"Ah… finally I can relax for the rest of the day and play with my beautiful daughter," Jake sighed in relief, stretching his stiff body on the reclined car seat. It had only been a few hours with Kody, but somehow that man always brought a bad aura that drained Jake's energy and mind.
"Come on, man. You have to smile and stay excited for Elsa. My daughter shouldn't receive any of this bad energy I'm feeling," he added in a murmur, adjusting his seat to a proper position again. Elsa's amazing father then drove off toward the daycare where his daughter was.
The trip was slowed down by heavy rain, which reduced visibility, and the flooded streets made it worse. It took nearly two hours before Jake finally arrived.
"Excuse me…" Jake called out at the half-open door. No one responded, but he figured his voice may have been drowned out by the pouring rain. "Excuse me!" he repeated louder, but still no reply.
Jake decided to step inside the usual room where he often found Elsa asleep when he came to pick her up. And sure enough, Elsa was there with three other toddlers, all fast asleep in their cribs. But where was the caretaker?
"Where is everyone? Why would they leave the babies alone during a storm like this? What if they got startled by thunder?" Jake muttered, walking toward the sleeping children.
The man with the body of a bodyguard but a gentle heart looked at each child carefully. He smiled, heartwarming, seeing how differently each baby slept. Jake also adjusted their blankets to make sure they wouldn't get cold.
But then his movement stopped—he sensed something behind him. He quickly turned around—and tap! his reflexes kicked in just in time to catch a broomstick that was about to hit him.
"Get away from the kids, you child kidnapper!" Mina screamed, startling Jake.
He was still processing her accusation when another swing of the broom and Mina's loud screams overwhelmed him. The babies, including Elsa, woke up in panic.
"Get out, you kidnapper! Help!" Mina shouted again, now calling for help. Jake grew even more panicked. How could he be accused of being a kidnapper?
Thinking fast, Jake grabbed the broom handle from Mina and twisted her arm to stop her. He quickly restrained her and covered her mouth from behind to keep her quiet.
"Mmm! Mmm!" Mina struggled to speak. The midwife-in-training looked terrified, crying hysterically, though her voice was muffled by Jake's hand and the sound of the rain outside.
She was convinced now—Jake was no good man. He was just pretending, using Elsa as a cover. Maybe Elsa wasn't even really his child.
"Hey, miss!" Jake snapped, turning Mina around and shaking her slightly to get her attention.
"Don't hurt me—ahh!" Mina sobbed in fear.
"Who's hurting you? Look at me!" Jake demanded.
"I know who you are and what you're doing. You're a gangster who traffics children! You used Elsa to gain my aunt's sympathy, didn't you?! I knew it from the first time I saw you!" Mina shouted back, still struggling to break free. "Let go of me!"
Jake let out a long sigh. "You've got it all wrong," he said quietly. "I'll let you go as long as you stop screaming. You're waking the babies," he continued, slowly releasing Mina.
As soon as he did, Mina grabbed the broom again to protect herself. "Back off!"
Jake sighed again, but obeyed her and stepped back. "Why would I hurt my own child? Elsa is really my daughter. Do you want me to bring her birth certificate right now? Or maybe Mrs. Katty has a copy in her documents. You can check it yourself," he explained.
"But that doesn't erase my suspicion. If you're not planning anything bad, why are you even here? You sneaked in while I was gone. A good person wouldn't enter someone's place unannounced like you just did!"
What Mina said wasn't wrong. But the mistake wasn't Jake's—and now it was time to speak up.
"I rang the bell. I knocked on the door and called out several times, but no one responded from inside. I thought maybe my voice was drowned out by the heavy rain, so I just went in."
"Besides, it's not like this is my first time here. Mrs. Katty often tells me to just come in if no one is at the front. And about that accusation—I reject it, miss."
Jake explained in a long breath, trying to clarify things. The large man stepped toward Mina, who remained on guard. Out of fear, Mina tried to hit Jake again, but this time, Jake didn't back down. He blocked the broomstick and snapped it in two—causing Mina to recoil in even greater fear.
"My face, my build, and my appearance may not be enough to convince you that I'm just an ordinary father trying to give a good life to my little girl. But I don't blame you. Not at all," Jake said coldly, locking eyes with Mina's trembling gaze.
"I'm sorry if my presence startled and frightened you. But like I said earlier, I haven't done anything wrong. I only came to pick up Elsa, just as I promised Mrs. Katty. That's all." With that, Jake turned to the baby crib where Elsa lay and gently picked her up.
"Instead of worrying about me stealing the babies here, wouldn't it be better if you actually made sure they were safe? If you're on duty alone, why didn't you lock the front door when you were in the back?" Jake's words hit Mina like a slap.
After saying that, Jake carried Elsa out of the daycare, leaving Mina frozen in guilt.
"So it was my fault? Was I really that unreasonable to him?" Mina muttered to herself. Slowly, tears streamed down her face as she admitted the mistake was hers. Jake had done nothing wrong—she had simply misjudged him.
Back in the car, Jake gently strapped Elsa into the baby car seat he had prepared earlier. But as he finished securing everything, his eyes caught sight of an unfamiliar object under the car floor. He picked it up.
"This is Mrs. Mary's wallet. Did she not realize she left it behind?" he mumbled. There was no doubt—it had to be Mary's, since she was the only one who had ridden in the car that day. But Jake hesitated, remembering Kody's warning.