Chapter 288

Shirley's expression changed instantly. "Are you abandoning me, too?"

Rachel looked taken aback. "Shirley, what are you saying? You're my daughter. How could I ever abandon you?"

"Then why won't you help me?" Shirley practically screamed. "You didn't used to be like this. You used to help me with everything!"

"I get it," Shirley continued. "Ever since Cynthia was acknowledged, you've changed. Now that you have your real daughter, of course, I'm nothing to you. You don't want me anymore. But what right do you have to despise me? I was born into privilege, yet I spent twenty years living as your daughter. Do you even realize what my life was like compared to Cynthia's?"

Rachel slumped helplessly to the ground. "Shirley, I did everything I could all these years." She had always felt guilty toward Shirley, especially after the truth came out when Shirley was in second grade. She'd learned that Shirley wasn't her biological daughter. But out of selfishness, she kept this fact a secret. She lived with that knowledge, weighed down by remorse that grew deeper each day, making her overly indulgent and enabling Shirley's increasingly reckless behavior.

Now, seeing Shirley like this, Rachel finally understood—it was her own fault. Her guilt had made her too lenient, failing to set boundaries. Even if she managed to help Shirley again, she knew it wouldn't change anything. Shirley would only escalate her actions, becoming even more ruthless toward Cynthia.

Tears flowed down Rachel's face. "Shirley, I can't help you. I can't stand by and watch you make these mistakes any longer. I've already helped you once; I can't aid and abet you further."

Shirley lunged at Rachel, gripping her shoulders with a crazed look in her eyes, and snapped, "How could you do this to me? You can't do this! I hate you. I'll hate you for the rest of my life!"

At that moment, the visiting room door opened, and the female officer called out indifferently, "Shirley Jones, visiting time is up."

Shirley wasn't willing to give up; she started kicking and hitting Rachel. "Officer, what are you doing?" The officer quickly called for backup, and two other officers came in to pull Shirley away.

Rachel sat on the floor, her hair disheveled, looking heartbroken. Shirley had been such a sweet child once, always smiling from the day she was born. But the scars left by Dennis ran deep. Dennis gambled, drank excessively, and when drunk, would come home in a violent rage, sometimes turning his fists on Rachel and young Shirley. Rachel had fought fiercely to protect Shirley, shielding her under her own body. But the violence was relentless, filling Shirley's childhood with fear and darkness. Because Dennis refused to divorce her, Rachel had tried to escape many times, but he always found them, punishing her with even more brutal beatings. With no other options, she endured the mistreatment and beatings, giving Dennis all her earnings in exchange for a few moments of peace.

At some point, Shirley's personality changed. She became more combative and violent, stirring up trouble at school. Through her teens, she skipped classes, got into fights, and caused endless problems. Yet, it never crossed Rachel's mind to give up on Shirley—because she was her daughter.

After sitting on the floor, crying for a while, Rachel got up and left the room. Just outside, she ran into Selena and was stunned. She froze, her entire body tensing up, caught by surprise and a surge of anxiety she couldn't hide.

Selena was the first to break the silence. "Do you have a moment? Let's sit down and talk."

The two women went to a nearby café. Once seated, Rachel appeared visibly uncomfortable. Selena, too, felt a complex mix of emotions. It had been thirty years since they last saw each other. Even when the truth about their daughters' identities surfaced, they had never met face-to-face.

Earlier, Selena had watched footage of Rachel and Shirley's interaction. She'd heard everything Rachel said, which stirred up conflicted feelings. As Shirley's biological mother, she was extremely disappointed with her. Countless times, she had wished Shirley weren't her daughter. She even secretly did another DNA test. Her feelings had gone from guilt and concern for Shirley to overwhelming frustration and resentment. She simply couldn't be like Rachel. Perhaps, in her mind, a parent's love always came with conditions—whether it was toward Cynthia or Shirley.

Selena and Rachel spoke at the same time: "Have you been well all these years?" An awkward silence settled between them.

Seeing Rachel again, Selena suddenly felt that maybe she no longer hated her as much as she once did. After all, it wasn't fair to blame her; the grudges between their parents shouldn't have involved them.

Selena studied Rachel's face. Rachel looked at least twenty years older than Selena, her skin weathered and sallow, streaks of gray in her hair, and deep lines at the corners of her eyes. Selena suddenly remembered their school days. Back then, Rachel was pretty and attractive, and quite a few boys secretly admired her.

"How did you end up looking like this?" Selena couldn't help but ask.

Rachel awkwardly touched her face. "Ordinary people age like this, don't they?"

They weren't really old, not even fifty yet. But Rachel looked like she was in her sixties, while Selena, dressed in fancy clothes with carefully applied makeup and nice jewelry, looked no older than forty. Her skin was taut and smooth, untouched by wrinkles.

Selena had caused Rachel's fate to change. Back in school, Rachel had been an outstanding student, even serving as class monitor. But Selena had caused her to drop out, and she never completed high school. Otherwise, Rachel's life might not have turned out this way.

Their enmity went back a generation. When they were students, Rachel's mother had been Selena's tutor, and the two girls had been close friends. But then Selena's father cheated with Rachel's mother, and the scandal drove Selena's mother to her death. At that time, Selena was filled with hatred for Rachel, convinced she'd approached her father on purpose to destroy her family. Just three months after Selena's mother's death, her father announced he would marry Rachel's mother. One week before the wedding, they were both killed in a car accident. However, they had already been legally married, meaning Rachel was, by law, Selena's half-sister and entitled to half of her father's inheritance. But Selena didn't give her a penny. With her uncles' support, she ensured that Rachel, now an orphan, would have no place in the city. Rachel was ostracized and scorned at school and ultimately left without finishing her studies.

For thirty years, Selena didn't know where Rachel had gone. This was their first meeting since.

Suddenly, Selena said, "You hated me, so you swapped our daughters and raised mine this way. Is this your way of getting back at me?"