Chapter 144 – Capturing the Culprit
Under Zhong Dequan’s persuasion, Wu Weimin cried, but gradually calmed down in the end.
Yes, they lost their child, but Cuicui was the most important.
Now, what Cuicui needed most was him.
Knowing that they lost the child, Cuicui was surely more heartbroken than him.
“Doctor, can’t we really see the child? Or can we take him back and bury him ourselves?”
Zhong Dequan shook his head. “For deceased infants, the hospital has a standardized procedure. They won’t let you see them or take them back. It’s also for your own good, to prevent you from being immersed in sadness, which would affect your future if you want other children.”
“So…”
Although Zhong Dequan didn’t say the rest of the words, Wu Weimin understood.
He knew Zhong Dequan was doing it for their own good, but not seeing even a glimpse of the child made Wu Weimin still feel sad.
“Go in, Comrade Deng Cuicui is waking up. What she needs most now is your company.”
“Comfort her well, you will have children in the future.”
Zhong Dequan nodded at Wu Weimin and walked into the ward. After a while, a mournful cry suddenly came from inside, as if every sound was shedding blood. A smile appeared on Zhong Dequan’s face involuntarily, but no matter how you looked at it, the smile seemed eerie.
His eyes were indifferent, then without hesitation, he turned and left.
Navigating through the hospital corridors, he soon arrived at a secluded area and opened a door.
Inside was a nurse, none other than Zhong Dequan’s cousin, Zhong Shuangshuang. She was holding a swaddled baby in her arms.
Upon seeing Zhong Dequan enter, Zhong Shuangshuang approached with the child and said, “Elder cousin, it’s been confirmed again. This baby is RH-negative Panda blood type.”
Zhong Dequan nodded in satisfaction.
“No time to waste. The buyer has contacted me. Hold the baby and follow me.”
“Alright.”
Zhong Shuangshuang didn’t hesitate much; she had seen this kind of thing many times before.
She carefully wrapped the baby, already sedated, placed it in a vegetable basket, covered it, and both of them removed their white coats, wrapped scarves around their faces like a couple, and left the hospital.
They were familiar with the route, quickly arriving at a secluded yard. After confirming the password, they entered.
In the yard, there were two similarly disguised individuals, their faces covered except for their eyes, waiting.
“The goods have arrived,” Zhong Dequan announced.
Zhong Shuangshuang stepped forward, opened the basket, revealing the baby inside.
The other two glanced inside. “Are you sure this is the Panda blood type child?”
“Yes.”
“Alright.” They nodded. “We’ve worked together many times. We trust you.”
They then pulled out a bundle of cloth, filled with cash.
“Money on one hand, goods on the other.”
At that moment, the tightly closed door was suddenly kicked open, and someone leaped into the yard from outside.
About a dozen people, armed, quickly surrounded them.
“Police, don’t move!”
Zhang Changzheng, holding a gun, walked slowly towards the disguised Zhong Dequan, saying, “Zhong Dequan, you, as a doctor, collaborated with human tr*ffickers, abd*cted newborns, deliberately caused multiple maternal deaths over more than a decade, and are suspected of child swapping. Your crimes are extremely heinous. Now that we’ve caught you red-handed, surrender.”
Meanwhile, Zhong Shuangshuang, holding the basket, was so frightened by the sight of so many police officers that her legs went weak.
She collapsed to the ground, almost dropping the basket. Fortunately, one of the police officers promptly caught the basket, took the baby out of it, and protected it.
“Elder, elder cousin, wha-what do we do…” It was over, all over.
Zhong Shuangshuang appealed to Zhong Dequan for help.
Zhong Dequan, after being shocked, just smiled and didn’t resist or make any excuses.
The other two human tr*ffickers, faced with so many gun muzzles, couldn’t resist either. If they resisted and tried to flee, they might face a bullet, ending their lives.
They immediately raised their hands in surrender.
Zhang Changzheng gestured, and soon, the four were arrested. Following them were Zhong Dequan’s relatives who conspired with him, including his father-in-law, the director of Anren Hospital.
…
In the hospital room, Deng Cuicui woke up from anesthesia and learned from her husband that their child had passed away shortly after birth.
They embraced each other, tears silently streaming down their faces, immersed in the sorrow of losing their child.
Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and a police officer walked in carrying a swaddled baby.
The couple stared in astonishment as the young officer handed the swaddled baby to Wu Weimin.
Wu Weimin instinctively took the baby.
Upon lowering his head, he saw the peacefully sleeping child in the swaddle. However, upon seeing him, he was taken aback by how familiar the baby looked.
“Why does this child look so much like you?” Deng Cuicui, standing beside him, leaned over and immediately recognized that the baby in the swaddle was a miniature version of her husband.
Upon hearing his wife’s words, Wu Weimin also realized.
Yes, this child looked so much like him.
What on earth was going on?
“Comrades Wu Weimin and Deng Cuicui, this child is indeed your child, your biological child…”
As the police officer explained, the couple finally understood that this was truly their child. Contrary to what Zhong Dequan had told them about the child passing away at birth, the child was alive and well.
Zhong Dequan lied, and he even took the child with the intention of selling them.
“Is this really our child? Yes, this is our child. Weimin, look at how this child is a spitting image of you.”
“That damned Zhong Dequan, claiming to be a doctor and yet collaborating with human tr*ffickers, even saying our child had died, when in fact he planned to sell our child.”
“How heartless can he be? If it weren’t for the police finding our child and catching that wicked doctor, we might never have seen our child again. Who knows what kind of life our child would have had if they were abd*cted?”
“Weimin, this comrade police officer is our great benefactor.”
“Thank you so much, police officer. I… I’m kneeling down to thank you.”
Deng Cuicui was just a simple rural woman with straightforward thoughts. Overwhelmed with gratitude, she wanted to kneel and kowtow to express her thanks to the police officer in front of her.
As Deng Cuicui was about to kneel, Wu Weimin naturally followed his wife.
“Eh, Comrade Deng Cuicui, please don’t. You’ve just given birth not long ago, and we don’t do the kneeling and kowtowing thing nowadays.”
“Besides, protecting the people and apprehending criminals is our duty.”
After some persuasion, Deng Cuicui and Wu Weimin refrained from kneeling and kowtowing. Instead, they held their child, tears of joy streaming down their faces.
How disgusting, they even risked the child with a potential hostage situation. After risking the life of the mother on a hunch, it’s time to risk the baby’s life.
I don’t think the baby was truly at risk because they knew the traffickers wouldn’t harm the child, especially with guns pointed at them, they’re more afraid of being shot by taking risky movements. Besides, from a policeman’s perspective, it’s better to get conclusive evidence of wrongdoing firsthand to ensure no leeway for possible escape from the law. From an emotional perspective of an innocent life being at risk, it is certainly cruel, but from a logical standpoint for the greater good of many other possible victims, certain risks must be taken to prevent future cases of similar nature from happening again. It’s a cruel reality, but that’s the way most law enforcement will probably perceive the situation.