When Marina Yuryeva gave birth to a son, her husband, Igor, was stunned. The child, who was supposed to become a new member of their Slavic family, turned out to be dark-skinned, as if he had just arrived from the shores of Africa.  “How is this possible?”  Igor thought. His bewilderment grew into suspicion, and then into anger. Deciding that his wife had cheated on him with someone exotic, he packed his things and left.

Marina, who swore her innocence, found herself trapped. The doctors just shrugged their shoulders: the genes of her ancestors could have played a cruel joke. But how could this have happened if there had never been such genetic surprises in their family?

Rumors and neighborly guesses

Rumors about the local African soon began to spread in the small town.  Fabien, a chemical engineer from France working under contract at a local plant, became the object of general suspicion.  The neighbors were happy to point him out, and Igor, seething with anger, went to sort things out. He put on a leather jacket, grabbed a crowbar, and, his motorcycle engine howling, rushed off to find the “homewrecker.”

Motorcyclist, assault and police intervention

But on the same day, a misfortune befell Marina. Returning home with her child, she became the victim of an attack. An unknown person pushed her down the stairs and then disappeared. The woman was found by passersby, and the baby was found in a stroller in the entryway. Passersby called an ambulance, and the police began searching for the attacker.

Witnesses pointed to the motorcyclist. At that time, Igor was already attacking Fabien, demanding that he confess to an alleged “affair” with his wife. It was at that moment that the police detained the jealous man, suspecting him of attacking not only the foreigner, but also his wife.

Alibi and an unexpected turn

The next morning, an influential woman, Natalya Rudinskaya, who held a high position in the regional committee of the CPSU, came to the department. She provided Igor with an alibi, stating that he was carrying out her instructions at the time of the attack.  But why did the influential lady defend her driver so zealously?  This question remained unanswered for now.

The secret of the maternity hospital: where is the truth?

Igor and Marina decided to find out the truth and took blood tests. The results were shocking: the baby was not their biological child. The tests showed that neither of them could be the parent. Everything pointed to the baby being switched in the maternity hospital.

Against this backdrop, mysterious events took place. Doctor Evgeniya Baryshnikova, who delivered the baby, was killed by a car. Then the body of midwife Irina Sonicheva was found in the maternity hospital. The staff spoke of a “trainee” who had appeared the night before the attack.

Fyodor Shapoval and the Uncovering of a Conspiracy

Detectives discovered that the mysterious intern was Fyodor Shapoval, a repeat offender with a rich criminal past.

He was hired to eliminate witnesses to cover up the substitution. During interrogation, Shapoval revealed the name of the customer – Natalia Rudinskaya.

Love, Envy and the Substitution of a Child

As it turned out, Natalya Rudinskaya was secretly in love with Igor. She planned to make him quarrel with his wife in order to get a chance at happiness.

To do this, she bribed the maternity hospital staff and insisted on switching the babies. By slipping the family a dark-skinned child, Rudinskaya hoped that Igor would break off relations with his wife. But the situation got out of control, and Natalia began to eliminate everyone who could expose her.

The ending: justice was served

The court handed down sentences:  Rudinskaya received seven years in prison, and Shapoval was sentenced to capital punishment.  The Yuryevs took their real child. The dark-skinned baby was adopted by his biological father, the French chemist Fabien.

It turned out that the child’s mother was a local resident who did not want to raise the baby for fear of public condemnation. She abandoned the child, hiding her motherhood.

Epilogue: Love is stronger than intrigue

The Yuryevs’ story is an example of how love and mutual trust can overcome any trials. Despite meanness, intrigue and danger, they stayed together. And the baby, who unwittingly became part of this drama, found his family and a new life in France.