“George and Lauren adopted me and it was also true that we had some issues, but that doesn’t matter anymore. I’ve cut ties with them.” Natalie wiped the tears on her face.
She still wasn’t used to the idea of her biological parents.
Johanna hugged Natalie tightly and said, “It’s okay, my child. If you don’t want to talk about it, then don’t.”
Johanna stroked Natalie’s hair gently. Her heart ached at the sight of her daughter crying.
With a small smile, she said, “Okay. Anyway, the past is in the past. I have a good life now. I’m married to a wonderful man.”
She looked at Sebastian affectionately and added, “My husband treats me very well.”
Only then did Beal and Johanna turn to look at Sebastian seriously. They knew that Sebastian was the president of the Larson Group, but they just didn’t really care. Even the CEO of such a successful corporation was a nobody in their eyes.
“We can see that he is… nice to you.” Johanna smiled, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. Truth be told, she had been thinking about Brandon, and he was a thorn in her side.
They finally managed to find their daughter after all these years, but she was married. That was absolutely unacceptable! No matter how excellent this man was, Johanna still felt like he was taking her daughter away from her all over again.
And for that, she didn’t like Sebastian one bit. Beal probably harbored the same thought for he had been cold fo Sebastian ever since they met. Sebastian knew what was on their minds, but he knew it wasn’t the right time to bring it up, so he just smiled helplessly
Frank, who was standing in front of them, found the scene interesting.
Now that Sebastian had such difficult in-laws, he was bound to have a hard time in the future. Gradually, Natalie calmed down. But many things plagued her mind. The most pressing question was: how could she have been replaced back then?
This was the last thing that Johanna wanted to talk about. She had been depressed for years, knowing that her daughter had been replaced. She even considered taking her own life, but Beal had stopped her. The White family had a lot of connections in
Barnes. They had asked anyone and everyone they could to look for their missing daughter, but there was no sign of her.
Gradually, Johanna came to believe that she would never reunite with her daughter. Beal, on the other hand, didn’t lose hope and suggested they search in other cities. After all, Barnes was a metropolis and lots of people came and went every year, so it was possible that their daughter wasn’t in Barnes anymore. Now, they finally found her-their long lost daughter.
Johanna looked at Beal hesitantly. Beal didn’t say anything and gave her a reassuring look.
Holding Natalie’s hands, Johanna bit her lower lip nervously. She took deep breaths, but she was so emotional that she couldn’t squeeze a single word out.
Finally, Beal looked at Natalie and sighed heavily.
“When you were born, there was an earthquake of unprecedented magnitude in Barnes. The whole city was in chaos. The hospital collapsed, and all the expecting mothers and infants were trapped inside. Your mother, who was staying in a VIP ward at the time, was moved with the other mothers during the evacuation. The situation was a complete mess at the time and she had no idea that you were replaced. Later, when we did find out, we investigated the matter and found that a couple took advantage of the chaotic situation to replace you with their daughter and took you away.”
Tears rolling down her cheeks, Johanna lowered her head guiltily and covered her mouth with the handkerchief in her hand. In between sobs, she said, “It’s all my fault. I wasn’t able to protect you. If! did, you wouldn’t have been replaced. You were born without birthmarks. I didn’t get to see you clearly because I was too weak and therefore didn’t memorize what you looked like.”
Beal hurried to comfort his wife.
“Don’t blame yourself. All babies look alike when they were just born. It’s difficult to tell them apart.”
Natalie patted Johanna’s hand, too.
“You’ve found me now and that’s what matters. Truth be told, I never wanted to look for my biological parents before. I always thought that they had deliberately abandoned me.”
Now that she knew that Johanna and Beal never meant to lose her, she didn’t feel unwanted anymore. Johanna threw her arms around Natalie and wept tears of jay. Natalie had grown up to be such a gentle and considerate young lady.
“I’m so glad we found you, my child. My life would’ve been meaningless otherwise.”
Natalie could keenly sense that her mother really cared about her. Thinking of the baby who had taken her place, she asked, “How is the girl now?”
“Her name is Lila. She lives in Barnes with us now. Your mother and I didn’t know that she wasn’t ours at first, so we raised her as our own.” Beal sighed.
After all, the baby girl had looked a lot like baby Natalie. Beal and Johanna had no idea that the girl they raised wasn’t theirs.
It wasn’t until Lila had a blood test that they realized that something was wrong. Beal’s blood type was A, and Johanna’s was 0, while Lila’s was B—there was no possible way she was their biological daughter. So they secretly conducted a paternity test and found out that indeed, Lila wasn’t related to them by blood. They launched an in-depth investigation into the matter. That was when they found out that their baby had been replaced amidst the chaotic aftermath of the earthquake.
“People can be really evil. Even the clothes and wristbands on the two babies were switched, so it obviously was not just a simple mistake. I knew what my baby was wearing and that was why we took that girl with us.” Johanna sneered angrily. Just thinking about the evildoers who had stolen her daughter made her want to tear them to pieces.
It was because of them that she wasn’t able to see her own child in more than twenty years. Lila, on the other hand, had been treated as Johanna’s and Beal’s biological daughter for years. They loved her deeply and by the time they realized the mistake, it was too late for them to leave her. Thus, they continued to treat Lila as their own while secretly looking for their real daughter.
A few years ago, they had managed to track down Lila’s biological parents, but the evil couple had abandoned Natalie as a baby and had no idea where she was. With her lips pursed, Natalie asked warily, “Has Lila met her biological parents?”
‘Lila is still with us. She has no idea that she’s not our biological daughter…” Johanna sighed heavily.
These problems were not easy to solve.
