"You can rest assured, Mother," I said, meeting her gaze with unwavering resolve. "I will raise Natalie as my own daughter."

"You’ve seen how I’ve treated her all these years," I added with a firm resolution.

She nodded repeatedly as relief washed over her face while kept saying her gratitude, "Good, good! Since you’re willing to do this, Jacob can finally rest in peace. On behalf of him and his wife, thank you."

I curved my lips into a faint smile and said, "We’re family, so there is no need to thank you. It was also my promise to Talie at that time."

The moment the words slipped from my mouth, I bit my tongue.

"What did you just say? Who's Talie?" My mother-in-law had sharp ears so she immediately caught the name and suspicion flashed in her eyes.

I quickly shook my head. Without changing my expression, I said calmly, "You must’ve misheard, Mother."

Years passed in the blink of an eye and Natalie, who was now eighteen years old, stood at the edge of the Olympic pool.

As soon as the starting gun fired, she sliced through the water like a fish and glided with effortless grace. She reached the wall first in the end. She even broke the world record and secured the world championship title in freestyle swimming.

The internet exploded with excitement as comments crashed like a tidal wave.

[I can’t believe it! Wanda had really raised her late husband's illegitimate child with his mistress for so many years and managed to turn her into a world champion!]

"Wanda is an incredible woman! Natalie wouldn’t be able to break the world record at eighteen years old like she did today without Wanda’s dedication!]

The same netizens who once scorned me now changed their tune and praised me endlessly.

Yet, at that moment, my mother-in-law decided to give an interview.

Lifting her chin with pride, she declared, "Natalie's talent comes from her biological parents' superior genes. It has nothing to do with Wanda."

I scoffed at the absurdity of it all. After all, I had poured my heart and soul into training Natalie. I taught her every technique I knew for years. Without me, she would never have won the world championship at such a young age.

Then my mother-in-law added, "Just wait, in the next few days, I will give everyone an explanation."

As I watched the smug satisfaction on her face, a sense of unease crept into my heart. What was she up to now?

That night, she announced she was heading out. I nodded. I discreetly slipped a tiny listening device into the bottom of her handbag before sending her off with a smile on my face.

Lately, she had been sneaking out at night and for a while, my gut told me something was off and something was brewing in the air.

The house was quiet, the night deep and still. I sat by the receiver my heartbeat pounding in my ears.

Then, a voice crackled through the speaker. It was a voice I hadn't heard in eighteen years, Jacob.

Even though I had mentally prepared myself, I was flabbergasted when I heard the voice that I had not heard for so long.

Eighteen years ago, when they fell off that cliff but their bodies were never found, I had suspected something was amiss, so I kept my vigilance. Now, my worst fears were confirmed. The old fox had survived the fall.

Another voice followed his voice. It was the voice of a woman with an unrefined accent that was strangely familiar to my ears but I could not pinpoint who she was.

"Husband, our two children are incredible!" Hearing this, a chill shot through my spine.

Two children? These shameless people had managed to have another child without my knowledge! So, why did they only leave Natalie in my care in the first place? Many questions jumbled in my mind.

Before I could untangle the confusion in my mind, my mother-in-law’s voice rang out, full of admiration, "That’s my son and daughter-in-law for you! Such excellent genes! Both of their children are extraordinary!

“Just wait a few days …”

Suddenly, the voice cut off. The signal had failed.

Rage surged through me like a tidal wave that crashed into me. So this was their plan all along. It was such a well-calculated scheme.

Fortunately, I had already suspected as much and prepared accordingly! I let out a cold chuckle and a new plan quietly formed in my mind.

The next day, my mother-in-law excitedly announced that she would throw a grand celebration banquet for Natalie to honor her world championship victory.

She wasted no time spreading the news in our family and friends group chats. She even posted a new post online.

[We’ll be live-streaming Natalie’s celebration banquet for winning the world swimming competition! A major surprise will also be announced at the event.]

As soon as the news broke, the internet erupted. Netizens were busy commenting and talking about their speculation.

As I gripped the tiny recording device in my hand, I smirked and a thought flashed in my mind.

Well, let's see who surprises who when the time comes.

