Switched at Birth: Why My Parents Kept the "Fake" Daughter Chapter 2

"The suspense is gone. Sis, you're cooked."

Leo's tiny hands gripped the hem of my shirt tightly. "Sister, can I give myself custody to you? Take me with you when you leave."

My dad rushed back after one phone call.

My older brother, Declan, emergency-canceled his business trip and raced home too.

Compared to my mom's frantic panic, my dad was remarkably chill. "Nobody needs to say anything. I already know about this."

"How could you possibly know?!" everyone yelled in unison.

My dad looked at my mom with a mysterious glint in his eye. "You know perfectly well. It was your decision back then. How could you have forgotten?"

My mom was even more bewildered. "My decision?"

"Yeah. Back in the hospital, you complained our daughter was crying too loud, ruining your sleep, and you told me to change her. So, I picked out one that didn't cry."

Declan swallowed hard. "Mom, you actually said that?"

My mom stared blankly for a few seconds before screaming in absolute horror, "I TOLD YOU TO CHANGE HER DIAPER!"

Well, whether this woman—who introduced herself as Chloe Jenkins—was actually my parents' biological child was still technically unconfirmed, but the odds were at least 80 percent. After all, her face was a carbon copy of my mom's in her twenties.

It was pretty obvious I wasn't the biological one.

Once she realized her position was secure, Chloe began her performance.

She dropped to her knees solemnly, crying beautiful, delicate tears. "Mom, Dad, I'm begging you, please don't blame my sister. Even though she stole my life and enjoyed my privileges for all these years, it ultimately wasn't her fault. Please don't kick her out, okay?"

"I don't even have to call you Mom and Dad. I don't even have to live in the main house. Just let me stay here as a maid! As long as I can serve you and see you every day, I'll be completely satisfied!"

My dad, a man who takes everything completely literally, nodded. "Is that so? Alright, we have a storage room we can clear out for you. It's a bit small, but it's easy to keep clean. Right, I'll go print out our family's schedule and the maid's daily requirements for you."

Chloe's face instantly drained of color. She looked at my mom pleadingly.

My mom pinched my dad hard. "Shut up! I'll deal with you later."

I started packing my things to leave, but my mom tearfully blocked the door.

"It's not like we don't have enough rooms in this house. Don't leave. You don't even know where your biological parents are, where would you go?"

"She's right, sister, you can't go back!" Chloe exaggeratedly grabbed my arm. "The suffering I endured... I could never let you go through it again. My adoptive parents, they aren't even human. Just pretend you aren't their child. Whatever you do, don't contact them."

But whenever no one else was looking, Chloe would stare at me with pure venom. "Why are you so oblivious? Don't you know this isn't your house?"

"You've been leeching off my family for over twenty years. Isn't that enough? What gives you the right to stand here so confidently?"

"If I'm leaving, I'll leave after the official DNA test results come back," I replied simply.

I initially didn't want to engage with her, but she haunted me like a ghost.

She constantly tried to provoke me, hoping I'd leave out of shame.

I was getting really annoyed.

She was full of petty little tricks.

Whenever I got a package delivered, she'd put on her passive-aggressive "innocent victim" act. "Wow, Sister, your taste is so good. This coat must be so expensive. Unlike me... I don't even know how to spend money. I haven't bought new clothes in years."

My mom felt terrible and bought her several expensive outfits. Chloe didn't even try them on; she immediately returned them for cash.

Then, she looked at my parents with tear-filled eyes and said, "Mom, Dad, it's so hard for you to make money. I don't need anything. Just being by your side is happiness enough for me."