Ready to Rule: The Real Heiress Strikes Back novel Chapter 9

“That’s right. You were switched at birth and ended up with the Smith family in Lakeview Town, while their real daughter grew up with the White family out in the countryside on the west side. As for the White family’s own daughter… well, she was raised by us.”

Cameron’s face scrunched up in regret as he finished. Still, he felt a bit lucky that it wasn’t his own daughter who ended up with the Whites. Mr. And Mrs. White had split up over ten years ago, and Frank, the father, had been left to raise his daughter by himself. Most days, they barely had enough to get by. He couldn’t help but feel sorry for the Smith family’s real daughter.

Kylie let out a helpless sigh. “Yeah, Lydia. The girl we raised, the White family’s daughter, is Lucinda. All these years, we truly believed she was our girl. Who would’ve thought this is a giant mistake?”

Lydia finally got it. So, the Lucinda her grandfather talked about was actually the biological daughter of Sandy’s adoptive parents.

Kylie noticed Lydia’s silence and quickly continued, “It’s summer break right now, so Lucinda is traveling overseas. Your brothers are all out of the country for work, and none of them are home at the moment. But your dad and I have already told them you’ve come back. As for Lucinda, we’re worried she won’t take it well, so we haven’t broken the news to her yet. When she returns, if she doesn’t want to go back to the White family, would you be okay if she just stayed with us?”

Cameron was the only son in the Norwood family. After marrying Kylie, they had four sons before finally having a daughter, and the whole family spoiled their little princess rotten. Her grandfather, especially, doted on Lucinda like she was made of glass. Everyone in the Capital knew just how much Mr. Norwood adored his granddaughter.

Worried Lydia might feel left out, Cameron hurried to add, “Lydia, Lucinda’s a good kid. The Whites don’t have much, and if she doesn’t want to go back to them, she can stay here and be your little sister. How does that sound?”

They really wanted her opinion before making any decisions.

Lydia nodded, showing she understood. “Whatever you think is best.”

She could tell her grandfather was obsessed with Lucinda. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have tried to intimidate her right after she got home, or made it clear that Lucinda would always be a Norwood.

Lydia just shrugged it off. “Don’t worry about them. They chose to reject the gifts. From now on, we just don’t need to keep in touch.”

Still, once she was settled in, she planned to go back and visit her grandmother.

Cameron frowned and thought for a moment. “Alright. No matter what, they did raise you. If they want to cut ties, then we’ll respect that. There’s no need to stay in touch.”

Lydia nodded. “Okay.”

It had been a long, exhausting night, and Lydia was starting to feel drained. Cameron and Kylie walked her back to her room themselves and had one of the maids bring her chicken soup and beetroot soup.