At 10 PM, a notification lit up my phone. My next-door neighbor had tagged me in the apartment’s Facebook Group. “@Vivian, you disgusting bitch. Get your shit together. Your bed’s been squeaking all night. Are you trying to keep the whole building awake?” “My baby has a heart condition. Wake him up again, and I swear I’ll kill you and your whole family!” I quickly replied that I lived alone. She refused to believe it. I tried explaining, patiently, a few more times. Then I gave up. I never imagined that two weeks later, she’d kick in my door with a kitchen knife and stab me eighteen times. I collapsed in a pool of blood, but she kept swinging the knife like a maniac, screaming. “It’s all your fault! My baby died last night! You’re going to pay with your life!” My vision blurred. As I lost consciousness, one thought lingered: How could I have hurt a baby I never even saw? Then I opened my eyes. I was back on the day when she started to curse me in the group. This time, I didn’t back down. I typed my reply, my fingers steady and cold. “Stop being crazy! Your baby died three years ago!!”
The moment my message landed in the group, the lively chatter died. An absolute, loaded silence fell. A few minutes later, my next-door neighbor erupted. “What the FUCK are you talking about, you crazy bitch? My baby is turning one next month! How DARE you say that?” “You all saw that, right? This barren witch in Unit 705 can’t have her own, so she’s putting a curse on mine!” The other neighbors, witnessing the firestorm, quickly rallied around Jaclyn. “@Vivian, that was completely out of line. You never bring a child into it.” Someone else tried to calm Jaclyn. “Jaclyn, sweetie, take a breath. We all have to live here. Let’s just talk this through calmly.” Jaclyn didn’t like that one bit. “Talk nicely? My ass! What is there to talk about with a piece of trash like her? She just can’t stand seeing me happy, seeing my baby alive!” “My baby has a heart condition! He barely made it to one year old, and the doctors said we have to be extra careful with him!” “If anything happens to my baby because of her, I’ll put her in the ground myself!” The virtual mob in the group chat quickly fell in line, their words turning into weapons aimed at me. “Jaclyn has a point. You should really control yourselves late at night.” “It’s past ten. Have some decency.” Reading their messages, I just felt it was absolutely absurd. I’ve lived alone in Unit 705 since the day I moved in. Not a single man has ever set foot in my apartment. As for Jaclyn next door, her baby passed away shortly after birth. How could I possibly, with a non-existent man, wake up a dead child? I was about to explain when Jaclyn started cursing me in the group again. “You bitch, are you starting again? Will you die if you don’t go at it all night?” “Are you doing this on purpose? You don’t want my baby to be well, do you? He’s finally grown this big, and you just have to kill him, huh?” “If his heart condition acts up and something happens, can you even take responsibility?” Several other neighbors also sent messages, their words dripping with impatience. “Vivian, her child is sick, he has a heart condition. Do you really have to be so mean to a child?” “Yeah, Jaclyn is a single mom, it’s not easy for her. If you can’t be considerate, fine, but don’t curse her child to die!” In my previous life, I repeatedly explained that I lived alone, but they completely ignored me. Instead, Jaclyn started harassing me even more aggressively. I called building management and even the police, but they were useless against her. In a rage, I just packed up and stayed at my best friend’s for a few days. I never imagined that when I returned to Unit 705, Jaclyn would directly break into my apartment with a knife and stab me to death. Even now, whenever I close my eyes, I remember Jaclyn’s deranged expression. I couldn’t hold back my anger anymore and just sent a voice note to the group, screaming. “Can you stop bothering me?! Your child died a long time ago!”
