Chapter 1

It wasn't until the bodyguards knocked on my door and escorted the Hendricks couple inside that I learned I was the real heiress who had been switched at birth.

My biological mother, Susan Bishop, clutched my hand tightly, dabbing at her tears with a handkerchief. Then, she said, "Emma, it's my fault that you had to spend more than ten years apart from us. Come home with me, okay? I've missed you so much.

"We can talk about everything else once you're home."

The parents who had raised me just stood to the side, hands trembling as they flipped through the paternity test. They, too, couldn't believe that something like a baby being switched at birth had actually happened.

According to Susan, the nanny who had taken care of her back then had wanted to swap in her own biological child.

But the midwife was discovered partway through. Out of jealousy and spite, she shifted targets to the fake heiress and me.

It wasn't until the fake heiress was injured and hospitalized that the truth finally came to light.

Susan said she hoped I could return to the Hendrickses as soon as possible so they could fulfill their responsibilities as my parents.

But I remained expressionless, unmoved by Susan's tears.

I didn't care whether I could become the real heiress or a daughter of the Hendricks family in Bellburg.

My parents had raised me for 20 years and had always treated me as their own daughter. Their love far surpassed that of the Hendricks couple, whom I had just met.

I couldn't bring myself to turn my back and leave the people who had given me a home and raised me.

So, after the Hendrickses left, I looked at Mom, who was trying hard to hold back her tears, and shook my head.

"I don't want to go back to the Hendrickses," I said.

But Mom gently pulled me into her arms, just like she used to when I was little and couldn't stop crying. She stroked my head and said warmly, "Silly girl. How could anyone not want to be with their biological parents?

"Em, even though we know you're not our biological daughter, our door will always be open to you if you ever want to come home.

"As long as you remember that we will always love you, that's enough."

I knew they couldn't bear to part with me. Still, Mom and Dad packed up a huge pile of things for me, worried that I might not be taken care of properly at the Hendrickses.

But I knew the Hendricks family held considerable power in Bellburg and that their business operations had expanded overseas.

Money, naturally, was not something they lacked.

Even as I watched the two of them bustling about, I said nothing.

…

The next morning, a sleek black luxury car was waiting outside the house.

A man walked up to me and tilted his head, looking me over for a few seconds before asking, "Are you Emma? I'm Jude Hendricks, your biological older brother. You also have a younger sister back home, but she's in poor health, so she didn't come along.

"Since you're all packed, let's get going."

After speaking, Jude waited a few seconds. Seeing that I had no intention of moving my suitcase at all, he looked a little confused.

"Are you not bringing anything?"

I was slightly puzzled too, saying, "I'll have to come back anyway. That's too much trouble."

Sophie Hendricks, the fake heiress, got out of the car as well. Unlike me, she busied herself unloading a pile of suitcases.

Not only had she packed her own things, but she'd even brought gifts for Mom and Dad.

I was a little surprised. I hadn't expected her to be so carefree and willing to let go of everything she had at the Hendrickses.

Sophie greeted me, then turned and walked into the house.

As she passed me, I could hear her muttering softly, "I'm not going back anyway, so I might as well take everything with me now.

"The Hendrickses are all a nest of vipers. No one else understands the relief of finally escaping a toxic family."