Chapter 131 The Baby Did Not Die
Alexander said, "They're right. They're just cemetery caretakers, groundskeepers. It's impossible to get any useful information from them."
Jeremy looked worried. "So what do we do? Were the ashes really stolen and replaced?"
Alexander replied, "Who would steal the ashes of such a small child? Didn't you notice? Grace made an unmarked headstone for this child. What kind of person would steal the ashes of a child whose gender isn't even known?"
Jeremy was stumped by the question.
"If it was ash theft for ransom, Grace never mentioned anyone trying to extort her. She seems completely unaware of this. Besides..."
Alexander looked up, his gaze cold. "If someone really stole them, why wouldn't they just take the entire urn?"
Jeremy's eyes widened as his blocked thoughts suddenly became clear.
Alexander continued, "Taking the whole urn would be simple, wouldn't it? Why go through the trouble of replacing the ashes with concrete? It doesn't make sense."
Jeremy immediately understood. "Mr. Hayes, you mean..."
"The ashes weren't stolen and replaced," Alexander said. "Perhaps when they were buried, there were no ashes in the urn to begin with."
Jeremy gasped. "If there was already concrete in the urn when it was buried, it couldn't have been Ms. Foster who switched it. She'd have no reason to do that."
Alexander suddenly stood and walked toward the door.
Jeremy immediately followed. "Mr. Hayes, where are you going?"
"Home." He had questions for Grace.
...
Back at home.
In the dining room.
Grace, Liam, and Max were enjoying dinner together harmoniously.
Her mood seemed much better, though her eyes were still red-rimmed.
Max still wore a small apron he hadn't had time to remove.
After coming home from school, Liam had begged for Max's braised chicken wings, so Max had made a special batch just for him.
Upon seeing Alexander, Max's expression darkened. Seeing Grace's red eyes, he assumed Alexander had upset his mother again. Pouting, he completely ignored Alexander.
But Liam sweetly called out, "Daddy!"
He proudly picked up a chicken wing, beaming as he took a bite and smacked his lips appreciatively, as if showing off Max's cooking.
Alexander said, "Liam, don't smack your lips when eating. I've told you this before. Did you forget?"
Liam immediately chewed quietly.
Alexander turned his gaze to Grace, looking somewhat tense. "Grace, I need to ask you something. Come to my room now."
Grace replied, "Can't you say whatever it is here?"
Alexander paused, considering for a moment. "I've investigated the matter. I have some suspicions I need to ask you about."
He didn't want to discuss this in front of Liam. He could sense that Liam was somewhat afraid of the cemetery.
He'd never taken him to such places before, so naturally he'd be scared.
Such a young child couldn't accept the reality that living people were cremated to ash after death.
Grace stood and followed him to his room.
After closing the door, Alexander asked, "Who gave you the child's ashes originally?"
Grace was momentarily stunned but instinctively answered, "That nurse..."
Alexander said, "I've thought this through carefully. The ashes couldn't have been stolen and replaced. If someone wanted to steal ashes, they'd take the entire urn—no one would notice. Why go to the trouble of replacing the ashes with concrete?"
Grace looked surprised. "You mean..."
Alexander said, "That nurse is suspicious."
Grace found it hard to believe.
Since she'd had a premature delivery, she'd been at a small private clinic. After giving birth, that nurse had taken meticulous care of her and seemed like a genuinely good person.
Alexander walked up to her and gripped her shoulders. "Which hospital did you give birth at?"
Grace replied, "It was a small clinic."
"A small clinic?" Alexander found it absurd. "Childbirth is such a high-risk situation—people can die if something goes wrong. You actually gave birth at a small clinic?"
Grace shook her head. "Because it was premature labor, I went to this small clinic that used to be a hospital. It went bankrupt and was bought by a private owner who converted it into a clinic. It had an inpatient ward and a dedicated maternity department. Though not large, it wasn't as shabby as you're imagining."
Alexander asked again, "Did you see the baby after it was born?"
Grace replied, "The baby died right after birth. The nurse was afraid it would affect my emotional state, so she didn't let me see it. The hospital said they'd handle the child's funeral arrangements properly, and after I was discharged, she brought me the urn."
Alexander asked, "Did you ever open it to look?"
Grace shook her head. "No..."
How could she possibly open it to look? She couldn't bear to.
Thinking back carefully, Grace also found it somewhat strange. The nurse hadn't let her see the deceased baby even once, directly cremating it and giving her the ashes to bury.
Hospitals did have such procedures, but she hadn't thought anything was wrong at the time.
"Do you think that nurse was suspicious?" Grace asked. "You mean the nurse gave me an urn that already contained concrete instead of ashes?"
Alexander said, "Other than that, I can't think of any other possibility."
But Grace found it incomprehensible. "Why would she do that? What would be her motive?"
Alexander frowned, then suddenly said, "Perhaps that baby didn't die."
Grace stared at him in shock.
This speculation from Alexander caught her completely off guard, making her heart race. "Really?"
Alexander said, "She told you the child died but wouldn't let you see it even once. Why?"
Grace recalled and said, "She was afraid I'd be traumatized, which would affect my milk supply."
As she spoke, her face reddened and she looked down.
Alexander also felt somewhat uncomfortable and frowned. "You were breastfeeding?"
"Yes..."
Alexander changed direction. "That excuse doesn't hold up. Even if she was concerned about that issue, using it as an excuse not to let you see the child even once—I suspect the child never died. On the contrary, he was healthy, and she falsely told you the baby had died for some selfish reason."
Grace became agitated. "Why would she do that?! Was she trying to steal my child?"
Alexander said, "Perhaps that clinic was involved in something suspicious—maybe even human trafficking."
Reaching this conclusion left Grace dumbfounded and also somewhat terrified. "If it was human trafficking, why did she... only take one child?"
If that nurse had taken both children back then, then Max...
The more Grace thought about it, the more frightened she became. She'd never imagined she could encounter something so sinister!