Chapter 4

Blake, however, was like a lit firecracker, his face contorted with resentment and fury.

Sierra, too, began to sob dramatically, her cries heartbreaking, as if she'd suffered the greatest injustice.

"It's all my fault... If I hadn't shown up, I wouldn't have made Mom and Dad so difficult, wouldn't have made Blake so miserable... I really shouldn't have come back..."

She spoke, then stumbled, as if about to run out, embodying a martyr. Blake immediately grabbed her, comforting her. "Sierra, don't run! This is your home, Avery is the one who should leave!"

Sierra looked at Blake through tear-filled eyes, then timidly gazed at Mom and Dad.

"I truly don't want to cause you trouble. I just want to return to my real mom and dad. Why is it so hard?!"

Just then, Jim, the driver, pushed through the outer edges of the crowd.

As soon as he entered, he knelt down with a thud before Mom and Dad.

"Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell, both children... we truly wronged you! That year at the hospital, my wife, in a moment of confusion, swapped the two babies!"

Jim wept, his old eyes flooding with tears, his remorse complete.

"Now I have only one wish: for Sierra to come back to her real family. Avery has taken eighteen years of her life. Our conscience can't bear it any longer. Sierra is a good girl. Please, I beg you, give her the chance to come home. As for Avery...she will come home with me."

Hearing this, Mom and Dad looked at each other. Their faces grew even more solemn.

"Jim, is what you're telling us about that year the complete truth?"

Jim nodded vigorously. "Every word of it, Mrs. Maxwell! My wife...she's lived with the guilt every single day. We never would have had the courage to come forward if Sierra hadn't started looking so much like Blake. It's all on us-please, blame me. Just don't take it out on Sierra."

Jim's words corroborated Sierra's claim, making Blake even more arrogant.

He stepped forward, pointing at my nose, his spit almost flying onto my face.

"Did you hear that, Avery?! Even Jim admitted it himself! You were maliciously swapped at birth!"

"With witnesses and evidence right here, you imposter, get out of the Maxwell mansion, now!"

Jim stood up, reaching for me, but I swiftly dodged his hand.

Sierra, fearing I wouldn't leave, frantically urged me.

"Avery, I know this is sudden for you, but our intertwined lives are a fact. Don't worry, I'll take good care of Mom and Dad in the Maxwell house. You can come back anytime you want. The Maxwell mansion will always be your second home."

Her voice was still choked with tears, but a hint of barely perceptible triumph laced it.

I shot her a cold glance, my malice undisguised. "Who do you think you are, to talk about taking care of my parents for me? My parents have me, they don't need you telling them what to do!"

My obstinate attitude once again drew a fresh wave of condemnation from the guests.

"How ill-mannered! Her biological father comes to pick her up, and she refuses to go."

"Eighteen years of someone else's wealth isn't enough for her? Her skin is thicker than a fortress wall!"

"The Maxwells wasted eighteen years raising such an ungrateful wretch!"

Then Blake slapped me hard across the face. "Avery, you shameless bitch! Who gave you the right to talk to my sister Sierra like that? A fake heiress should know her place! Don't push your luck."

My head snapped to the side, my cheek burning.

Mom and Dad moved to step forward, but I gently pressed their arms and stopped them.

I bent down, picked up the scattered DNA report from the floor, and found the line confirming their sibling relationship. I smiled.

"What if, Blake, you're the fake son? What if you are the one who needs to get out?"