Ch 590 - An Unhappy Family

The family tried to move to the edge of the crowd, but it was difficult for them to get through, and the baby kept crying. They passed near Alex, and as he watched them, he suddenly stepped forward and blocked their way. "Stop!" he cried.

Seeing Alex, the grandfather paused, startled. Then he said, "Get out of our way. Why are you trying to block us? Are you sick or something?"

"I'm not sick, but you are," Alex said. "Your sickness is all in the mind."

The grandfather narrowed his eyes. "Bastard! Who gives you the courage to talk to us like that?"

The young father also stared at Alex and said threateningly, "I want you to apologize immediately, or you'll be in a heap of trouble."

Alex rounded on the man. "If you're not ill, why do you yell at your wife instead of helping her with the baby?"

"What business is it of yours?" the man asked. "The baby is mine, and I'll raise her how I see fit."

"At first glance, I could see you were trying to do what you thought was right," Alex said. "After all, the child's cries were obviously uncontrollable."

The family thought they had been drawing attention before, but now that the young man had stepped in their path and started to scold them, the crowd had multiplied and pushed closer.

The grandmother's expression had also morphed into one of fury. "Are you accusing us of something, young man? Don't slander us. We didn't threaten the baby. She cried because she was hungry and tired. Everything is fine."

She pointed a finger at Alex in warning and said, "Don't get involved when you don't know the whole story. Meddling in things that don't involve you will only get you into trouble."

The grandparents and the young husband all glared at Alex.

The young mother also looked at Alex and said quietly, "Please, everything is okay. No one hurt the baby. We wouldn't do that."

"I believe you haven't harmed her," Alex said, indicating the young mother. "But I don't believe them. I believe they intended to harm your baby."

He stretched out his hand to her. "Come with me. I own a medical clinic. Let me examine your baby and see if there is something wrong with her."

"No, you can't give her to him!" the grandmother immediately objected. "He's not a good man. If you give the child to him, he'll take her away." She tugged on her daughter-in-law's arm, trying to drag her through the crowd.

The young mother hesitated; she didn't follow Alex, but she also didn't leave.

"Do you really think I'm trying to take your baby away from you?" Alex asked gently. "Look at all these people? They wouldn't let me get away with it, even if that was my intention. I assure you it's not." He looked at the whimpering baby again and continued. "Do you really have the heart to watch your child cry all the time?"

Voices from the crowd started to express their agreement.

"Lady, let the doctor have a look. Obviously, when a baby cries like that, something must be wrong."

"Yes, let him examine her. Don't worry. With so many people watching, he won't harm her."

"The doctors at the medical clinic are worthy of your trust."

The grandfather cried out, "Don't listen to them!" He looked around wildly, trying to find an escape route, but the crowd had surrounded them, effectively blocking their way.

Alex used one last form of persuasion to try to convince the young mother to relent. "You may not be able to protect yourself from their insults, but you have the power to protect your child. Are you going to use it?"

The mother bit her lip and then finally handed the baby girl to Alex. "Please help her, doctor."

"No, you fool!" the grandfather cried out.

"Give her back now!" The grandmother stamped her foot in fury.

"Don't lay a hand on my child," the husband threatened.

Alex ignored them and turned away. He asked a nearby observer if he could borrow their baby stroller and a plastic bag. They consented, and he put the baby in the stroller. Then, using the plastic bag like a glove, he began running his hand over the baby's body.

After a few moments, he said, "Ah ha!"

Without waiting, he reached under the baby's back and pulled out a needle. It was sharp and had been tucked into the baby's diaper.

The crowd gasped. A murmur ran through the onlookers, and some turned accusingly to look at the young mother.

The mother was as shocked as the rest of the crowd. She turned and looked at her mother-in-law.

"Where did this needle come from?" she asked carefully.

"I don't know. I don't know," her mother-in-law replied. "Why are you looking at me? You changed her diaper last. You must have left the needle near her."

The grandfather and the young husband looked murderous, but they stayed silent.

"Don't attack the child's mother," Alex said to the grandmother. He held up the needle and looked at it. "This looks like a sewing needle. I assume you are missing one?"

The grandmother stared at Alex, feigning shock at the accusation. "How dare you accuse me. Why would I hurt her?"

Alex looked at the older woman with contempt. "I don't know why you would want to harm your own grandchild. Perhaps you wished for the child to be different. Maybe you wished she was a boy, or that she had blond hair instead of brown, or green eyes instead of blue. I don't know. In any case, you harmed your grandchild, and I'm disgusted by you."

He turned back to the mother and placed the baby back in her arms. "I think you should come with me," he said.

The mother nodded and looked at her mother-in-law in dismay. "How could you?" she asked. "How could you try to harm your granddaughter?"

The crowd began to murmur again.

"No wonder the baby girl cried so bitterly. Her evil grandmother had poked her with a sewing needle."

"It's not just the evil grandmother. I think the grandfather and the father are equally guilty."

Others picked up their cell phones and called the police.

The mother hugged the baby girl and looked at her mother-in-law with tears streaming down her face. "You are all animals."

The grandmother had recovered herself and turned toward Alex menacingly as she said, "You accused me of hurting the baby. I will sue you for slander."

"The sewing needle is proof of what you did," Alex said as he picked up the plastic bag and shook it. He hadn't touched the needle at all and had simply enclosed it inside the bag. "The truth will soon be revealed. The police will look for fingerprints on the needle, and we'll soon know who did this."

The grandmother's face turned pale.

"How could you?" the young mother cried, still staring at her mother-in-law. She held the baby close. The little girl had stopped crying.

The older woman ignored her and turned back to Alex. "Why couldn't you mind your own business?"