Chapter 9 The results revealed that the baby's high fever had caused lasting damage , leaving him deaf and mute . What kind of parents could be so cruel ? To throw their baby away in a dumpster , causing him to become deaf and mute ? As Tracie thought about her own past - how her parents had abandoned her , how Grover had treated her with cold indifference - she felt a deep connection with this abandoned , deaf child . How could she abandon him too ? After discussing it with Grover , he , unsurprisingly , refused . He didn't want the child she was carrying , so how could he want one she had adopted ? " I'll let him take my last name , and I'll raise him myself ! " Tracie , who had always been obedient to Grover , was resolute on this . She was determined to keep the child . Chapter 9 In the end , for the sake of the Stanton family's reputation , Grover reluctantly allowed the child to carry the " Stanton " surname . His name became Rico Stanton . But that was all - just a name on paper and a formal registration . In reality , the entire Stanton family never allowed Rico to return to the family home . Even Wendi didn't like him . No matter how much Rico tried to protect Wendi , always yielding to her , she never accepted him as family . Only Tracie truly cared for Rico . From the moment she learned that he was deaf and mute , she never gave up on helping him . Now , after years of treatment and multiple hearing aids , he finally got a cochlear implant . After more than a year of speech rehabilitation , his speech was now just like that of any other child . " Mom , why are you crying ? " Rico asked , lifting his tiny hand to wipe away Tracie's tears . Chapter 9 Why was she crying ? N How could she explain to a five - year - old that she had just given up on her own daughter ? The pain was worse than having her heart torn out . Tracie swallowed her tears and smiled at him . " I'm crying because from now on , you don't have to go to the rehab center anymore . You can go home with Mommy ! " " Really , Mommy ? " Rico asked , his face lighting up with excitement . " Of course ! " But then Rico's expression faltered . " But Grandpa , Grandma , Aunt , and Daddy don't like me . My sister doesn't like me either . I don't want to go home … " As she heard this , Tracie's heart broke all over again . How much was this like her own past ? At sixteen , she had gone through the same thing . The age when a girl was supposed to be blooming , but instead , she was thrown out of her home by her parents and grandparents . Chapter 9 " It's okay , Mommy loves you . You're Mommy's precious one , and I'm taking you to a home that's just for us . From now on , I will only be Rico's mommy . Okay ? " Tracie pulled him even closer . " Okay ! " Rico smiled through his tears . Tracie drove Rico back to the apartment she had rented . Once they arrived , she turned on her phone . As soon as the phone powered up , it rang . She figured it was probably Lesa or someone else from the Stanton family . She didn't want to answer , but Rico saw the call and excitedly shouted , " Mom , it's Mandy calling ! " Even though Rico was deaf , he was remarkably intelligent . At just over five years old , he already knew many words . He recognized the caller as " Mandy . " Tracie had met Mandy Kaiser when she was ten years old . At the time , eighteen - year - old Mandy was in a relationship with her eighteen - year - old older brother . But how could someone from a prestigious family ever accept someone like Mandy - unpolished , lacking refinement , and Chapter 9 completely unlike the perfect women they were used to ? That year , her parents sent her brother abroad . Mandy cried every day outside their house . The housemaids mocked her , calling her a silly , lovesick fool . Only Tracie felt sorry for her . She secretly gave Mandy a handkerchief to wipe her tears , and even gave her some snacks , a Barbie doll , and a stuffed animal . She even slipped her some pocket money . Chapter 10