The first time I went to the preschool to pick up my daughter. I happily strapped her into the car, ready to head home. Until she shrank into her seat and whispered: "Mommy, are we not living in the tiny house anymore?" I froze. When had our family ever lived in a "tiny house"? I locked eyes with her, and the next second, I let out a piercing scream. I sprinted frantically back to the preschool gates, colliding straight into a woman who was looking around in a panicked frenzy—and who looked exactly like me. 01 Whenever I saw news stories about careless parents taking home the wrong kid, I used to laugh. If you can't even recognize your own flesh and blood, you don't deserve to be a parent! But I never, in a million years, imagined it would happen to me. I had become the exact type of careless parent I used to despise! Holding the child tightly, I hurriedly opened the car door. As I unbuckled her from the car seat, I couldn't help but stare at her again. "Seriously, how do you look so much like my Lily?!" Except for being a little skinnier—which made her face look a bit smaller and her eyes a bit larger—her features were practically identical to my daughter's. Not to mention, she was wearing the exact same yellow sundress, sitting obediently in the car seat. She was a dead ringer for Lily! If she hadn't whispered that question to me. I genuinely wouldn't have realized she wasn't my child. Mia was a bit shy. She peeked at me, her little body tense, but she spoke in a soft, sweet voice, "Miss, you and my mommy look alike too." "But you're a little bit prettier than my mommy." I didn't think much of it, assuming it was just innocent kid talk. I affectionately pinched her little cheek. "Sweetheart, you are too cute. I almost don't want to give you back." The little girl's eyes widened in horror. Her mouth dropped open, and she hurriedly grabbed my hand. "No, Miss, you can't! Mommy can't live without me." Mia looked like she was about to burst into tears, which only made me smile softer. I quickly comforted her, promising over and over that I was taking her straight back to her mother. As I pulled back up to the preschool, I was on the phone with Lily's homeroom teacher. I hung up and helped Mia out of the car. As soon as her feet hit the pavement, a woman standing a few yards away spotted us. She was wearing faded, ragged clothes, smelled faintly of grease, and had messy, unkempt hair. She looked absolutely frantic. The moment her eyes landed on the child in my arms, she lost whatever control she had left and sprinted toward us, snatching Mia from me in a heartbeat! I was violently shoved against the side of my SUV. Her rough, desperate movements left a few red scratches on my wrist that stung sharply. "Hey! Why did you shove me?!" She used so much force she actually hurt me! I hissed in pain, my temper flaring up. Naturally, my tone wasn't the friendliest. The woman holding Mia didn't even look at me. She was frantically checking the child from head to toe. Only after confirming she was completely unharmed did she finally break down, sobbing uncontrollably while clutching the little girl. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, baby. Mommy got off work late, I almost lost you." Her voice was incredibly raspy and coarse, grating on the ears. I frowned. Realizing she was just a mother terrified out of her mind, and remembering that I was the one who had mistakenly taken her child and caused this panic, my anger deflated. I felt a wave of guilt. "Look, I am so, so sorry." I stepped closer carefully, reaching out to pat her shoulder and apologize. "Your daughter just looks exactly like mine, I accidentally..." My words died in my throat the second the woman turned her face toward me. My breath hitched. Even my heartbeat involuntarily skipped a few beats. Because she looked exactly like an older, weathered version of me! 02 I grabbed Lily from the teachers and invited Mia and her mother into my car. Sarah held Mia tightly in the backseat, radiating nervous, awkward energy. That was, until my daughter Lily hopped into the car, her pretty pigtails bouncing, and sat right next to Mia. Two little girls with practically identical faces stared at each other, wide-eyed. Even Sarah, who was so tense her whole body was rigid, couldn't help but press her lips together and smile. "I wasn't lying, was I?" I smiled, looking back at her from the driver's seat. "My daughter and your daughter look exactly alike. That's why I made the mistake." Sarah let out a tiny, mosquito-like "Mhm." The two kids, however, hit it off instantly. They took turns poking each other's cheeks, touching each other's hair, and playing with each other's hands, occasionally letting out gasps of amazement. "You're