The group chat went silent for several seconds. I thought she’d finally shut up, but then an urgent banging erupted at my door. Through the peephole, I saw Jaclyn, her eyes wide, roaring at my door. “You bitch, you’re dead! How dare you say my baby is dead!” “My baby finally just fell back asleep, are you saying that to deliberately harm my baby?!” “If anything happens to my baby, I’ll kill you!” Other neighbors came out of their apartments after hearing the commotion, angrily scolding me. “Vivian, you’re crossing the line! Jaclyn’s child is barely almost one year old. Can’t you show some decency?” “Exactly! You’ll have children too someday. Would you stand by and let someone curse your own child with such vicious words?” “Picking on a child who’s not even one, aren’t you afraid of what karma will do to you?!” Jaclyn was still pounding on the door, her eyes bulging with pure hatred, as if she wanted to rip me to shreds. “You damn bitch! You whore! How dare you curse my child!” “I’ll kill you! I’ll kill your entire family!” Her shrill cries, piercing my eardrums, made the early morning hours particularly chilling. Just thinking about being unfairly accused in my previous life and then stabbed eight times by this psycho made my body tremble uncontrollably. Hearing her threaten to kill my whole family, I couldn’t take it anymore. I quickly yanked the door open and slapped her hard across the face. “Who the hell are you yelling at?! Where’s your baby? Why don’t I hear him crying?!” “Just bring your baby out for me to see, and I’ll happily be your free babysitter!” The slap stunned her. After a few seconds, she suddenly lunged at me, all claws and fury. I quickly dodged back into my apartment, sticking out my foot to trip her. Recalling being stabbed to death in my past life, I was blinded by rage. I plopped down on Jaclyn’s back, grabbing her hair and pulling it in both directions. “Scream now, bitch! Smash my door again, I dare you! Let’s see how tough you are now!” Jaclyn, pinned beneath me, could only shriek hysterically. “Vivian, you’re an animal! This is insane! I’m calling the cops!” Her piercing screams drew the neighbors out. They scrambled to pull us apart and called building management. I glared at Jaclyn, still seething. By my calculations, I’d only been reborn for about an hour. That meant just an hour ago, I had been killed by this lunatic right in front of me! How was I supposed to stay calm? But after pulling me away, everyone started blaming me. “Vivian, you were in the wrong to begin with, and now you’re getting physical? You think it’s okay to pick on a single mother?” “I never realized we had such a cruel neighbor on this floor!” “I’ve already called building management! If you keep this attitude, we’ll call the police and let them handle it!”
Without my weight pinning her down, Jaclyn got arrogant again. She drove two stinging slaps across my face, the sound echoing in the hallway and lighting up the motion-sensor lights on the entire floor. “You miserable bitch! You dare wake my baby, then lay a hand on me? This is what you get” I tried to struggle and hit back, but the neighbors held me in a vice grip. “Just stop struggling! Can’t you see you’re only making it worse?” Jaclyn gloated and spouted even nastier insults at me. The other neighbors also chimed in, accusing me of lacking common decency. A mom with a child, Brenda, soothed her baby with one arm while glaring at me with the other. “You’re a grown woman, don’t you have any shame? You’ve woken up every kid on this floor, what about our sleep?” “Jaclyn is a single mother, and her child has a heart condition. How can anyone put up with you causing such a ruckus?” I struggled to break free from their grasp, arguing back. “How many times have I explained? I live alone! What bed am I shaking? With a ghost?!” “Besides, she says I woke her baby up. Has anyone here even seen her child?” My words made a few of them pause, and a flicker of doubt crossed their eyes. But Jaclyn immediately retorted. “My baby just finished feeding and is sleeping soundly inside!” I scoffed. “You just said I was shaking the bed and keeping your baby awake. Now you’re out here making so much noise, and your baby can sleep through it?” Everyone was taken aback. Brenda, the mom with the baby, murmured to herself. “My baby is already a pretty sound sleeper. If her child is so sensitive to noise, how come he didn’t cry with all that commotion just now?” Just then, Mr. Davis, the building manager, hurried over. Hearing our argument, he quickly spoke up. “Ms. Jaclyn, the sounds you’re hearing might be from an aging wooden structure in your apartment.” “If it’s convenient now, we can check it out for you, to avoid disturbing your baby’s rest.” Jaclyn, who had been so arrogant, suddenly fell silent. After a long