The Fake Heiress and My Real Daughter

I woke up knowing something impossible: both the supposed real and fake heiresses were my daughters.

One was timid and kind-hearted, the other spoiled and flamboyant, yet both had once been purely good kids.

But they were willing to throw each other in jail over some guy.

I needed them to understand.

Blood ties and family are worth infinitely more than some man who wouldn't treat you right.

And the heroine and the villainess? They didn't have to be mortal enemies!

In the dead of night, I jolted awake from a nightmare.

In the dream, I lived inside a novel, and I had a biological daughter switched at birth with the girl we raised.

After my real daughter came home, the two girls were locked in a bitter, covert war.

I didn't believe it... until I found myself standing outside my daughter Scarlett's bedroom door.

Scarlett was still awake. "Mom? What?" she asked, blunt as ever.

I studied her face. Honestly, I couldn't see a trace of me or her father.

I got a DNA test.

Seeing the results felt like being struck by lightning.

Everything was unfolding exactly like the nightmare.

Two weeks later, we found my real daughter.

She'd been raised by a single mom. When we met her, she wore a floral sundress and looked exactly like I did at her age.

Tears welled up, but remembering the dream, I instinctively glanced at Scarlett.

She was biting her lip, hands clenched tight on her thighs, her eyes full of stubborn defiance.

To prevent the tragedy from my dream, I fought the urge to hug my real daughter. Instead, I grabbed Scarlett's hand and walked over together.

"You're Eleanor, right?"

Compared to Eleanor's awkward shyness, Scarlett looked like she was thoroughly unapproachable.

She thought I was dumping her right there.

Eleanor's foster mom came out, frowning as she sized up Scarlett.

"So, you're my real kid? Come on, let's go home."

Scarlett gritted her teeth, then yelled, "No! I'm nobody! I don't have a mom!"

She tried to bolt, but I grabbed her arm firmly.

Meanwhile, Eleanor's adoptive mother slammed the door shut with a scoff. "Big temper for someone so young. Fine, be a stray! See if I care."

Eleanor flinched at the sound of the slammed door. My heart ached for her. My precious girl, what have you endured?

I brought both girls home.

Eleanor sat silently in the car the whole way. The only sound was Scarlett's quiet sobbing.

"Who needs a mother anyway," she muttered. "Just go take care of your real daughter. It's not like I'm really yours."

Scarlett covered her eyes, spouting one angry thing after another. Meanwhile, scenes from my dream flashed before my eyes.

Biological or not, they were both my daughters.

One I had cherished for eighteen years, one who had suffered and drifted, lost to me.

As long as I was their mother, they were sisters.

Sisters shouldn't destroy each other.

While Scarlett vented, I turned to Eleanor. "Your adoptive mother... has she always been like that?"

Eleanor hung her head for a moment, then slowly pushed up her sleeves.

Her forearms were covered in bruises, old and new.

Before I could speak, I heard a sharp intake of breath beside me.

"Did she do all this? That's abuse!" Scarlett hugged her own arms, her expression a mix of fear and dawning pity.

All these years, I'd raised Scarlett in health and privilege, ensuring she excelled in every way. Meanwhile, my own daughter endured this.

I turned away to wipe my tears, but Eleanor managed a small, fragile smile. "It's okay. It doesn't hurt anymore."

Scarlett interjected quickly, "How can it not hurt!"

"We have to call the police! Otherwise, I'll be the one suffering next!"

Scarlett, our pampered jewel, was fearless. She was already dialing 911.

But the moment the call connected, Eleanor snatched the phone and hung up.

"What are you doing?!" Scarlett yelled, directing all her frustration and fear at Eleanor. "Think you can bully me now that you have your real mom to back you up?"

"Scarlett!" I snapped.

Eleanor looked at me meekly. "Mrs.... I mean, Mom... maybe... maybe Scarlett should stay here."

"If she goes to that house, she'll get beaten too."

Both Scarlett and I were stunned.

I had been worrying about how to mediate between them, never expecting Eleanor to be so magnanimous.

It was a maturity that broke my heart.

After the shock faded, Scarlett seemed to realize how poorly she had behaved.

