Chapter 2The Swap: Raising a Viper in the Nest

I put the phone in my pocket and dragged my leg, hopping outside on one foot.

Good, those photos were still there.

I wanted to acknowledge my aunt as my family!

I wanted even more to see if she and my uncle could still be so smug after I blew the lid off this whole thing.

Behind me came the sound of my mom calling my aunt.

She was asking my aunt to come help take me to the hospital.

I was a bit puzzled. My aunt was smart and capable, managing her business perfectly. How could she not have noticed their betrayal for over a decade?

My mom pretended to avoid suspicion, always asking her for help first whenever something happened.

And since she was mostly busy, she would send my uncle to help, practically digging her own grave.

"Hurry up, they'll be here soon." My mom pushed past me and got into the elevator first.

She watched me hop on one leg impatiently, her arms crossed over her chest.

I finally made it downstairs.

Mia came running towards us from a distance:

"Chloe, did you fall? Is it serious?"

She was truly beautiful and radiant.

Unlike me, with heavy bangs covering half my face and nothing but flab on my body.

When I was little, I envied her for having people dote on her, for not having to go hungry, for not being beaten and scolded. Later, I envied everything about her.

It turns out, what I had always envied was the life that should have belonged to me.

"Chloe, what are you standing there for? Mia is asking about you, didn't you hear? Grown up so big and you have no manners at all!"

My mom scolded me for her.

She hooked her arm through my mom's and acted coy, the two of them standing a few feet away from me.

My uncle arrived, and finally, someone was willing to support me.

But he also muttered:

"How did you manage to break a bone falling down? You big fat girl, no wonder your mom couldn't carry you. You have to strictly control your diet from now on."

My mom echoed his sentiment, completely forgetting that I never even got three normal meals a day.

Mia criticized them for calling a girl fat to her face.

She diverted their attention, and the family of three happily chatted about other amusing things.

After taking me to get my leg treated and dumping me back home, they all left together again.

On an empty stomach, I processed the photos I took from my mom's phone.

After ensuring their source couldn't be traced, I used a secret email address to send them to my aunt.

[Sarah, your best friend and your husband have been cheating on you for over a decade, and even your daughter isn't biologically yours. Did you know?]

I waited anxiously for over an hour.

I tried to recall the email, but it showed that the recipient had already read it, and the recall failed.

I was so excited my palms were sweating.

The doorbell suddenly rang.

My aunt stood outside with several bags, her expression showing no abnormality.

"Chloe, does your leg hurt a lot?"

"Your mom went shopping with Mia. When I found out, I dropped my work to come have dinner with you. So, Auntie treats you the best, right?"

She put down the bags and came to help me.

I probed:

"Where's Uncle? Is he with my mom accompanying Mia too?"

"Yeah." She was nonchalant. "They knew I was coming to see you, so they ate out after shopping."

I stared at her profile:

"Auntie, I feel like you are more like my real mom. My mom seems to love Mia more. Don't you feel that way?"

My aunt's expression was very natural.

Her hand movements didn't even pause for a second.

She pressed me down onto the sofa and then laid out the takeout boxes:

"No matter how unreliable your mom is, she's still your biological mom. But Auntie watched you grow up, it's no different than a real mom."

"What's wrong? Did you and your mom have a fight? Or do you miss your dad?"

Mentioning my dad, I fell into deep thought.

He died on the day of my and Mia's one-month celebration banquet.

It was said that a fire broke out, and he died saving my uncle. That's why my uncle and aunt took extra care of my mom and me.

However, my mom blamed his death on me.

She blamed me for being a jinx who killed my dad.

All these years, she made me go hungry and freeze, cursed and beat me, all starting from this reason.

So, every time I saw my uncle dote on Mia or my mom treat me badly, I would think of my dad.

I would think that if he were still alive, my mom wouldn't hate me, and my life would be much better...

Now I also wondered, did he know that my mom and his own brother betrayed him? Did he know I wasn't his biological daughter?

"Chloe, what are you daydreaming about?"

My aunt shoved a pair of disposable gloves into my hands.

I snapped out of it, looked at her, and couldn't help but wonder if she had read the email at all.

Should I just lay my cards on the table?