really pretty." "You are too." "We're both super pretty, right?" "We sure are." The two little girls spoke in soft, sweet voices, totally pleased with themselves. It melted my heart just listening to them. I kept glancing at Sarah through the rearview mirror. Seeing her turn her head, looking at Lily and Mia with a face full of absolute maternal warmth, I felt a strange shift in my chest. Originally, I just wanted to treat her to a nice dinner at a high-end restaurant to formally apologize. But a moment ago, when I saw Sarah's profile, I completely changed my mind. At the intersection, I flipped my turn signal and headed straight for my family's estate. Bringing Sarah and her daughter home sent shockwaves through the entire Montgomery household. That night, even my grandparents, who lived in the suburbs, rushed over. The whole family circled around Sarah, who was so terrified she couldn't even speak. They looked at her from every angle. "It's her, it has to be!" My grandmother leaned heavily on her cane, peering through her reading glasses. She got so close her face was almost touching Sarah's. "They look like they were carved from the exact same mold!" Sarah smiled awkwardly, trying to shrink backward. But she was already pressed flat against the sofa cushions. There was nowhere left to hide! My mother grabbed Sarah's incredibly rough, calloused hands, her lips trembling as she inspected them over and over. Sarah turned pale from panic. She tried to pull her hands back, but my mom held on tight. Left with no choice, Sarah struggled to open her mouth. "Um, I really shouldn't intrude any longer." "Mia and I... we should get going." "Absolutely not!" My grandfather sat at the head of the room, his booming, authoritative voice making Sarah jump in her seat. "There are no coincidences like this in the world! We are going to investigate this, step by step, until we have the truth!" "You and your daughter are staying right here with us tonight!" Sarah was so intimidated she just blinked, completely stripped of the courage to say no. Late that night, my father pulled some strings and had a private physician come to the estate to draw Sarah's blood. The next morning, the expedited DNA results arrived. Sarah was a Montgomery! In simpler terms: She was my twin sister! 03 Years ago, my mother gave birth to twins in a rundown rural clinic during a horrible storm. The first baby came out and the staff declared her stillborn. They took her away to be "disposed of." I was the second baby. Medical care back then in that town was terrible, and my mother's health was already frail. Plus, we were two months premature. Before the delivery, the doctors warned my parents that the babies likely wouldn't survive. So, at the time, no one questioned the first baby's "death." They thought it was a miracle that I had survived at all. No one ever suspected that the other baby had lived too. Except, she was passed around by human traffickers and sold deep into an impoverished backwoods town. She survived like a resilient weed in the middle of nowhere. She hardly received any education and never went to high school. Eventually, she was unceremoniously married off to the biological son of the family that bought her, and she gave birth to a daughter. Her so-called husband was a lazy, abusive deadbeat who refused to work, and any money he did scrounge up was spent on drinking and gambling. Left with no choice, Sarah worked herself to the bone doing odd jobs just to pay for her daughter's schooling. If Lily hadn't been put on a waitlist for an elite private pre-K, forcing me to temporarily enroll her in a normal preschool nearby... and if I hadn't picked up the wrong kid... Sarah and I probably would have never crossed paths in this lifetime. My heart ached. Overwhelmed with complex emotions, I hugged Sarah tightly. Sarah wasn't used to this kind of affection. Her body went stiff, freezing in place like a statue. Finally, I pulled back and said gently, "Sister, why don't you move in with me? I'll take the fourth floor, and you can have the third floor." "The third floor is completely renovated. It has a walk-in closet, a study, and a children's bedroom. Please, don't be a stranger, this is your home." Sarah's face flushed bright red, and she frantically shook her head. "No, I can't do that!" "You already live on the third floor. I can't let you be inconvenienced just because I showed up." Hearing her words, my heart twisted painfully. A sour ache built in my throat. This wasn't like the typical "swapped at birth" drama novels I read online. The true daughter had returned, and she was already thirty years old. She was a flower that had bloomed in the mud. Even though she had suffered unimaginable hardships her