"Apologize to Eleanor," I said sternly.

To my relief, Scarlett didn't argue this time.

Back home, Eleanor seemed overwhelmed by everything, while Scarlett moved through the house with familiar ease.

When Eleanor spent fifteen minutes in the bathroom, I went to check. "Eleanor? Is everything alright?"

"Oh! Ah, yes! I'm fine! I'll be right out!"

As I turned, I caught Scarlett making a disdainful face.

"Mom, you don't think... she doesn't know how to use a smart toilet, does she?"

My expression darkened. I pulled Scarlett into my bedroom before Eleanor emerged.

I knew this daughter, raised by me, inside and out. Her heart wasn't bad, but she'd been spoiled rotten since birth.

The Ye family fortune was vast, and I'd raised her as the sole heir, never considering another child. Her willfulness was once tolerable, but now we had Eleanor to consider.

"Scarlett, what did you just say?"

Seeing my stern face, she pouted and looked away. "It's probably true."

I took a deep breath. "Scarlett, you need to understand. If there hadn't been a mistake at the hospital, Eleanor would have had all this for the past eighteen years."

Scarlett looked at me, hurt and incredulous. "The switch wasn't my fault! If you don't want me anymore, just send me back!"

Her eyes welled up, though she tried to look defiant.

I hardened my heart and pinched her arm.

"Mom! You've never hit me! Now you're hurting me for her? I knew it! I'm not really your daughter!"

The spots where I'd gripped her were red. "Did that hurt?"

"And the bruises on Eleanor... remember those?"

"Think she hurt for the past eighteen years?"

Scarlett faltered but stayed defiant, chin jutting out.

I knew she felt displaced, but I had to guide her gently. "Eleanor is back, but she wants to stay here with you. She suffered for eighteen years so you wouldn't have to, and you mock her?"

This time, Scarlett stayed silent.

Work called me away.

I spent the whole day on edge, terrified the sisters were tearing each other apart at home.

But when I got back, Scarlett was showing Eleanor around the house.

Seeing me, she awkwardly put some distance between them.

Eleanor pressed her lips together, then called out, "Mom."

It was the first time she'd called me that. I nearly burst into tears right there.

I pretended to adjust my shoe, wiping my eyes, then grabbed a bag from outside.

"Eleanor, these are Scarlett's favorite bagels. See which one you like."

To be fair, I'd bought two of everything.

Scarlett's room was to the left of mine, I put Eleanor's next door.

That night, I tossed and turned.

If I wanted them to get along, I couldn't play favorites.

But Eleanor had been lost to us for eighteen years. My heart ached with guilt.

I could only hope they would find peace and not shatter this fragile calm.

A week later, I enrolled Eleanor in Scarlett's prep school.

But when they got home that evening, Scarlett looked thunderous.

She locked herself in her room, yesterday's enthusiasm for Eleanor gone.

I looked at Eleanor. She stood there, biting her lip and picking at her fingers.

At bedtime, I went to Eleanor's room.

"Can Mom sleep with you tonight?"

I used to put Scarlett to sleep almost every night when she was little.

Now, lying beside my real daughter, we were both stiff with nerves.

After a moment, I broke the silence.

"Eleanor... do you blame your dad and me?"

"That mix-up at the hospital... you suffered so much all these years."

Tears slipped down my temples into my hair. Thinking of Eleanor's scars sent a dull ache through my chest.

Eleanor was quiet at first. Then she turned to face me.

"When I got hit... I never imagined something like this could happen."

"Now it has... but the pain is over."

I couldn't hold back. I pulled her into my arms and cried.

Eleanor's hand landed softly on my back, comforting me instead.

"It's okay. It's over."

We talked late into the night. I desperately tried to cram eighteen years of knowing her into one conversation.

Hearing her foster mom was a gambling addict filled me with rage.

But I thanked God my daughter hadn't turned out like that.

Instead, she was kind. She is a strong girl.

She even brought up Scarlett herself.

"At school today, everyone was giving Scarlett the cold shoulder.."

"Meanwhile, I, the new girl, was surprisingly popular."

I paused, understanding dawning. "It's a prep school, sweetheart. Connections matter more there than anywhere else. But it cuts both ways.

