Chapter 4
The next morning, I went to the company and spoke privately with my boss.
I had built a huge part of that business. For years, I had been his right hand. He had always regretted losing me, and before I resigned, he had even offered me equity to stay. That was a level of recognition Wyatt had never come close to receiving.
I asked for a day off under Wyatt’s name, then casually added, “If Laura ever wants to come back to work, would you still give her a chance?”
He sat upright immediately.
“Of course. If she wants to come back, the equity offer still stands.”
Wyatt had always resented the fact that my boss valued me more than him. Back then, to soothe Wyatt’s ego, I had deliberately kept my distance from my boss.
Looking back now, the man who shared my bed had been far less trustworthy than the man who signed my paychecks.
I nodded. “Thank you. I’ll let her know. She might be back very soon.”
He was so happy he nearly stood up.
After that, I took Lily to a notary office.
Then I made an appointment and transferred the premarital house in my name directly to Lily.
The only reason I could do it so smoothly was because Brenda had never allowed Wyatt to marry Molly. In her mind, Molly could give her a grandson, but she would never be a proper daughter-in-law. Wyatt, she believed, could still find someone “better” someday.
That arrogance worked in my favor.
I knelt and held Lily’s shoulders.
“When we go home, don’t tell the person who looks like Mommy about any of this. Okay?”
She nodded seriously.
“I know, Mommy.”
My heart stopped.
I stared at her. “What did you call me?”
She blinked at me like I was the silly one.
“I called you Mommy. Aren’t you my mommy?”
I swallowed hard. “Then who’s the person at home?”
She pouted. “That’s a bad lady.”
Then she looked into my eyes and said in a tiny, matter-of-fact voice, “You look different, but when you hold me, I know it’s you. The other one doesn’t care about me. That one is Daddy.”
My tears spilled over immediately.
I pulled her into my arms and held her tightly.
That moment gave me a kind of strength I had never felt before.
My daughter knew me.
My daughter chose me.
And for her, I would strip those monsters of every last cent.
I didn’t send Lily to preschool that day. Instead, I took her to my mother’s house.
My mother, of course, had no idea about the body swap. She saw Wyatt’s face and asked, “Why did you bring Lily here? Where’s Laura?”
I replied calmly, “Laura’s exhausted these past few days. Lily hasn’t been digesting well either. I don’t want Laura worrying even more. Could you keep Lily for two days? I’ll pick her up after work.”
My mother took Lily into her arms, her face full of soft, delighted surprise. She genuinely believed her son-in-law had finally learned to care for his wife and daughter.
The sight stabbed me right through the heart.
I smoothed Lily’s hair, turned around, and went back to work.
Time was my biggest enemy now. I had no idea how long I would remain in Wyatt’s body, or whether I might wake up back in my own body at any moment.
When I used to work in client development, I’d met plenty of people across the city. I couldn’t access all my old contacts from memory, but there was one person I did remember well.
I added him on WeChat.
Uncle Wen, it’s Laura. This is my new number.
He accepted quickly.
He was a quiet, middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses and a professional calm that had always made me trust him. I sent him several photos of Brenda and gave him detailed instructions.
“If this works, I’ll make sure you’re compensated.”
He simply replied, Leave it to me. I don’t fail.
“I know,” I answered.
After meeting him, I went back to the office.
Wyatt called again, his voice probing.
“Lily’s teacher said you didn’t bring her to preschool today.”
I glanced down at a stack of business records and answered lazily, “Right. I dropped her off at my mother’s.”
He hesitated. “Why? Is there a reason?”
I laughed coldly.
“Because you don’t know how to make soup. If Lily comes home and has nothing to eat, her digestion gets worse. My mom can take care of her for a few days.”
He let out a breath of relief. “Oh. So that’s all.”
I asked, “What exactly were you worried about?”
He stumbled for words, then changed the subject. “When are we going to switch back? I’m going crazy sitting at home all day.”
I almost laughed.
When I stayed home, I was never sitting around. I was cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, handling Lily, managing Brenda’s appointments, budgeting, washing, organizing, keeping the entire world turning.
Wyatt had barely been home a few days, and dust was already gathering on the floor while he walked right past it.
I said lightly, “Who knows? Maybe we’ll never switch back.”
He blurted out, “Then what about my son—”
My heart turned to ice.
I snapped the file shut and asked, “What were you about to say?”
He instantly backtracked. “Nothing. Go back to work.”
Then he hung up.
I stared at the phone for a moment, took a breath, and headed straight to my boss’s office.
“These are records of Frank’s dirty dealings over the years,” I said, placing everything on his desk.
Frank had been someone I hired myself. Back then, he was unemployed, in his thirties, not especially educated, but I saw potential in him and made an exception.
Who would have thought that in the end, he’d help Wyatt deceive me?
When I still supervised him, I used to tell him that cleverness without integrity always comes with a price.
Apparently, I had underestimated how low he was willing to sink.
I spent two full hours in my boss’s office that day.
Not long after I walked out, the police arrived.
My boss had reported him.
Frank was arrested on the spot.
When he saw me standing there with the boss, his face went white.
“Wyatt! Say something for me! I covered for you and Molly plenty of times!”
I looked straight at him and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure every dirty thing you’ve done gets said.”
My boss frowned immediately. “Who’s Molly? Wyatt, you and Laura have a daughter. I’m warning you right now, don’t do anything that betrays Laura. She’s the best employee I’ve ever had.”
Warmth spread through my chest.
I nodded. “Don’t worry. No one is going to get away with betraying Laura.”
Over the following days, I cooperated fully with the police investigation into Frank.
At the same time, I quietly collected a mountain of evidence against Wyatt too.
And that pile was enormous.
The luxurious life he provided Molly had not been funded only by his salary. A good portion of it came from shady money.
But I couldn’t expose that part yet.
If I reported it while still in Wyatt’s body, the person who would go to prison for it would be me.
So instead, I preserved everything.
Saved it.
Backed it up.
Built my case one layer at a time.
Meanwhile, through the new account, I continued to soothe Molly just enough to keep her from suspecting anything.
As for Wyatt, Frank’s arrest clearly rattled him. He was too distracted to realize Molly had practically stopped replying to his old burner messages.