entire life. Her first instinct upon returning home was to make sure I wasn't inconvenienced. How could someone be so endlessly kind? She was so good it made me want to hug her and sob. I was just about to tell her not to worry about me when a harsh, blaring ringtone from her pocket cut me off. She shot me an apologetic look and pressed answer on her cracked screen. The next second, a piercing, aggressive man's voice exploded from the cheap phone speaker. "You stupid bitch, what random guy did you run off with last night?!" "Was his bed that comfortable? Did he fuck you so hard you can't even stand up?!" "You get your ass back here right fucking now! If I don't see you before lunch, I'm going to hack you and that little bastard child to pieces!" He fired off a barrage of vile curses, not even waiting for Sarah to reply before hanging up with a violent click. I stared in disbelief, turning to see Sarah's face drain of all color. "I... I have to go!" Sarah shot up from the couch, rushing toward the door in a panic. Because she was moving so frantically, she tripped over her own feet and nearly face-planted. I rushed forward to catch her, only to see her lips completely bloodless. She didn't even notice my hands on her arms, just muttering to herself, "I have to get back fast!" My stomach dropped. A million terrifying thoughts raced through my head. I flipped my hands, gripping her rough, calloused fingers tightly, and said softly, "I'm going with you." Sarah looked like she was struck by lightning. She snapped back to reality, her eyes slowly focusing on my face, absolute terror written across her features. "No! Absolutely not!" "You can't come!" 04 Sarah fiercely rejected my proposal to go with her. I compromised, offering to just drive her there and wait in the car. She refused that too, shaking her head like a rattle drum. No matter what I said, she clenched her jaw and refused to budge. Left with no choice, I slowly let go of her hand. "Alright, fine. I won't go. Be careful and come back soon." Getting my confirmation, Sarah smiled in sheer relief and nodded. "I will." I watched Sarah's silhouette disappear out the front door. Half an hour after she left. I calmly pulled out my phone and dialed a number. "Hello, is this the preschool?" "Regarding the mix-up with Ms. Sarah's child the other day, I feel incredibly guilty and would like to visit her home to apologize in person." "Could you provide me with her home address?" Three minutes later, I had Sarah's address in my hand. Before starting the car, I thought about the absolute lack of human decency in that man's voice on the phone. I paused. Without hesitation, I called for three of the family's private security guards to follow me. As it turned out, that was the smartest decision I ever made. Because the second I parked my car outside Sarah's rundown apartment complex, I could hear the sound of things shattering and crashing from the floor above. Mixed in with the noise was a man's shrill, unhinged screaming. And the heavy scrape of wooden chairs being thrown to the floor. Even though I didn't hear a woman screaming or crying. My right eyelid twitched violently with dread. As I sprinted up the stairs, I prayed over and over in my head. Please don't let it be Sarah. Please don't let it be her. When I reached the fourth floor with my guards, the door to apartment 402 was wide open. The entryway was covered in shattered beer bottles and trash. There was barely room to step. When I saw the scene inside, my blood ran cold. I crunched over the glass and rushed in, just in time to see Sarah lying on the floor, blood pouring from her head. Her so-called husband, Richard Vance, had a grotesque sneer on his face as he raised a heavy wooden chair, aiming right for her skull. "You cheap whore, you think you can cheat on me? You stayed out all night and you still dare to make excuses?!" "What bullshit rich relatives?! You're a piece of trash that was thrown away the day you were born! You think you can dream of being a princess?!" "I'll beat you to death! Let's see you lie to me again! Bitch!" Richard swung the chair down with all his might. Sarah was beaten so badly she was curled into a tight ball, completely incapable of fighting back. She covered her head with her hands, trembling violently as she tried to dodge. But her back was against the wall. She had nowhere to go. Tears and blood mixed together, streaming down her face. Seeing her like that, a sharp, agonizing pain pierced my heart, and my eyes instantly went red. Unable to hold back for another second, I gritted my teeth, charged forward, and forcefully shoved Richard away. "Don't you fucking touch her!" Richard clearly hadn't expected a stranger to barge in and interfere while he was beating his wife. The irrational rage he had almost exhausted flared right back up. "I'm beating my own wife, what the fuck does it have to do with you?!" "You dare touch me? I'll beat you too!" Richard regained his footing, his face flushed purple with rage. He let out a roar, raising the chair to smash it over my head. I shielded Sarah behind me, staring him down without a single ounce of fear. When Richard finally got a clear look at my face, he froze. 