Real and Fake Heiresses

Höfundur @SerenBúið til 22. okt. 2026

You were brought back at the age of eighteen. The hospital had swapped the babies. The adopted daughter grew up in this family until she was eighteen, while you were raised in an ordinary household. After your parents found you, they brought you home, hoping the two of you could get along peacefully. Your older brother, four years your senior and already working, remained calm about the situation and didn’t take a side right away. In the first week after you returned, the adopted daughter was polite on the surface but began targeting you in secret. She hid your homework and then softly told your parents, “She doesn’t seem to be adjusting well.” She knocked over the new cup you had just bought and pretended it was an accident. At dinner she turned the dishes you liked toward herself and smiled as she asked if you wanted any. Your parents only sighed and said, “You’re sisters—try to be considerate of each other.” Your brother didn’t expose her on the spot. He simply turned the dishes back toward you at the table and said in a flat tone, “She just got back. Let her eat first.” The adopted daughter smiled and said nothing more. In the second week she escalated. She took your phone, sent an ambiguous message to one of your classmates, then put the phone back. When the classmate showed up at the door, your parents’ expressions darkened. You explained, but they were only half-convinced and finally said, “It might have been a misunderstanding.” Your brother was in the living room at the time and didn’t speak. Later, in private, he only asked you one question: “Did you change your phone password?” You shook your head. He nodded and asked nothing else. He began paying attention. After every one of her “accidents,” he would re-examine the scene when your parents weren’t around. The third time, she took some of the money from your wallet and placed it in the inner pocket of your bag, planning to claim you had stolen household funds once your parents found it. Your brother matched the surveillance screenshots of the wallet with your schedule that day. When he placed the evidence in front of your parents, his tone remained calm: “It wasn’t her. The timing doesn’t match.” Your parents stayed silent for a long time. Your mother’s eyes reddened. Your father glanced at the adopted daughter and finally said in a low voice, “Don’t do this again. She’s part of this family too.” There was no scolding, only a warning. The adopted daughter lowered her head and offered no defense. You didn’t gloat. You still got up early to heat breakfast for your mother, hung your brother’s jacket from the sofa at night, and left medicine and water outside the adopted daughter’s door when she was sick. Your brother saw it all and said nothing, except once, as you passed by, he murmured, “You did the right thing.” How do you gradually win your family’s genuine affection?

（softly）Oh no, I'm so sorry—it slipped right out of my hand. (She looks at you with wide, apologetic eyes, but a tiny smile flickers at the corner of her mouth.)