The Great Mom Swap

When my son was born, I noticed a small, round birthmark on his arm. But the weird thing? By the time I opened my eyes again after giving birth, it was gone. I figured maybe I'd imagined it. That is, until the baby shower. My brother-in-law's son, born the same day as mine, had the exact same birthmark. Clear as day. That's when it hit me. I didn't say a word, though. Not then. I waited. Eighteen years later, at my son's college acceptance party, my brother-in-law stood up and dropped the truth bomb: the "amazing" kid I'd raised was theirs. I just smiled and invited him and his wife to take their "rightful" seats at the table.

A week after giving birth, I stumbled across a post online. [My daughter married way out of her league. How do I make her divorce him?] The poster claimed to be a mother. According to her, the older daughter was lazy, selfish, and completely unworthy of such an amazing family. So she planned to force the older daughter to get divorced, then marry her sweet, obedient younger daughter into the same family instead. The comments blew up instantly. [I've seen favoritism, but this is actually insane.] [Was the older daughter adopted or something? What kind of mom schemes against her own kid?] [So you're basically passing one rich husband around between sisters? Girl, what the hell.] Then, buried under all the insults, one comment appeared. Cold. Sharp. [A woman who just gave birth is mentally wrecked already. Send her some fake cheating pics and let paranoia do the rest. One meltdown and that marriage is cooked.] The poster replied almost instantly. [Thank you @LindaKnowsBest!! I'm doing it right now.] A second later, my phone buzzed. Mom. [Kyla, look at this. Is Bruce cheating on you?]

After being reborn, the first thing my cousin and I did was switch grooms. In our previous lives, we had gotten married on the same day. She, gentle and composed by nature, became the wife of Blake Malcolm, the aloof naval commander. On their wedding anniversary, Blake skipped the occasion to celebrate his childhood friend's birthday. My cousin had only wanted an explanation, but Blake claimed his conscience was clear. They fell into a silence that lasted fifty years. And me? With my temper—quick to fight, never one for patience—I had married an accountant from the machinery plant's compound. The accountant was soft-spoken, forever complaining about how loud I was, and how little I cared about appearances. We fought every three days, major arguments every five. Eventually, he stopped coming home. Less than a year into the marriage, we divorced. Then one day, my cousin and I opened our eyes and found ourselves young again—and it was the day we were to marry. Again.

By the fifth year of my marriage to James Hill, he began pretending to be his late twin brother, the late Don of the family. With that, he took over all of a Don’s duties and the role of my sister-in-law, Hilary’s husband. Every time after he slept with her, he would cut his arm open, kneel before me, and beg for forgiveness. “Pia, you’re the only woman I’ve ever loved. Once Hilary gives birth to the heir and secures her position, I’ll fake my death and come back for you.” He told me his twin brother had died saving him, so he had to fulfill his brother’s last wish. During the year he pretended to be his brother, James slept with Hilary ninety-nine times. After a full year, Hilary finally gave birth to the family’s heir. I truly believed James would fake his death as promised, then take our son and me away from this bloody life. However, I saw him with Hilary in his arms, teasing the tiny baby she carried. “Hilary, I’ll stay with you and our child until he’s ready to take over as the next Don.” Silently, I wiped my tears and went back to my room to pack my suitcase. My son saw me crying and ran into my arms, gently wiping away my tears with his little hands. “Ma, Aunt Hilary already had her baby. Why isn’t Papa coming home yet?” I placed my clothes into the suitcase as I told him softly, “Because he doesn’t want us anymore. But don’t be sad, sweetheart. I will build us a home.” If James wanted to raise an heir, then I would return to North Atlantis’s most powerful mafia family, take my rightful place as my father’s heir, and become the Godmother of the Mafia.

When I woke up, I had somehow become trapped in the body of my disobedient daughter. I had sacrificed everything, living frugally to send her to the best school. Yet, she called me almost daily, claiming—like someone trapped in a paranoid delusion—that her teachers and classmates were out to harm her. She was willful and rebellious, picky about food, befriending the wrong crowd, and even dating a troublemaker at a young age. As a sister, she was far from kind, constantly bullying her younger brother. And school? Surely, it couldn’t be harder than working a full-time job. But then, as I lived in her shoes, a group of girls cornered me in the restroom, kicking me mercilessly. Returning home, I was met not with care but with a sorry excuse for a meal. Only then did I begin to understand the pain my daughter had endured...

Identical twins. One outrageous lie. A deadly game. Ashley Grey has always lived in the shadow of her adventurous twin, Ashton. But when Ashton convinces Ashley to masquerade as her for a weekend with her husband's icy family, a harmless prank turns into a nightmare. Ashton vanishes, leaving Ashley trapped with a man who seems to despise her. As Ashley struggles to deal with the news about her sister's disappearance, a chilling truth emerges – Ashton's marriage was a web of deception, and Ashley may have inherited more than just her sister's marriage problems. Now, a mysterious stalker threatens to expose Ashley's secret, and the only person she can trust is the very man that doesn't trust her. Can Ashley solve the mystery and unmask her stalker before they strike, or will she become the next victim of a twisted game?