05 Richard wasn't the brightest tool in the shed. But his hands were already in motion, and he couldn't stop. A split second before the chair hit me. The three bodyguards, who had been waiting for my signal, surged into the room. Without a shred of mercy, one of them lifted his leg and delivered a brutal front kick squarely into Richard's stomach! The force of that kick was dozens of times stronger than my shove. Richard was literally launched backward, crashing into the floor. His face contorted in absolute agony as he curled into a shrimp, hissing and groaning in pain. Another bodyguard rushed forward and drove a ruthless punch straight into his jaw. Before Richard could even scream, the third bodyguard pinned him, shoved a dirty sock into his mouth, and swiftly pinned his arms behind his back, completely immobilizing him. Once he was secured, I instantly turned around to check on Sarah. "Sister, are you okay?!" Seeing the blood seeping from her forehead, my heart felt like it was being sliced open. I frantically grabbed some tissues to stop the bleeding, but my hands were shaking so badly I accidentally poked near her eye. I apologized frantically, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Sarah didn't react at all. She maintained the exact same position, arms wrapped tightly over her head. Her eyes were entirely glazed over. She let the blood run into her eyes, just mumbling the same sentence over and over. Her voice was so quiet I couldn't hear it. I had to lean my ear right next to her mouth to catch it: "Don't hit me, I'm sorry, please don't hit me!" My nose stung. I gripped her hand tightly, the tears finally overflowing and streaming down my face. This reflexive, deeply ingrained begging... God only knew how many vicious beatings she had suffered to develop this kind of trauma response. The more I thought about it, the more devastated I felt—and the more furious I became. I marched over to where Richard was pinned to the floor, gritted my teeth, and slapped him across the face twice with all my strength. Richard glared at me, his eyes practically shooting fire. He thrashed wildly, only stopping when one of the guards pressed a knee harder into his spine. Looking at his disgusting, bloated face made my blood boil! "Tie him up, break one of his legs, and call the police!" "You guys don't need to worry about the fallout, I'll have my lawyers handle everything." I didn't care what charges they used, I was going to send this bastard to prison! "If I don't get you locked up for eight to ten years, my name isn't Harper Montgomery!" I spat in his face, delivering the ultimate threat. But just as the words left my mouth, someone grabbed my ankle. I jumped, looking down to see Sarah's pleading eyes. "No!" she choked out, her eyes brimming with tears. "Harper, I am begging you, please don't call the cops!" My body froze. I thought I had misheard her. I dropped to my knees, trying to lift her off the floor. "Don't be afraid. I won't ever let him hurt you again." What kind of pathetic loser was this guy? A coward in the outside world, but a tyrant at home who only felt powerful by beating his wife. Men like him didn't even deserve to be called human! "An animal like him deserves to catch a bullet!" I spoke through gritted teeth. Just the thought of Sarah being bullied by this monster her entire life made me want to strangle him with my bare hands. Hearing my words, Sarah suddenly became frantic. She wildly pulled her hands out of my grasp. And then, I finally heard her clearly. "Don't call the police!" I stared at her, stunned, looking into her bloodshot eyes. "Actually, when he's not hitting me, he's very good to me." "He's not a bad person, he's just... he was just having a bad day today." She spoke faster and faster, her tears streaming down her bruised, swollen face. "And he's Mia's father. I can't... I can't let him go to jail." "Please don't call the cops, Harper, I'm begging you. I'll get on my knees!" As she spoke, she forced her battered body up onto her knees and, without hesitation, slammed her forehead against the floor, bowing to me over and over. Even though the floor was covered in trash and shards of broken glass, she didn't stop. Looking at Sarah in that state, my heart plummeted. A