\n\n\n\nLady pushing a baby stroller | Source: Midjourney
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The material was a rich, dark coffee color, the kind that looked buttery soft to the touch. It wasn\u2019t bulky or clunky like most strollers you see. No, this was something straight out of a high-end boutique, the kind of thing celebrities get for their kids when they\u2019re making a statement.\n\n\n\n Fancy dark brown bassinet stroller | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n She walked past me, her designer heels clicking against the pavement with that kind of sound that just makes you feel\u2026 poor.\n\n\n\n Her coat was tailored to perfection, a deep brown that looked like it cost more than my entire wardrobe. But none of that mattered; what caught my attention was her face. She looked like she hadn\u2019t slept in weeks. Her eyes were sunken, distant like she was lost in a nightmare she couldn\u2019t wake up from.\n\n\n\n Sad woman pushing a stroller | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n I shifted Anne\u2019s weight in my arms, pressing her small body closer to mine as I tried to shake off the moment. My baby girl, barely four months old, squirmed, letting out a tiny cry.\n\n\n\n \u201cShh, it\u2019s okay,\u201d I whispered, trying to comfort both of us. I couldn\u2019t afford to daydream about other people\u2019s problems. Mine were already too much to handle.\n\n\n\n Young woman carrying her baby | Source: Midjourney But as I kept walking, I noticed something strange. The woman had stopped near the dumpster at the edge of the alley. She hesitated, looking around like she was checking if anyone was watching. I froze, curiosity piqued. What is she doing?\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d I whispered to myself, watching her hesitate, her fingers gripping the stroller\u2019s handle so tightly that her knuckles turned white.\n\n\n\n Wealthy woman with a stroller at a dumpsite | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n And then, she did the unthinkable. She left the stroller by the dumpster, took one last, long look at it at whatever was inside, and walked away.\n\n\n\n Fast.\n\n\n\n \u201cWait\u2026what the hell?\u201d I muttered. My feet froze, my body refusing to move as my mind scrambled to make sense of what I\u2019d just seen. Who leaves a stroller like that? My eyes darted between her disappearing figure and the abandoned stroller.\n\n\n\n She didn\u2019t come back.\n\n\n\n Wealthy woman abandoning a fancy stroller at a dumpsite | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n I swallowed hard. \u201cI\u2026 I must have seen that wrong,\u201d I whispered, looking down at Anne. She stared back up at me, her little eyes wide with curiosity, as if sensing my panic. \u201cPeople don\u2019t just leave babies\u2026 right?\u201d\n\n\n\n But my legs were already moving, as if on autopilot. I shouldn\u2019t get involved. I had Anne to think about. But something wouldn\u2019t let me walk away.\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat if it\u2019s just\u2026 empty?\u201d I said aloud, trying to calm my racing heart as I took cautious steps toward the stroller. \u201cMaybe it\u2019s just\u2026 old clothes or something.\u201d\n\n\n\n Young woman carrying her baby while walking at a dumpsite | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n I stopped in front of it, my breath shaky. My fingers hovered over the handle.\n\n\n\n \u201cOkay, okay, here we go,\u201d I whispered, gripping the sleek, expensive leather handle. Slowly, I leaned over to peek inside.\n\n\n\n And that\u2019s when my world changed forever.\n\n\n\n I stood there, frozen, staring into the stroller. I couldn\u2019t believe what I was seeing.\n\n\n\n \u201cIs that\u2026 cash?\u201d I whispered, blinking rapidly, hoping I was imagining things. But no, it was real. Bundles of it. Neatly stacked, large values of money.\n\n\n\n Baby stroller filled with cash | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n I glanced down at Anne, who was babbling softly, oblivious to the chaos swirling in my mind.\n\n\n\n \u201cThis can\u2019t be happening. No way.\u201d\n\n\n\n My hand shook as I reached out to touch one of the bundles. The crisp bills felt unreal under my fingertips. I pulled my hand back like it burned me.\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat the hell is going on?\u201d I muttered to myself, glancing around the alley. Was this some kind of setup? My heart pounded louder with every second.\n\n\n\n Young woman carrying her baby | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n Maybe there were cameras. Maybe someone was watching me right now, waiting for me to take the bait.\n\n\n\n \u201cShould I leave it? No, I can\u2019t just walk away. I\u2026 I need this. Anne needs this.\u201d I was practically talking to myself at this point, trying to reason through the flood of panic crashing over me.\n\n\n\n Then I saw it, the envelope, tucked neatly between the bundles. My fingers trembled as I pulled it out and ripped it open. A single note fell out, written in neat, careful handwriting.\n\n\n\n \u201cTake it. You\u2019ll need it more than I do. Please don\u2019t try to find me.\u201d\n\n\n\n I read it aloud, my voice cracking. \u201cWhat the\u2026?\u201d\n\n\n\n Woman reading a note | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n I glanced around again, half-expecting the woman to jump out from the shadows, but the alley was empty. The only sounds were Anne\u2019s soft gurgles and my own frantic breathing.