The celebration banquet arrived and the entire event was being live-streamed.

Amid thunderous applause, Natalie held my hand tightly and led me to the center of the stage. Her eyes sparkled with excitement and her voice was filled with emotion as she said, “I wouldn’t be here today, standing on this stage at eighteen years old, if not for my mother, Wanda Stevens.”

She added, "For all these years, she raised me without a single complaint and personally taught me every swimming technique I know. This gold medal belongs just as much to her as it does to me.”

After she said this, Natalie raised the gold medal and was about to place it around my neck, but before she could do that, my mother-in-law suddenly rushed forward,

She yelled, " My dear granddaughter, I have a surprise for you.”

She grabbed Natalie’s wrist, her voice sharp and piercing as she said, “The truth is … your biological parents are still alive. What happened all those years ago was a mistake. For eighteen years, they’ve been searching for you and today, they’re here.”

Natalie froze on the spot and her eyes widened in disbelief.

Meanwhile, the live chat exploded with netizen's comments. They came like a tidal wave.

[Whoa! This is some major drama!]

[Wow … Now that the kid’s a champion, the biological parents suddenly appear? What a joke!]

[Wanda basically wasted all these years raising someone else’s child! We had told her these before, but she wouldn’t listen. Now look at her. I bet she regrets it now!]

I curled my lips into a cold smile. So, these shameless scumbags finally couldn’t hold back anymore and came to claim her.

My mother-in-law snatched the microphone and dramatically announced. She raised her voice as loud as she could, "Let’s welcome the world champion’s real parents onto the stage!”

As soon as she finished speaking, Jacob strode onto the stage. His hand was pulling a woman along with him.

The live chat went insane with the flooding comments from the netizens.

“Oh, goodness! Natalie’s birth mother is none other than Cassie Clements. She is from the Second Swimming Team! This is a huge news!”

[Wanda and Cassie are rivals. How can Cassie have the nerve to do this?]

I stared at Cassie and a memory clicked into place. So, the woman’s voice in my secret recording with that unrefined accent … was her all along!

Jacob, with a smug and arrogant look on his face, pulled Cassie along. Then, he stopped in front of me. His nostrils practically flared with pride as he said, "Wanda, it’s been eighteen years. It’s time for you to return my daughter to me.”

I was shaking with fury and my fists clenched so tightly that my nails dug into my palms. Through gritted teeth, I spat, "Jacob, you're so brazen!"

The internet exploded with outrage. Many netizens cursed him.

[This guy is unbelievable! He dumped his kid on Wanda, let her groom a champion and now he wants to get her back! What a disgusting father.]

Cassie's expression flickered with unease, but Jacob remained shamelessly unfazed. With a straight face, he spewed his lies, “Eighteen years ago, we broke up on good terms. I saw how desperate you were for a child and how much you begged me. Out of pity, I let you raise my daughter.”

“Now, it’s time for you to return her to me. Let her go back to her real parents.”

His words were so absurd that I actually laughed. When had I ever agreed to such a thing?

However, since Jacob spoke so convincingly many netizens actually believed him and chimed in.

[If there was already an agreement, then the child should indeed be returned.]

I smiled and nodded, my tone casual but firm when I answered him, "Alright. Since she’s your biological daughter, of course, I’ll return her to you.”

Just as my words fell, a figure appeared at the entrance of the banquet hall. She was wobbling unsteadily toward the stage.

The entire room fell into a buzzing commotion. A girl was limping and staggering with an uneven gait. Her face was covered in soot as if she had just crawled out of a pile of coal dust.

The crowd's attention was instantly drawn to the girl and they were all murmuring among themselves.

“Who is that girl? Look at her legs … Forget being a swimming champion, she can barely walk properly.”

The girl muttered with emotion, “Mom … Dad … You finally came to find me. I’m your daughter …”

She grinned widely at Jacob, revealing slightly crooked teeth and drool dribbled uncontrollably from the corner of her mouth.

Jacob recoiled as if he were being burned by fire and instinctively shoved her away as he hissed, “What is the meaning of this?"

I took a step forward, my lips curling into a smile as I said, "This is your real daughter. Congratulations, you’re finally reunited with her.”