Her father's expression turned serious as he spoke slowly.
"If that were true… if you weren't our daughter… then of course we would have to bring back the real one."
His next words felt like ice piercing her heart.
"And naturally, we would have to send you away to make space for her."
He laughed again, as if it were a harmless joke.
Her mother joined in.
But Thessy didn't laugh. She only felt cold.
From that moment onward, something inside her changed.
She shut everyone out, hiding behind the mask of a perfect daughter.
But beneath that mask, she began searching for the real heiress.
It took her an entire year. And when she finally found her...it was Lana; Thessy made her decision.
'She can never return,' she thought firmly. 'She can never know the truth.'
And so, without hesitation, she contacted Mr. Almond and Mrs. Almond.
Lana was the true Peterson heiress.
Thessy… belonged elsewhere.
And Brenda… was part of the Almond family.
Fate had twisted their lives cruelly.
