"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Tonight, at the banquet, Mom and Dad will have your daughter start calling me 'Mom' instead."

She smirked and continued before I could react. "You probably don’t know why, do you? Well, since I’m feeling generous today, I’ll tell you. Your daughter died a long time ago. The soul inside her now… is my daughter."

"You and your daughter are truly a pair of fools." Lena sneered, her voice dripping with mockery.

"Before her soul was switched, the moment she saw Victor approach, she stopped crying immediately. She even handed the artifact over to him herself, saying that as long as Victor treated you better, she’d be willing to do anything."

I felt like my brain had short-circuited, unable to process her words. But she didn’t stop.

"And you… you actually kicked the dog away at that moment. The soul of your daughter was inside that body. Haha! When you were screaming for Mom and Dad to kill that dog, did you ever think that it was actually your daughter?"

Her words crashed over me like a tidal wave.

Before I could even fully grasp what she was saying, a scene from that day resurfaced in my mind.

The dog that had always clung to Lena and had run toward me.

When it was beaten to death, its eyes had stayed fixed on me the entire time.

And then, if I remembered correctly—it had cried.

I stared at Lena in utter disbelief, my voice trembling uncontrollably.

"You… you’re lying to me!"

She sneered coldly. "Why would I lie? Can’t the so-called good mother who claims to love her daughter even tell the difference?"

Rage surged through me. My vision burned red as I lunged at her, unable to hold back any longer.

But before I could even touch her, a brutal force sent me flying.

Victor glared at me with unmasked fury. "What do you think you’re doing?"

Hearing the commotion, Mom and Dad rushed over. Their faces were icy, their gazes filled with disappointment.

"You're bullying Lena again! You really can’t tolerate her, can you?"

Lena sobbed pitifully, her voice trembling as if she had suffered a great injustice.

"Don't blame my sister… I just saw her arguing with the child and wanted to comfort her. But who knew she thought I was trying to steal her daughter… If she really can't tolerate me, then I'll just leave."

Victor was furious. "Anna, how can you be so petty? Still holding a grudge after all this time?"

He sneered and continued, "Look at yourself. No wonder the child isn’t close to you!"

Tears streamed down my face as I looked at the people before me, my heart twisting in agony.

"You say I'm making a fuss?" My voice shook. "Then tell me, tell me the truth. Is that really my child?"

Mom and Dad stiffened for a moment, but their expressions quickly hardened. "If the daughter you saved with your own hands isn't yours, then who is?"

"I think you’ve gone insane."

I threw the talisman papers and the secretary’s recorded notes in front of them.

“Oh really? Then explain this, what exactly is this soul-swapping ritual?”

Victor didn’t even flinch. “Who knows where you dug up this nonsense? Stop making baseless accusations.”

His tone was cold and impatient. “Apologize to Lena right now, or forget about attending today’s banquet.”

Mom and Dad glared at me. “That’s right! If you don’t apologize, we won’t acknowledge you as our daughter anymore.”

I laughed, tears spilling down my face. “Fine. I was wrong. Is that what you want to hear?”

I was wrong for longing for family. I was wrong for coming back, even though I knew they never truly wanted me.

The worst mistake was letting them deceive me again and again, until it cost my child’s life.

With that, I turned and walked away.

But then, behind me, I heard Lena’s delicate voice. “Anna’s eyes look so scary...”

Before I could react, something heavy slammed into the back of my head.

The last thing I saw before losing consciousness was Victor holding a club and my own parents, holding ropes, ready to tie me up.

Through my tear-blurred vision, I caught a glimpse of something familiar. It was a team uniform.

I tried to call for help, but darkness swallowed me before I could make a sound.

At the banquet, Lena smiled brightly, basking in the attention.

But Victor was distracted.

He couldn’t stop thinking about the look in my eyes just before I collapsed. It was cold, desolate, like ice that had never melted for a thousand years.

It was the first time Victor had ever seen that look in my eyes.

Uneasy, he went to my parents, wanting to let me out.

But their response was simple. "She can come out when she admits she was wrong!"

***

The banquet was in full swing, but Victor couldn't sit still.

My screams and my accusations about his daughter kept echoing in his mind.

But soon, he dismissed the thought. How could I believe something so absurd, with no real evidence?

With that, his unease faded slightly.

To appease me, he had the servants send me my favorite—strawberry cake.

Yet before long, a servant ran back in a panic.

"Bad news, Mr. Ford. Miss Anna is gone!"