What Is The Controversy Around 'Swapping Daughters'?

After giving birth early, memories from a different life flooded into my mind. In these memories, the daughter I had worked so hard to bring into the world was switched with hers. After that, I was told that my daughter had a congenital heart condition. I worked hard to raise her for eighteen years. In the end, I sold off all my assets so that she could have a heart transplant. Meanwhile, I had collapsed from all my efforts to care for her. Left with no choice, I wanted to tell my “daughter” that I was leaving this world, but I overheard her talking with my best friend. “That fool still thinks I’m her daughter. I was the one who poisoned her! Mom, once she dies and you get rid of that pretender, we can finally be together again!” That was when I found out my daughter had been swapped out, and that I had been giving my all to the perpetrator. When I next opened my eyes, pain radiated from my belly, and a nurse said, “Miss Scott, we’ve just learned that your daughter has a congenital heart condition.”

My half-sister and I were both married on the same day. She was supposed to be sent away to a distant kingdom as a peace offering, branded with an ill-fated destiny. I was supposed to marry the Crown Prince and become the future queen. Yet the night before our weddings, my stepmother orchestrated a switch. In my previous life, I stormed into the wedding ceremony desperate to expose the truth. My sister immediately threatened to kill herself to prove her innocence. The Crown Prince caught her just in time, but the shock caused her to lose the baby she claimed to be carrying. The Crown Prince was furious. He accused me of fraud and attempted murder of the royal heir. He ordered my head shaved and my face mutilated before having me thrown into the peace bride's carriage. I became the laughingstock of the entire capital. My half-sister took my place as Crown Princess, gave birth to twins, and eventually became the beloved empress. Meanwhile, I died on the road to that foreign land. When I opened my eyes again, drums and music thundered outside. The wedding procession was already waiting. A voice rang out, "By royal decree, we have come for the bride!"

In my past life, when Mom and Dad divorced, they made my sister and me choose. My younger sister, Keira McKellen, didn't hesitate—she picked our rich father, certain she'd become a wealthy young lady and inherit a fortune. But Dad already had another woman, and once his mistress gave birth to a son, Keira went from heiress to nothing overnight. Worse, the woman drove her out of the house entirely, and she was left to wander with nowhere to go. I chose Mom, and ended up living the charmed life instead: I got into a top university, married into a powerful family, and went from ugly duckling to swan—the very top of the world. My sister's envy of me curdled into madness, and on the day my whole family gathered to celebrate my birthday, she burned every one of them alive. When I opened my eyes again, it was the day of my parents' divorce, all over from the start. I saw her rush to choose Mom before I even could, and I knew—she'd been reborn too. What she doesn't know is that living with Dad is miserable, sure, but Mom is broke and out of her mind, and life with her is even worse.

My wealthy birth parents, James Lowe and Elise Graner, bring me home. Their adopted daughter, Jennifer Lowe, runs away from home in anger. She gets into a car accident and falls into a coma that very night. Not only do my parents not blame me, but they are also completely unconcerned about Jennifer, who is still in intensive care. Instead, they go ahead with a grand banquet to celebrate my return to the family. My brother, Alex Lowe, spends millions of dollars to have a custom necklace made just for me. For a moment, I believe that I have finally found my family that loves me after being 20 years apart from them. But the instant I take the necklace, a burst of sinister laughter rings in my ears. "Perfect! We only have to put up with this idiot for seven more days before Jennifer gets a healthy body!" I freeze and slowly turn around. Only then do I learn the truth. Jennifer suffers from a congenital heart condition. For 20 years, she has lived like a fragile princess and is unable to engage in any strenuous activity. My parents dote on her so much that the real reason they bring me home is so that she can swap bodies with me. They want her to take over my healthy body. Even after discovering the truth, I still put the necklace around my neck. But after we switch bodies, why do Mom and Dad stop smiling?

My mother, Eleanor Leigh, is pregnant with fraternal twins, but we aren't developing well. The doctor recommends terminating my younger sister, Juliette Vance, whose chances of survival are slim. Since Dad, Thomas Vance, suffers from azoospermia and can never have children again, I, Julian Vance, become the pampered, only child of the family. For my first birthday celebration, Mom and Dad gift me a house and a vehicle. Every day, they dress me up like a porcelain doll and specifically enroll me in ballet classes to elevate my poise. They even carry me everywhere I go, terrified that I might fall and end up with a scar. I only learn I'm a boy in elementary school when I get laughed at for entering the girls' restroom, and later learn it in a science lesson. Because of my classmates' constant bullying, I break down in tears, begging Mom not to make me wear dresses anymore. However, she, who is usually so gentle with me, suddenly flies into a rage and slaps me hard across the face right in the middle of the street. "What's going to happen to your sister if you don't wear dresses? It's your fault for being born a jinx! You killed your sister! "If you hadn't stolen her nutrients, she would be alive and well right now! Our family business would be booming as well. You'll either be our daughter for the rest of your life, or you can go to hell right this instant!" It turns out Juliette and I are the children Mom and Dad begged the heavens for, and while Juliette's a lucky charm, I'm a jinx. I wear long hair and dresses because I'm Juliette's body double. I sprint away in tears, only to be sent flying by a car running a red light. As my consciousness slips away, I wish with all my heart to go back to when Mom first found out she was pregnant. This time, I'll be the one to be reduced.

Being kidnapped is never pleasant. It might be when your kidnappers are billionaires mistaking you for their runaway daughter who looks very much like you.