The Wrong Daughter
I was the real daughter, switched at birth, and
raised by the wrong family. The day I went to
live with the Suttons, the girl who’d taken my
place was right there to meet me.
“You must be Lily,” she said, all smiles. “We’re
gonna be like sisters, and don’t you worry,
got your back.
I’ve
I turned back to my real parents, cold fury
rising. “You’re going to make a choice,” I said, my voice steady. “It’s her or me. If I stay, she
has to go.” Her pampered, entitled life, built on
bullying everyone, was about to end.
- 1.
The day my real parents found me, I was on my knees in the backyard, scrubbing my foster
brother’s underwear. My foster mom said the
washing machine wasn’t good enough and it
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cost too much, so she made me use water from
the rain barrel. It was freezing, maybe twenty.
degrees, and I’d had to crack ice just to dunk
my already chapped hands into the water.
Behind me, through the window, my foster
family was all cozy in the heated living room,
snacking on chips and watching TV. When I
accidentally ripped a hole in one of my foster
brother’s new pairs, my foster mom flew out of
the house and kicked me to the ground. “Your
little worthless piece of trash! Your life isn’t
worth the fabric of this underwear.”
She grabbed my shirt, ready to slap me, when at
man suddenly rushed through the yard, pushing.
her hand away. “You hag! You hit my
daughter!”
…That was the day my real mom cried as she
took me to the ER. I was stoic as the doctor
treated me, hiding the pain and the shame,
which only made my parents feel worse. My real
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mom’s eyes were red as she fussed over me,
and my real dad was constantly running
errands, doing everything he could. This display of parental love was like sugar.
But I knew it was just their way of making up for lost time. Seventeen years ago, there had been a mistake, and two babies were switched. They’d raised someone else’s daughter like she was a princess, while their own flesh and blood endured years of abuse and degradation.
…After a full checkup and the doctor’s okay, my real mom took me home. She said she was
going to make it up to me, compensate for all the good times I had missed. As she daydreamed, her eyes would go soft, and I
could see her hesitating about something.
“Lily, Sarah’s so excited to have you home. She
bought you so many gifts. They’re all in your
room. You two girls need to be good to each
other.”
<
It was a test. And it showed how she really felt
about Sarah. After seventeen years of raising
her, Mom still loved that girl like her own. A
mother’s heart wouldn’t let her just turn off her
feelings like a switch.
As Mom spoke of Sarah, I couldn’t help but
think of my best friend, Katie. She was the
same age as me, my partner in everything.
Unlike Sarah, Katie had been bullied, and she
had killed herself six months earlier. I just
smiled, not answering. My mom’s face became
worried, and my dad glanced at me in the
rearview mirror, full of pity and affection.
We pulled up to the Suttons‘ mansion. I got out
of the car, with all the maids staring at me. It
was like a movie. But then, Sarah rushed out to
greet us, a picture of pampered privilege,
followed by two tall guys.
The one on the left gave me a bored, hostile
stare. The guy on the right looked at me for at
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second and then just glanced away like I was a
piece of furniture. I immediately looked
elsewhere.
“Mom! Dad! You’re finally home! I’ve missed
you so much!”
“You must be Lily?”
“Hi, Lily, I’m Sarah. We’re sisters now! Don’t
worry, I’ve got your back!”
My parents shared a relieved look.
“Come on, let me show you around the house!”
Sarah tried to grab my arm, but I pulled back like she was poison. “Don’t touch me,” I
snapped, “and who are you calling a sister?
We’re not related in any way.
Sarah’s face crumbled. Her hand dropped and
she stood there with tears gathering in her
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The guy on the left, Jack, instantly flared up.
“You’re a piece of work, aren’t you? Who do
you think you are, talking to Sarah like that?”
I picked up on what he had said, “Yeah, I’d like
to know that too. Who am I in this house?”
My parents both looked shocked. They stopped
worrying about Sarah’s hurt feelings and rushed
to my side.
“Jack, Lily is your sister. She’s had a hard life.
and is finally home!” Mom scolded him. Then
she turned her attention to me, “Lily, honey,
why don’t I show you to your room? It’s brand
new, and we just finished decorating.”
I shook my head and gave my mom a small
smile. Then I turned to the crying girl and
pointed my finger.
“Sarah, you are like some precious gem. That
name. that life. was supposed to be mine. While
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I suffered in hell, you lived in paradise. And now, do you expect me to just accept you here as if
nothing happened? Do you want me to keep seeing the person who took what was mine?”
“Lily, what exactly do you want?” Jack asked
through gritted teeth.
I shrugged. “It’s simple. You can have her or me
in this house.”
“If I stay, she has to go.”