\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat do I do, Anne?\u201d I asked, looking down at her. She blinked up at me, completely unaware of the life-altering decision I was about to make.\n\n\n\n \u201cI can\u2019t just leave it, right? What if it\u2019s a trap?\u201d I muttered, my brain bouncing between fear and need.\n\n\n\n Anne gurgled in response, tiny fingers wrapping around a loose thread on my jacket. I sighed, staring back at the stroller, the cash, and the note.\n\n\n\n \u201cOkay\u2026 okay, I\u2019ll take it.\u201d My voice wavered, the weight of the decision sinking in. \u201cBut we\u2019re getting out of here fast.\u201d\n\n\n\n Young mother with a stroller full of cash | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n The next few days were a blur of disbelief.\n\n\n\n \u201cCan you believe this, Anne?\u201d I held up a brand-new onesie, soft and warm, perfect for her. \u201cNo more second-hand stuff. You\u2019re going to be so cozy.\u201d\n\n\n\n Anne giggled in response, waving her arms. I smiled, but deep down, I was still wrestling with it.\n\n\n\n Four month old baby | Source: Pexels\n\n\n\n I called my landlord. \u201cYeah, rent\u2019s covered. All of it. I\u2019m moving, actually.\u201d\n\n\n\n Then, to the credit collectors. \u201cPaid off. Yes, everything. No, you won\u2019t be hearing from me again.\u201d\n\n\n\n Finally, as I stood in our new apartment\u2014a place that actually had sunlight and didn\u2019t smell like mildew\u2014I whispered, \u201cFate, huh? Or a curse?\u201d\n\n\n\n The note still lingered in my mind. \u201cWhy me?\u201d\n\n\n\n A week had passed since I found the stroller, and life had started to settle into a strange, new normal. Anne was cooing happily in her new crib, the bills were paid, and the suffocating weight of debt had finally lifted off my chest. For the first time in months, I could breathe.\n\n\n\n Happy mom and baby | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n Then, the letter came.\n\n\n\n I had been sorting through the usual stack of junk mail when I saw it. My heart sank. The envelope was thick, with no return address, and the handwriting, made my stomach churn. My fingers shook as I tore it open, already sensing that this letter would unravel everything.\n\n\n\n The first line hit me like a punch to the gut, \u201cI know you took the money. That was my plan.\u201d\n\n\n\n I froze, eyes locked on the page. She had tracked me down. How? Why? My pulse quickened as I kept reading.\n\n\n\n Young woman reading a letter | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n \u201cBut I also know who you are, and more importantly, I know who your baby\u2019s father is. He\u2019s not the man you think he is. He\u2019s much worse. I was his wife.\u201d\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat?\u201d I whispered, the room spinning around me. I gripped the edge of the kitchen table, my legs threatening to give out. The woman\u2026that woman\u2026had been married to him? The man who had destroyed my life? The same man who had denied Anne, left us with nothing, and ensured I lost my job?\n\n\n\n I froze.\n\n\n\n The letter continued.\n\n\n\n \u201cHe left me, just like he left you. But the money I gave you? It was his. Consider it your revenge, and mine too.\u201d\n\n\n\n Woman reading a letter in her kitchen | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n I dropped the letter, staring blankly at the paper as the pieces began to fall into place. The cash. The note. The woman\u2019s broken look as she abandoned the stroller by the dumpster. She hadn\u2019t just been some rich stranger on the edge of a breakdown. No. She had been in my shoes. Worse, even.\n\n\n\n He hadn\u2019t just ruined me, he\u2019d ruined her, too. My chest tightened as the realization sank in. The fortune in that stroller wasn\u2019t just a lifeline. It was a weapon. Her final act of vengeance passed on to me.\n\n\n\n Woman standing in her kitchen | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n I sank into the nearest chair, my mind racing. \u201cAll this time\u2026 it was him,\u201d I muttered, the words barely making it past my lips. He wasn\u2019t just some deadbeat father. He was much more than that. And whatever darkness he carried with him, it had destroyed her life, just like it had tried to destroy mine.\n\n\n\n But she had fought back, in her own twisted way. And now, without even realizing it, I was part of that fight, too.\n\n\n\n I picked the letter back up, reading the last line slowly, letting it sink in.\n\n\n\n \u201cNow we\u2019re both free, but he doesn\u2019t know it yet. Good luck, and take care of your daughter. Don\u2019t waste this chance.\u201d\n\n\n\n Young woman reading a letter | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n For the first time in months, I felt something unexpected\u2014a smile. Not a small, timid one, but a real, full smile that stretched across my face. It wasn\u2019t just the relief of having escaped the suffocating grip of poverty. It was more than that.\n\n\n\n I wasn\u2019t afraid anymore. Not of him. Not of what he\u2019d done. And I knew, deep down, that this wasn\u2019t over. He had no idea what was coming.\n\n\n\n I looked over at Anne, sleeping peacefully, her tiny chest rising and falling with each soft breath.\n\n\n\n With a sigh of relief, I whispered, \u201cHe\u2019s not going to hurt us ever again. Not this time.\u201d\n\n\n\n Woman standing in her kitchen enjoying sunset | Source: Midjourney\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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