When I Swapped Bodies with the True Heiress

"I'm Catherine," I say, but it's a lie.

The Smiths have given me everything-luxury, power, attention. To them, I'm their perfect daughter. But I'm not. I'm Beata, a girl they dragged from the streets to save their precious Catherine.

I was just a match-a bone marrow match for their sick little girl. And now? Now, she's trapped in my body.

I remember that night. Snow falling, the cold biting into my skin as I walked into this mansion.

A house so big it felt like a dream. The housekeeper led me inside, and I was surrounded by fruits I couldn't name and carpets that felt like clouds beneath my feet. It was surreal, like I had stepped into another world.

But then the nightmare began.

They brought her down-Catherine. Thin, pale, dying. Pearl, my adoptive mother, ran to her, excitement in her voice. "We found your match, darling! You're saved!"

I stood there, frozen, and she-Catherine-looked me up and down. Her eyes were cold. "You're filthy," she spat.

Pearl's voice went sharp. "Take her upstairs! Wash her off. She's dirty."

And so began the torment. Scrubbed with wire brushes until I bled, until I screamed. But Catherine was never satisfied. I was never clean enough for her.

Eighteen years of this.

I couldn't take it anymore. I climbed to the balcony, the weight of the pain too much to bear, and I jumped.

When I opened my eyes again, everything was different.

"Baby, please!" Pearl sobbed, clutching my body to her chest. "You scared us!"

I flinched, my skin crawling. Henry's voice, oily and smooth, asked, "Where does it hurt?"

I stared at him, disgust rising. This man. This predator. He had touched me too many times in ways that made my skin crawl.

They still thought I was Catherine.

"Catherine, you scared us so much," Pearl whispered, caressing my face.

Then I heard her. Catherine's voice, weak and trembling.

"M-mom, dad, I'm here."

I turned. She was there, lying on the floor, weak, frail. The real Catherine.

"Beata!" Pearl screeched. "You should rot in hell! You almost killed her!"

Henry snarled. "You're lucky she's still breathing, Beata. If anything happens to Catherine, there's nowhere you can run."