pause, she reluctantly said, “Come back tomorrow! My baby is already asleep, and all that banging and clatter will wake him up!” No way I was letting her off that easy. “I think you’re just scared, aren’t you? I’ve lived here this long, and I’ve never once seen your child!” Jaclyn immediately grabbed my arm. “You keep cursing my baby to be dead. I ask you, if my child is sleeping soundly in his room, what will you say then?” I declared right away. “If your child is truly sleeping in there, I’ll move out of this apartment complex immediately, and I guarantee you won’t hear a single peep from me!” Then, Jaclyn addressed everyone. “Everyone heard that, right? She said it herself!” With that, she yanked me into her apartment. “Fine, I’ll let you see with your own eyes!” The neighbors and I followed her inside. As soon as we entered, a strong scent of baby formula hit us. Uncleaned formula and unfinished baby bottles sat on the living room table. Baby clothes were drying on the balcony. Inside the bedroom, a crib, wind chimes, a soft play mat, and corner protectors were all perfectly in place. All these things made me start to doubt myself. Did Jaclyn really have a baby? She dragged me by the arm to the crib. “Look closely! Is my baby in there or not?!” I peered into the crib and couldn’t say another word. Jaclyn was still gloating, “Everyone heard her promise. Vivian will have to get out of this apartment complex!” After she finished, she too glanced into the crib. But then, in an instant, she collapsed to the ground. Because that crib-it was completely empty.
Jaclyn quickly got back up and frantically searched the room for her child, mumbling, “Where’s my child? Baby, where did you go?” But she searched every corner of the room and found no trace of her child. Brenda, the mom, comforted her with a pained expression. “Jaclyn, think carefully. Did you perhaps carry the baby somewhere else?” “A child less than one year old can’t get out of a crib by themselves!” At this, Jaclyn’s eyes suddenly lit up as if she’d remembered something. “Yes, someone must have carried him away just now!” With that, she violently grabbed my shoulders. “Aha! I knew it! I wondered why I didn’t see the guy you’re seeing earlier. He must have snuck off with my baby in the commotion!” “Vivian, if you dare harm my child, I’ll take your life!” She demanded the building management lock down the complex immediately. The security guards and informed neighbors helped with the search. Thirty or forty people searched the complex for over half an hour, but found no suspicious figures. Mr. Davis comforted Jaclyn. “Don’t worry, as long as the child is still in the complex, we’ll find him. If not, we’ll call the police!” Jaclyn shook her head violently. “No! We can’t call the police! It’ll scare the baby! My baby has a congenital heart condition!” Mr. Davis frowned, then continued. “But this is a big deal, you should at least tell your family, like your husband?” Unexpectedly, Jaclyn reacted even more strongly. “No! Not yet! The baby isn’t even one year old yet! I want to give him a surprise!” Her words confused everyone, but I sensed something was off. I frowned and spoke up. “Her baby isn’t in the complex anymore. You can turn this place upside down, and you still won’t find him.” Mr. Davis was furious. “Did you really take her child? Do you know kidnapping a child is a felony?!” Mark, a male neighbor, angrily slapped me across the face. “You animal! It must be because Jaclyn interrupted you and your lover messing around that you retaliated by taking her child!” Hearing this, Jaclyn rushed at me, pinning my arms down tightly. “You bitch! My baby is so small, and he has a heart condition! How could you be so cruel!” “Tell me now, where is my baby?!” I gritted my teeth and said, “I told you, your baby died a long time ago!” Everyone gasped, thinking I had killed the child. They all cursed me, as if I were some evil, cold-blooded monster, completely disregarding my explanations. Until Mr. Davis said, “We should call the police first.” Soon, the police arrived. Rose, Jaclyn’s next-door neighbor, provided surveillance footage from her front door. The footage showed that from the moment Jaclyn left her apartment to bang on my door until her child disappeared, no one entered or left her room. Building management checked the main gate cameras next. No child was seen leaving the complex. Not then, not ever. After a full investigation, the police concluded there was no evidence of an abduction. In fact, the records showed that for the past month, only Jaclyn had been seen coming and going from Unit 706. Not once was a child with her. All eyes once again fell on me. Because from the very beginning, I was the only one saying her child was already dead.
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