My Seven Wives in One Body and Me, her Manager-Chapter 127: Late Night Investigation

That night, after having dinner together, Dennis sat lost in thought in the living room. The television stayed off, and his smartphone lay face down on the coffee table. Meanwhile, Daisy, Diana, Donna, Deborah, and Daphne were in the bedroom with the baby, Destiny, keeping watch over her. Only Dulcia stayed with Dennis, sitting quietly beside him, looking just as pensive. After a few moments, Dennis turned to look at Dulcia.

"Aren’t you going to join the others in the room?" Dennis asked.

"No. Like I said, I’m anti-baby," Dulcia answered shortly.

"Do you really hate babies that much?" Dennis asked, confused.

"I don’t hate babies. I’m just anti-baby if it’s not my own. You know how it is—I’m a messy sleeper and I can be a bit rough. A baby needs gentleness, and I can’t provide that," Dulcia replied frankly.

"Hmm... so you’re happy seeing Destiny because she’s cute?" Dennis asked.

"If it’s just looking... then yes. I’m afraid of holding her, especially if she starts crying. Hey, why are we even talking about this? We both know the risks if we don’t report this situation. I don’t want the police knocking on the door tomorrow or the day after looking for a kidnapped baby or something like that," Dulcia answered, turning to look at Dennis.

"Don’t worry, I understand. That’s why I’m thinking long and hard about what I need to do," Dennis said, reaching out to touch Dulcia’s head and stroke her hair.

Dulcia shifted over and lifted Dennis’s arm, wrapping it around her shoulders before resting her head against his chest. They fell silent again, saying nothing at all. A short while later, Dulcia looked up at Dennis, who was staring straight ahead, lost in a daze.

"Hey, you’re actually happy Destiny is here, aren’t you?" Dulcia asked.

"Hmm... how do I put it? To be honest, yeah. I felt like a daddy for the first time and... today was also the first time I’ve ever held a baby. Turns out, having a kid seems like it could be fun and full of happiness," Dennis answered.

"Yeah, that’s true, but only if it’s your own kid. For example, if I were pregnant and the baby was born, I’d let you hold them first. You’d be in heaven at that moment, far beyond what you felt earlier," Dulcia said.

"Well... you’re right. It would be even happier to have a child of my own flesh and blood," Dennis replied.

"Now try to imagine—there’s someone out there waiting for Destiny to come back. Whether it’s her father, her mother, or maybe her grandparents. We can’t let Destiny stay here; surely you understand that," Dulcia said.

"Haha... you’re circling back to that, aren’t you? Of course I understand. The important thing now is for us to investigate who this person is, because whoever they are, they’re the ones responsible for leaving Destiny here," Dennis said as he opened his interface, displaying the photo of the person in his apartment hallway after they had abandoned Destiny.

Then, both of them stared at the interface in front of them, studying the figure shown in the photo. They noted the grey hoodie, which could easily be worn by a man or a woman; the black jeans, which were also gender-neutral; and the common sneakers. There was no sign of jewelry or a watch on the visible wrists, neck, or ankles. It also appeared the person wasn’t carrying a bag or anything of the sort; they truly seemed to be carrying nothing but Destiny’s bassinet before placing it at the door.

Dennis leaned over the table and picked up the paper found in Destiny’s towel once more. He read the writing again, studying the handwriting style, the ink strokes, and the writing habits, since you can usually distinguish between a man’s and a woman’s handwriting that way. Dulcia helped observe the photo, leaning her face close to the interface. Suddenly, Dulcia gasped and turned to Dennis.

"Baby, look at this," Dulcia said, pointing at the interface.

Dennis looked at what she was pointing to on the screen and narrowed his eyes. Inside the hood covering the person’s head, there was a flash of light—what looked like an earring, despite the dark surroundings. Dennis enlarged the photo, bringing the earring inside the hood into focus. He studied the shape of the jewelry until his brow furrowed and his jaw tightened from the intensity of his focus. Noticing how serious Dennis had become, Dulcia turned to him.

"Do you know someone who has an earring like that? Maybe at school? Or somewhere else?" Dulcia asked.

