Chapter 1The Nanny's Daughter Who Believed She Was the Real Heiress

Our live-in nanny’s daughter has been acting a little strange lately.

She keeps giving me these hateful looks—subtle, but definitely there—and blaring her phone in the living room with videos about “switched heiresses.”

My brother, Wesley, couldn’t take it anymore and came to complain.

“Natalie, do you think Riley Harper has convinced herself that you and she were switched at birth?”

“She’s been looking at me with these weird, ‘maternal’ eyes, and honestly, it’s freaking me out.”

I laughed. Did she really think our family’s annual health checkups didn’t include DNA testing?

Content

I’m Natalie Channing, the only daughter of Victor and Elizabeth Channing, owners of Channing Enterprises.

Like most heiresses, my parents are often away for work, so they hired a live-in nanny, Margaret Harper, to take care of me and my younger brother, Wesley.

Margaret has a daughter around my age, Riley Harper. She’s lived with us since we were kids, eating, sleeping, and growing up under the same roof.

But Margaret doesn’t seem to like her own daughter.

It’s painfully obvious to everyone in our family—her disdain is written all over her actions.

Once, I asked my parents if we should step in and address their mother-daughter relationship.

After all, Riley is often ignored or treated harshly, and it’s honestly pretty pitiful.

But my parents told me not to meddle in other people’s lives.

And when I tried to stand up for Riley, Margaret—who was usually polite to me—coldly shot me down: “That’s our family business.”

After that, I let it go.

But recently, Riley’s behavior toward me has become strange. And I mean really strange.

First, she kept asking Wesley when our parents, who were on a vacation, would return.

Then, she started glaring at me with outright contempt.

And finally—Wesley’s personal favorite—she took to blaring “switched heiress” videos in the living room for everyone to hear.

As Wesley put it, “It’s like her every thought is just written all over her face.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. How ridiculous could she get?

There’s no way. Even if we’re close in age, her mom treats me better than she treats her own daughter…

Wait. Could I actually be the one who was switched at birth?

In a panic, I ran to the study and dug through my eighteen years’ worth of health checkups.

Thankfully, my parents were wise enough to include DNA testing in every annual exam.

Looking at the reports confirming our family ties, I breathed a sigh of relief. Riley must’ve just overdosed on her “switched heiress” fiction.

I decided to drop the matter.

At least, until dinner the other night when Riley sweetly asked Wesley, “Hey Wes, don’t you think you and I look a little alike?”

Wesley, fork mid-air, froze.

“Riley, are you out of your mind? What do I have to do with you? My real sister is sitting right here.”

Margaret nearly choked on her food.

“You ungrateful brat!” Margaret snapped, smacking Riley on the head with her chopsticks. “How dare you?

“Mr. and Mrs. Channing aren’t home, and the fact that Natalie and Wesley let us eat with them is a privilege. What makes you think you can speak so recklessly?!”

Riley’s eyes filled with tears.

“When Mr. and Mrs. Channing come back, you’ll regret this!” she spat before storming off.

What had I even done?

Margaret turned to us with an apologetic smile. “Miss Natalie, Master Wesley, I’m so sorry. Riley’s been getting more and more out of hand. I’ll make sure to discipline her.”

I raised an eyebrow and said pointedly, “Margaret, maybe you should try a different approach. After all, she is your daughter. Shouldn’t you be treating her better?”

I emphasized the words “your daughter” just to see if she was aware of Riley’s delusions.

But Margaret only laughed lightly. “You’re right, Miss Natalie. People like me from the countryside don’t know much about raising kids.

“Back home, girls Riley’s age would’ve already been married off to help their brothers afford a wife.

“But here, Mr. Channing even pays for her to go to school. Instead of being grateful, she’s behaving like this…”

I didn’t know what to say to that.

Margaret clearly didn’t care whether Riley was really her daughter or not.

Curious, I asked, “Margaret, why have you always treated me so kindly?”

Her face lit up. “Because Mr. and Mrs. Channing have been so good to me. I’ve watched you grow up, and to me, you’re more important than my own daughter.”

At that moment, I actually felt a little bad for Riley.

“Margaret, maybe you should start paying more attention to Riley,” I said with a smile. “It might save you some trouble in the future.”

With that, I left the dining room, ignoring Margaret’s puzzled expression.