with difficulty.
"Do you think I'll tell you? Jackson, your son is hidden away! Only I know where he is. No one else can find him!"
Jackson's eyes were filled with rage. He shifted his grip from her collar to her throat.
"If you won't talk, then you'll never speak again. In hell, you can see if we reunite with Taylor."
Jackson's grip tightened.
Ruby's face turned dark purple, her eyes bulging as if they would pop out.
She kicked her legs wildly.
She knew Jackson was bluffing.
He wouldn't really kill her, especially not with their child still missing, and only she knew where he was.
And this was the police infirmary; Jackson couldn't kill her here.
But despite knowing this, she couldn't suppress her fear and terror of death.
Ruby's vision began to blur, and she lost control of her bladder.
Just as she thought Jackson had gone mad and she was about to die, he suddenly let go.
Ruby collapsed onto the bed, gasping and coughing violently.
When she finally caught her breath, her eyes were filled with sharp hatred and madness as she glared at Jackson.
"Use all the power of the Kelly and Frane families to get me released without charges and send me out of the country. Then I'll let you reunite with your family. Otherwise, your precious little son will die with me!"
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