"Hmm... I’m not sure... but for some reason, I feel like I’ve seen that earring shape before," Dennis answered, trying to search his memory.

Dennis leaned back and thought, while Dulcia also leaned back, her eyes constantly studying Dennis beside her. After a few moments, Dennis suddenly lurched forward, his face showing that he remembered something. He immediately grabbed his smartphone and opened his gallery. He leaned back again with the phone in his hand, his finger scrolling up and down, searching for something in his relatively small collection of photos. Finally, he found a picture of himself with Bella from when they first started school, back when he was still big and heavy.

He immediately zoomed in on the photo, looking at Bella’s face before sliding it to the side. He examined a photo of Bella’s earring and compared it to the image on the interface. Dennis’s expression suddenly turned furious, and his jaw tightened far more than before. Then, he zoomed out on the interface photo to see the full body of the person who had left Destiny at his door; he studied it again, matching Bella’s posture with the figure on the screen. After that, he picked up the paper and scrutinized the handwriting one more time. His fury reached its peak.

"This is too much. The one who left Destiny at our door was Bella," Dennis said.

"Yeah... it fits. But why? Is Destiny really her child? Because yesterday, when we saw her at the reception wearing that white dress and getting out in front of us, she didn’t look like someone who had just given birth. I’m certain Destiny was born only a day or two ago because she’s still so tiny and red," Dulcia questioned.

"There’s only one way to be sure," Dennis said.

Without another thought, he dialed Bella’s number and waited for the call to connect. But Bella didn’t pick up. Dennis tried again, and the result was the same—Bella wouldn’t answer her phone. Then, when Dennis tried one more time, he found that the phone had been turned off. Dennis immediately sent a message to Bella, demanding to know why she had left a baby at his door and asking whose child the baby actually was.

He sent several messages to Bella, filled with questions and demanding that she call him back to talk. Then Dennis sat back down and undid his long hair, running his fingers through it as he looked completely exasperated.

"Calm down, baby," Dulcia said, stroking Dennis’s arm.

"How can I be calm? That person just does whatever she wants, constantly causing trouble. What the hell has she done this time?" Dennis replied furiously.

"Is there any other way to reach her?" Dulcia asked.

"Ah... you’re right," Dennis replied.

Dennis immediately pulled up Brad’s number and dialed it. He waited for the call to connect, and then "click," the phone was picked up.

"Hello, Dennis? What’s up this late at night?" Brad asked from the other end of the line.

"Dude, sorry to bug you, but I wanted to ask—do you have another number for Bella? Could I get it from you?" Dennis asked.

There was a long pause, then Brad could be heard saying something to Elisa. After that, it sounded like Brad was walking out of the room because there was the sound of a door closing; it seemed he had been in the bedroom and was now stepping out.

"I don’t have her number at all anymore, you know that," Brad said.

"Yeah, I just thought maybe you did, because I can’t reach her," Dennis replied.

"Why are you asking for Bella’s number, anyway? What’s going on?" Brad asked.

"She left a baby in front of my apartment door," Dennis answered.

Another long pause followed. Dennis could almost hear the gears turning in Brad’s head as he thought hard and calculated, or perhaps he was just trying to wrap his mind around what Dennis had just told him.

"Wait, what did you just say?" Brad asked once more.

"Bella left a newborn baby girl in front of my door," Dennis explained again.

"Are you... serious? Whose kid is it?" Brad asked, sounding just as confused.

"That’s exactly why I want to talk to her. We both know that when she showed up at your reception, she didn’t look like someone who’d just given birth," Dennis replied.

"Exactly, that’s why I’m confused if you’re saying Bella left a baby at your door. Are you sure it was her?" Brad asked.

"I’m sure," Dennis countered.

"Try asking Rika, but she’s probably asleep by now. Ask her at school tomorrow; she’s Bella’s friend, so she might know something," Brad suggested.

"Oh, you’re right, bro. Sorry for bothering you so late," Dennis replied.

"No worries, man. Hope everything gets sorted out soon. If you need any help later, give me a call," Brad said.

"Got it, bro. Talk to you later," Dennis replied.

Dennis hung up the phone, but he understood what he had to do now. Tomorrow, he intended to talk about this with Rika, who was Bella’s friend.