profound, suffocating sense of helplessness washed over me. The exact scenario I hated and feared the most was happening right in front of me. 06 Sarah's injuries were severe. I took her to a private hospital for a full-body workup. I wouldn't have known if I hadn't forced the tests, but the results showed she wasn't just injured—her body was completely broken down. She was covered in old, overlapping scars and poorly healed fractures. Looking at the medical report, I suppressed my rage and let out a cynical laugh. "This is what you call 'very good to you'?" So good that new bruises were layered over old ones? So good that he was fat and well-fed while she was severely malnourished? "He really used to be good to me." Sarah bit her lip, whispering: "Before, he used to save his biscuits to give to me." "How long ago was 'before'?" Sarah paused, furrowing her brows in deep thought for a long time, before carefully answering, "When we were five." A biscuit from when she was five years old, and she held onto it until now?! A surge of white-hot anger shot straight to my brain. I was absolutely furious! Looking at Sarah sitting in the hospital bed, staring at me with a blank, confused expression... I wanted to take the medical file and smash it into her face. I wanted to violently shake her shoulders and empty the water sloshing around in her brain! I truly could not comprehend what was going through her head. Unable to vent my explosive anger, I just took several deep breaths, desperately trying to push the fury down. But Sarah, completely oblivious to my mood, actually asked with genuine concern, "Is he... is he okay?" "Your men didn't actually hurt him, did they?" I couldn't hold it back anymore. I slammed the medical report onto the table with a deafening smack, the rage I had accumulated all day finally erupting. "He beat you into this state, and you're worried about him?!" "Are you out of your goddamn mind?!" I screamed at her, startling her so badly she jumped. She turned pale, gripping the bedsheets, stuttering, unable to form a single sentence in her defense. Thankfully, our parents arrived just in time and quickly pulled us apart. Otherwise, I was genuinely terrified I would lose my mind and slap some sense into her. How could anyone be this foolish? She was abused, and she just swallowed it silently. How could she be beaten half to death and still worry if her abuser was in pain?! What kind of person does that?! I was still seething. After my dad ushered me out into the hallway, I kicked the metal bench by the door. The bench didn't budge, but my foot throbbed in agony, which only made me angrier! Right then, my mom walked out and patted my shoulder. "Alright, stop being so angry." I pressed my lips together, refusing to speak. My mom sighed, not pushing me too hard, but softly saying, "Your sister is not like you." "We sent you to the best private schools since you were little, and then to a university overseas." "But your sister? She grew up working in the fields. She only learned what a TV or a computer was when she was sent away to do manual labor to earn money for her adoptive family." My breath hitched. I listened as my mom sighed again. "The things you take for granted, the concepts that are second nature to you... to her, they are incomprehensible puzzles." My body froze in place. The blazing anger in my chest instantly receded like the tide. "So, don't rush her. Take it slow." "And please, don't be mad at her. She has lived far too bitter a life." My mom patted the back of my hand. I lowered my eyes and let out a quiet "Okay." My parents brought Sarah back to the estate, gave her and Mia their own suite, and told her to focus on resting and not to overthink things. Sarah tried to refuse, but when my mom hugged her and started crying, Sarah stiffened and couldn't bring herself to say no. So, she naturally settled in. However, she was incredibly tense, confining herself to the fourth floor and refusing to come down freely. Occasionally, when we crossed paths downstairs, she would tense up like a mouse seeing a cat. She didn't dare speak to me, didn't even dare look at me, and would scurry away the second she could. I hadn't figured out how to act around her yet, either. So I just turned a blind eye to her behavior, pretending I didn't notice. My mom got anxious seeing us avoid each other. She didn't dare push Sarah, so she constantly nagged me to go upstairs and apologize to her. I refused. "I don't think I did anything wrong. Why shouldn't she be the one apologizing to me?" I felt entirely justified, making my mom so mad she kept pinching my arm. But I never expected... That Sarah would actually come to me to apologize.
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