Those kids learn young how to size people up."

"The news about the switch... it's probably everywhere."

I figured the strange looks in my dream fueled Scarlett's later darkness.

Eleanor nodded, sounding confused. "But Scarlett's still part of the family, right? You said we're both your daughters?"

"But they don't see it that way."

Her words hit me hard.

They didn't see it that way. Did Scarlett even see it that way herself?

A week later, my husband returned from his business trip overseas.

Scarlett, who'd been subdued lately, lit up. Her dad had always put her on a pedestal.

But Eleanor looked nervous.

"Mom... what's Dad like? I want to be prepared."

Seeing Eleanor's anxiety twisted my heart.

From what I knew, after Eleanor was brought home, her foster mom divorced her husband.

Meaning Eleanor might never have even called anyone 'Dad'.

Scarlett handed her phone over, pointing at a man in a suit and tie. "That's Dad."

Then she corrected herself, stumbling, "Our... our dad."

Eleanor studied the photo intently, mouthing the word 'Dad' silently.

When he arrived, Scarlett threw herself into her dad's arms, sobbing.

"Daddy! You won't... you won't send me away, will you?"

He held Scarlett, soothing her, his eyes darting to Eleanor with panic and uncertainty.

Father and daughter just stared at each other.

Eleanor twisted her hands together, gathering courage before forcing out the word.

"Dad."

His eyes instantly reddened.

I steered Scarlett towards the gifts he'd brought, finally giving the other two some space.

At dinner, my two little sugar plums sat on either side of him.

The easy, happy atmosphere was so rare, I lingered at the table long after I was done.

Later in our room, I gave him the warning. "Both girls are ours now. No playing favorites."

He nodded, sighing deeply about fate's twists.

Then he suggested throwing a welcome-home gala.

I bought new gowns for both girls.

The point was to show everyone: we claim both daughters.

But whispers still slithered through the party.

Unfortunately, I overheard.

The whispers came from two business associates.

"Tsk, tsk. You can really tell the difference between country-raised and properly bred, huh? Like a barn swallow next to a swan."

"Barn swallow or swan, what does it matter? Once the barn swallow transforms, all this will be hers anyway."

"The swan just has looks. Useless."

They chuckled knowingly and clinked champagne flutes.

I snatched the glasses right out of their hands.

"Hey, who the"

They paled when they saw me.

"Mrs. Sinclair, we didn't mean"

"Just idle chat! Absolutely no disrespect intended towards your daughters!"

I kept my smile icy. "I know."

"Don't misunderstand. I simply mean this party isn't for you. Next time, perhaps?"

Security escorted them out immediately.

Everyone saw.

My husband stood beside me, our united front clear.

Consider this a warning shot.

Maybe next time people gossip, they'll think twice.

After that, Eleanor and Scarlett visibly stood taller.

They made the rounds with us. Scarlett even started introducing people to Eleanor.

But after a while, Eleanor looked flushed.

I was about to swap her champagne for soda when Scarlett grabbed the glass and downed it herself.

"Sorry, Mr. Reynolds, Eleanor can't handle her liquor. I'll take this one!"

My husband and I exchanged stunned looks.

Had their relationship actually improved?!

After the party, both girls seemed happier at school.

On weekends, when Scarlett had her socialite gatherings, she started bringing Eleanor.

My job as their safety net? Keep their trust funds overflowing.

But as college entrance exams neared, my anxiety spiked.

In my dream, a boy transferred into their class right before exams.

He played both sisters against each other.

And both my girls, total romantics, ended up bitter enemies.

I could still see their screaming match in my dream:

Scarlett: "You waltz in here after I've already lost everything, and now you want to steal him too? He's broke, he's nobody, just some bookworm! You, a Sinclair heiress, should be chasing trust fund babies! Why fight me for him?"

Eleanor: "You stole eighteen years of Mom and Dad's love! Itook eighteen years of beatings for you! Who's stealing from whom?"

And that boy? Sat back, cool as a cucumber, soaking up the resources they provided, watching my girls tear each other apart.

Knowing the future? I wouldn't let it happen.