That night, Janet went back to Barnes with her parents. Bernes was known as the capital of ancient
culture. Unlike Seacisco which was a developed, urbanized city, Barnes carried with it a long history of
cultural heritage. The White family’s mansion sat quaintly in the middle of a classical-style garden. The
mansion was huge, and the stone sculptures flanking the grand door gave a glimpse at just how rich and
powerful the Whites were.
“Your grandfather lived in this house. I wanted us to move out before, but your father didn’t agree. He’s
too sentimental.” Johanna noticed that Janet kept looking around the mansion with wide eyes, so she
thought that Janet didn’t like it.
“If you want to live in an apartment or a villa, we can move out.”
Janet waved her hand quickly.
“No, it’s okay. I’ve never lived in a place like this before. I’ve only ever seen it on TV. Now that I’m
actually standing in it, I just wanted to take a closer look at its details.”
Johanna looked around the mansion alongside Janet and her expression softened. With a loving smile,
she said gently, “It will all be yours in the future. You’ll have plenty of time to look around.”
“Mom, what on earth are you saying?” A sweet voice interrupted the conversation between Janet and
Johanna Janet turned in the direction of the voice. A woman in a pink floral dress and a pale grey
sweater was standing in the yard.
The woman’s eyes and brows were somewhat similar to that of Janet’s. They both looked smart and
charming, but there was a hint of arrogance in the woman’s eyes. Johanna frowned immediately when
she saw the girl.
“Lila! You have to put on a coat whenever you leave the house! It’s January now—the coldest time of the
year!” Lila pouted and threw herself into Johanna’s arms, acting very much like a spoiled child.
“Mom, I just wanted to see you sooner. The servant told me you were finally back, so I came as fast as I
could. What have you and Dad been up to these days? I didn’t see you at the office.”
She peeked at Janet and asked curiously, “Who’s that? You never bring strangers home.”
Johanna placed her hands on Lila’s shoulders and pushed her away firmly. With a hardened expression,
she said, “Let’s talk inside. Dad and I have to tell you something important.”
Lila frowned. She obviously picked up on Johanna’s indifference to her. Something was definitely off.She
took a sidelong glance at Janet before nodding and following her mother inside the house.
“What?! Impossible! Is this a prank? Mom, Dad, you can stop teasing me now.”
Upon hearing the whole story, Lila immediately sprang out of her seat indignantly.
She couldn’t accept the cruel truth. In the span of mere minutes, she had become a child who was
brought home by mistake instead of the esteemed daughter of the Whites she was a moment earlier.
Johanna picked up the cup of tea on the table and took a sip. She was afraid that Lila would blame
herself if she told her that her parents had switched the babies out on purpose, so she just said that it
was all a big mistake.
“Tell me you’re joking!” Lila’s eyes suddenly brimmed with tears.
Her carefree life was about come to an end.
Beal and Johanna felt bad when they saw that Lila was about to cry.
Pretending to be relaxed, Beal walked up to Lila and patted her shoulder comfortingly.
“Lila, we only told you this because we think you deserve to know the truth. We won’t interfere with your
choice. If you want to remain our daughter, you can stay as our adopted daughter. Janet was lost to us
for too long. We have to take her back into our family.”
Lila gritted her teeth, looked at Beal angrily, and spat, “If you really cared about me, you wouldn’t have
told me the truth.”
Without waiting for a response, she stumbled and turned around to storm off. Suddenly, her eyes met
Janet’s. This woman had stolen her parents.
After giving Janet a hard look, Lila ran to her room. The minute she was gone, Beal and Johanna sighed.
They knew that the truth would hurt Lila, but they had no choice. Janet was a little worried about her new
sister.
“We should go to her. What if she go to extremes?” “Don’t worry. Lila just needs time to accept the truth.
Just leave her alone for now.” Johanna waved her hand dismissively. She knew Lila well. Their priority
now was to announce to the public that Janet was their long-lost biological daughter.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda