The Surrogate He Discarded

Kristoff paced endlessly outside the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Hope Hospital, his footsteps echoing through the silent corridor.

One hour. It had been an agonizing hour since the doctors had rushed Alexander through those doors. Every passing second felt like another weight crushing his chest.

His hands clenched into trembling fists.

He was terrified.

Not that Alexander wouldn’t survive—that robotic puppy had managed to restart his tiny heart.

No...

He was terrified of what came after. How long had Alexander’s heart been stopped? How many precious seconds had his brain gone without oxygen?

What if the damage was permanent?

The thought alone made Kristoff’s stomach twist violently.

Unable to stop himself, he replayed the night’s nightmare over and over.

The piercing alarm that had ripped him from sleep... It hadn’t come from the nursery monitor.

So who had activated it? Was it the AI companion? The robotic puppy?

And that teddy bear... where had it come from?

His brows furrowed. Charlotte had brought it home earlier that day.

But why? How could anyone place something so large inside an infant’s crib?

It was common knowledge that stuffed toys, pillows, and blankets were suffocation hazards even for little babies.

Charlotte wasn’t careless...

...was she?

Or had someone else done it?

Before he could think any further, hurried footsteps echoed from the opposite end of the hallway.

Kristoff looked up and saw his parents were rushing toward him.

Even from a distance, he could see the panic etched across their faces.

It was only three in the morning. They had clearly rushed out the moment they received his call.

His father’s hair was a mess, and his mother hadn’t even bothered with her usual flawless makeup. She had simply thrown on a coat over her nightclothes.

The fear in their eyes said everything.

”How’s my grandson?” Henry asked the moment he reached him, breathing heavily.

”What happened?” Mary demanded, gripping Kristoff’s arm.

Kristoff rubbed his aching temples.

”I haven’t had time to investigate everything yet.”

His voice was hoarse.

”Alexander suffocated after a teddy bear fell onto him.”

Mary’s expression instantly darkened.

”Damn it.”

Her voice dripped with fury.

”Fire the nanny.”

”I will.”

Kristoff answered without hesitation. His cold tone carried the weight of a death sentence.

The nanny’s negligence had nearly cost Alexander his life. But then another thought surfaced.

That teddy bear...

Charlotte was the one who brought it home.

His jaw tightened. Why had she bought something so dangerous?

Was it because she wasn’t Alexander’s biological mother? Did she lack the instincts every real mother should have? ℴ

The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Without another word, Kristoff pulled out his phone and remotely accessed the nursery’s CCTV footage.

Henry leaned closer. Mary stood beside them, holding her breath.

The recording began.

Charlotte entered the nursery carrying the stuffed toy under her arm.

She smiled gently as she handed the oversized teddy bear to the nanny before quietly leaving the room.

The three of them watched in silence. Then the nanny casually placed the stuffed toy (a teddy bear) beside the sleeping Alexander inside his crib.

Henry’s face instantly turned red.

”What an idiot!”

His furious shout echoed through the corridor.

The video continued.

Alexander stirred in his sleep. One tiny movement. One innocent kick.

The oversized teddy bear slowly tipped forward.

Then—

It fell directly onto the baby, completely covering his tiny body.

Heavy silence hung in the air.

None of them spoke. None of them breathed.

The recording felt unbearably long as the seconds crawled by.

Then—

The emergency alarm blared.

Almost immediately, the robotic puppy sprang into action, barking frantically.

One minute later, the nursery door burst open. Kristoff charged inside.

He threw the teddy bear aside — revealing Alexander lying frighteningly still.

Henry instinctively grabbed his chest.

His face turned pale.

”Dad.”

Kristoff immediately steadied him.

”Take it easy.”

Henry nodded weakly, but before he could recover—his eyes widened.

The three of them watched as the robotic puppy climbed onto the mattress.

It positioned its tiny paws over Alexander’s chest.

Then he did tiny, perfectly measured chest compressions.

The mechanical puppy never hesitated.

It followed its emergency programming with flawless precision until the baby gave out a weak cry. Kristoff took over.

Henry stared at the screen in disbelief.

”That’s... incredible.”

His voice was barely above a whisper.

”I can’t believe technology has advanced this far.”

Mary smacked the back of his head.

Smack!

”Have you lost your mind?”

Henry winced.

”Our grandson nearly died, and you’re admiring a robot?”

Henry rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

”I-I was worried!”

He pointed helplessly at the screen.

”I’m just saying... if that little machine hadn’t acted so quickly...”

His words trailed off.

No one finished the sentence.

They didn’t need to.

All three silently understood the terrifying truth.

Without that robotic puppy...

Alexander might already be dead.

....

The doors of the NICU at the Hope Hospital finally slid open.

A doctor in a white protective suit stepped into the corridor, removing his surgical mask with a weary sigh.

Kristoff rushed forward, his heart pounding.

”Doctor...” His voice shook. ”How’s my son?”

The doctor gave him a reassuring nod.

”Your son is an incredibly lucky child. You managed to resuscitate him before prolonged oxygen deprivation could occur. His heartbeat has been restored, and his condition is now stable.”

The knot in Kristoff’s chest loosened slightly.

Then the doctor’s expression turned solemn.

”If he had arrived even a few minutes later, the lack of oxygen could have caused irreversible brain damage. He might have survived, but he would have suffered severe cognitive impairment.”

Kristoff’s face drained of color.

Just a few more minutes...

Kristoff finally dared to breathe.

”However,” the doctor continued gravely, ”we’ll need to keep him here for a few more days so we can conduct a thorough examination and monitor his condition. He may appear to be fine on the surface, but there could be underlying issues that aren’t immediately apparent. It’s better to be cautious.”

A chill swept through the corridor.

Kristoff’s knees nearly buckled.

Alexander had stood on the brink of a fate far crueler than death.