Chapter 106

"Ms. Jones, you must be starving. Come and eat," Rachel said. She had already set the cutlery for Cynthia and brought her a bottle of juice.

Cynthia sat down without hesitation and said, "It looks delicious."

Cynthia put a piece of braised short rib in her mouth. After chewing a few times, her eyes widened in amazement. She said, "It's especially delicious. This is the best braised short rib I've ever had."

It was indeed delicious—better than Jonathan's cooking.

A smile appeared on Rachel's face. She said, "Shirley doesn't like my cooking. She always says, no matter how nicely I make it, it still tastes of poverty." Rachel sighed. She quickly realized how inappropriate her words were, and her face turned awkward.

Cynthia, however, smiled unconcernedly. She said, "I've dined at all the high-end restaurants in Roncrity, but none have served food as good as yours."

A warmth welled up in Rachel's heart.

The two of them began eating. Rachel was obviously cautious with Cynthia, not even daring to put food into her own bowl, merely urging her from time to time to eat more.

Cynthia ate two bowls of mushroom soup. "Thank you," she said, putting down her cutlery. "I'm really satisfied with this meal."

Rachel was visibly delighted. "As long as you like it, you're welcome to come over anytime you want more," she said.

Cynthia's expression slightly changed. She looked calmly at Rachel, who quickly thought she had said something wrong. She hurried to explain, "You don't have to come if you don't want to. I'm not trying to build a connection with you."

"May I ask you a question?" Cynthia asked.

Rachel looked at Cynthia and said, "Go ahead."

"Why was I swapped with Shirley? Why did you abandon me?" Cynthia asked.

For the past three years, Cynthia had investigated Rachel extensively. She had a very good reputation among her neighbors, friends, and even her employers, when she worked as a housekeeper. In everyone's eyes, Rachel was an extremely kind, caring woman, one who faced hardships with resilience and optimism.

Why would such a woman abandon her child? Was it because of the grudges of the previous generation? Or revenge against Selena? Or did she want her daughter to live a wealthy life? Cynthia had considered many possibilities.

Rachel lowered her head, remaining silent for a long while, fighting back tears. Just as Cynthia thought she wouldn't get an answer, Rachel finally looked up and said, "You may not believe this, but I never intended to swap you and Shirley. I didn't even know anything about the baby exchange."

Hearing that, the heavy weight in Cynthia's heart finally lifted. Yes, she had considered that possibility too. There was also another possibility.

Cynthia said, "Was it Dennis then? He swapped me and Shirley, without telling you."

Rachel's eyes filled with tears. She had never told anyone about this, except Shirley, who didn't care. What Shirley cared about was being replaced as the daughter of a wealthy family and having her bright future destroyed by Rachel and Dennis.

Chapter 107 (assuming this is the intended chapter number based on the provided text)

That was why Shirley hated them both deeply. From the moment she learned she was the daughter of the Jones family, she wanted to sever all ties.

Rachel nodded and said, "Both you and Shirley were born in Hinonious Maternity Hospital, a high-end private hospital. I could only give birth there because I worked as a nurse there, and the kind-hearted director allowed me to give birth for free. However, the day you two were born, chaos erupted in the hospital. The originally high-end hospital was in disarray, and many staff were sent out for other tasks, giving Dennis a chance."

Rachel continued, "He worked as a security guard there and was familiar with the layout. Using his position, he turned off all the surveillance cameras. Due to a staff shortage, only one nurse remained in the newborn nursery. Taking advantage of the time when she was bathing other babies, he swapped your bracelets."

At this point, Cynthia understood everything. "When did you find out?" she asked.

Rachel replied, "Shirley attended a private high school in Betric. At that time, she got into trouble, and someone kicked her abdomen with a high heel, rupturing her spleen. She had to undergo emergency surgery. During the blood transfusion, I saw the report showing her blood type as B. But both Dennis and I are type A. How could two type A parents give birth to a type B child?"

Cynthia's pupils suddenly dilated, her eyes showing disbelief. "Both you and Dennis are type A?" she asked.

Rachel nodded. "Yes, Dennis and I knew each other from childhood as neighbors. When we got married, we had a premarital check-up that showed we were both type A."

Inside, Cynthia felt a storm raging. She had a rare AB Rh-negative blood type. Genetically, two type A parents couldn't possibly have a child with her blood type.

Cynthia tried to calm herself. "So, you knew that Shirley wasn't your biological daughter since her high school days?" she continued.

Rachel replied, "I initially thought it was an accidental swap at the hospital, but then Dennis admitted that he deliberately exchanged the Jones family's daughter with ours. He intended to swap them back once they grew up so he could benefit from both. It didn't matter to him whether it was his biological child or the one he raised. He just wanted to treat both kids as cash cows."

"So, after learning the truth, you didn't tell Shirley, did you?" Cynthia asked.

Rachel sighed deeply. "I was conflicted back then, so I didn't tell her right away. I thought it had been over ten years, and you both had your own lives by then, so reversing things might not be for the best. Moreover, considering Shirley's personality, if she found out she was actually from a wealthy family, she would leave me without a second thought. I guess I had a bit of selfishness too."

Rachel's eyes darkened. "But I have received my retribution."

Cynthia knew what Rachel meant by "retribution." When the truth came out, Shirley left for the Jones family, just as predicted, and cut all ties with her. She even refused to testify in court, though she knew Rachel was defending herself, which led to a life imprisonment sentence. Shirley's indifference was indeed the consequence of Rachel's own actions.

The text has been cleaned up for grammar, punctuation, and style inconsistencies. I've also corrected some minor word choices and made the narrative flow more smoothly. The chapter numbers were adjusted to what appeared to be their likely intended sequence. Note that the passage mentions “11 bracelets” but it's not specified what happened to them, or which bracelet belonged to whom. Also, it's unlikely a baby would be wearing multiple bracelets at birth.