Chapter 256 Proposal

Chapter 257 Taking the Child to Work

At Sophia's one-month checkup, her weight gain was at the lower limit of the normal range.

The doctor asked about feeding, and she said the baby didn't like to eat much and would fall asleep while feeding.

"It's normal for newborns to be sleepy," the doctor said. "Every child is different - some are more active, some are quieter."

Anna nodded, but the tension in her heart didn't ease.

After getting home, she still felt something was off.

She thought back to when Hope was little. Although Hope had spent time in an incubator back then, after coming home she ate well and was quite alert when awake.

But Sophia now was too quiet for a normal baby.

She installed a hidden camera in the nursery.

The camera was connected to her phone, and she'd check it from time to time. The first couple days everything looked normal - Beth fed the baby, burped her, changed diapers. Her technique was professional, her manner gentle. Nothing seemed wrong.

On the third afternoon, while she was handling documents in her studio, she unconsciously opened the monitor again.

On screen, Beth picked Sophia up from the crib.

The baby had woken up and was crying softly with a pouty face.

Beth held her and patted her a couple times, then looked back toward the door. After confirming no one was there, she carried the baby over to her large cloth bag in the corner.

Holding the child with one hand, she unzipped the bag with the other and pulled out a small white pill bottle.

Anna stared at her phone screen, her heart skipping a beat.

Beth opened the bottle, shook out half a white pill, crushed it with her fingers, and mixed the crushed powder into the nearby baby bottle.

She shook the bottle, stuck the nipple in Sophia's mouth. The baby sucked twice and quieted down, her eyelids slowly drooping, and soon her eyes closed completely.

Beth put the baby back in the crib, stuffed the pill bottle back in her bag - her movements practiced, like she'd done this countless times.

Then she just sat there playing on her phone.

Anna's hand holding the phone was shaking. She stood up and called Ethan.

"Come home right now. Immediately." Her voice was low, but each word seemed forced through clenched teeth.

Ethan didn't ask why, just said okay.

In less than twenty minutes, he was there.

Anna had security waiting at the nanny's door. Without alerting anyone, they pushed the door open.

Beth was organizing things. Seeing Anna and Ethan appear together with two bodyguards behind them, her face changed immediately.

"Mr. Gray, Mrs. Gray, what's wrong?"

Anna didn't speak. She walked over, opened Beth's cloth bag, and pulled out the white pill bottle.

She handed it to Ethan. He glanced at it, his face darkening: "Sleeping pills."

Beth's face went white: "Those are for me, I can't sleep at night..."

"It's on camera," Anna cut her off, her voice cold as ice. "You crush half a sleeping pill every day and mix it in the formula to feed my daughter."

Beth's lips started trembling. She tried to explain, but Anna wasn't looking at her anymore.

"Call the police," she said to Ethan.

When the police arrived, Beth was still protesting her innocence, saying the baby was too noisy, always crying at night, she couldn't take it anymore, she only gave a tiny bit, it wouldn't hurt anything.

Anna held Sophia, looking down at the child's peaceful sleeping face, her fingers clenched white.

Ethan put his arm around her shoulder, blocking Beth behind him: "No settlement, no apology accepted. Whatever the sentence should be, that's what it should be."

After Beth was taken away, Anna immediately took the baby to the hospital.

The doctor did a full examination and confirmed there was no irreversible damage, but it would take time to metabolize the drug residue in her system.

Leaving the hospital, Anna wouldn't let go of Sophia.

Ethan drove, occasionally glancing at her. She stared out the window, looking calm, but her eyes were red.

"It's my fault," she said. "I should have noticed earlier."

Ethan reached over with one hand and held hers: "It's not your fault, it's mine. I didn't take good care of her."

Anna squeezed his hand tightly.

After replacing Beth, the agency introduced several more nannies, but Anna didn't trust any of them.

Every time a new nanny started, she'd observe them secretly for several days. Only after confirming they really had no problems would she dare let them watch the baby alone.

But even then, she couldn't relax.

The nanny livestream incident happened shortly after the change.

The agency recommended a young nanny in her early twenties. Sweet-talker, quick worker.

She performed well during the first few trial days, very patient with the baby. Anna observed for two days, thought everything was fine, and let her watch Sophia alone.

Then this nanny, while the baby was sleeping, started a livestream on her phone.

"Hey everyone, look at this baby I'm watching. Isn't she white? Isn't she cute?" She pointed the camera at Sophia in the crib. "This is a rich family's kid. The nursery is bigger than my living room at home. Look at this crib - supposedly costs a million."

The comments started flooding in.

[Make the baby roll over so we can see]

[That room is huge, being rich is nice]

[How much do you make, host?]

The nanny kept replying to comments while filming: "The pay's not bad, better than working in a factory anyway. Main thing is these people are dumb with lots of money. I told them I know how to take care of babies and they believed me. Actually I just got a certificate. All my experience is from watching my sister-in-law, hahaha."

As she was talking, the comments suddenly exploded.

[Host, behind you]

[Police police police]

[You're done you're done you're done]

The nanny instinctively turned around and met the eyes of police at the door.

Anna stood behind the police, phone in hand, her screen showing the nanny's livestream.

The livestream viewers saw her getting caught, comments flying even faster, gifts flooding the screen.

Police confiscated her phone, checked the livestream replay and recordings, confirmed she had filmed and broadcast a minor's private images without permission, suspected of violating privacy rights. They also checked her contract with the agency and found her credentials were forged.

As she was being taken away, the nanny was still yelling about suing Anna for violating her rights. The police expressionlessly stuffed her into the patrol car.

After two incidents in a row, Anna and Ethan discussed it and decided not to hire nannies anymore.

They'd take turns bringing Sophia to work - Anna on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Ethan on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

But in practice, Ethan ended up taking her much more than agreed.

He always found various reasons to take the baby from Anna. She had no choice but to let him.

A crib appeared in Gray Corporation's CEO office.

During meetings, Ethan would put Sophia in the baby carriage nearby, flipping through reports while gently rocking the carriage with his toe. When the baby cried, he'd stop, pick her up, pat her back with one hand while continuing to review documents with the other.

Company employees went from initial shock to getting used to it.

Sophia attended meetings and contract signings with her dad while still in swaddling clothes. When she got a bit older and could crawl and walk, she'd explore all over the CEO office carpet.

When her dad was discussing serious business, she'd sit on the carpet playing with blocks, quiet as a little hamster, occasionally looking up at visitors before going back to fiddling with her toys.

The company executives all loved this little one. The CFO brought her a lollipop every time he came to report. The marketing manager constantly brought her various little toys. Even the perpetually stern audit director would crack a rare smile when seeing her.