Chapter 2
Three months ago, I accidentally found out that none of my three children were biologically mine.
At first, I didn't take it seriously.
Later, I heard the housekeeper murmuring in her room, praying to God and begging not to be held accountable for her mistakes after she died.
Only then did I realize the truth.
It turned out she swapped my three children with her own.
I realized that why she and I were pregnant at the same time and even gave birth on the same day all the time.
I thought it was fate that all three times we gave birth on the same day, so I let her stay at the same hospital as me.
I never expected that she used that chance to secretly swap our babies.
On top of that, she did it three times in a row.
At that moment, I rushed into the room and asked her why she did it.
She said she was possessed. She wanted her children to have a secure life and begged me not to tell the children the truth.
She said, "Madam, they have called you mom for more than twenty years. All the mistakes are mine alone.
"I will pay for my mistakes with my life. Please don't blame the children."
After speaking, she felt too ashamed to face anyone and slammed her head against the wall and died on the spot.
I hadn't even processed this shocking secret before she atoned to me in such a drastic way.
Since the culprit had already atoned through death, pursuing it further served no purpose.
Reluctantly, I had the butler, Jasper Kim, arrange her funeral.
After regaining my composure, I sent someone to find my three real children.
My eldest son was sent to the countryside and sold to an old man who didn't have any kids.
After the old man died, my eldest son drifted around homeless, surviving by scavenging.
My second son was left with the housekeeper's parents.
After the parents passed away, the housekeeper's uncle and aunt took him in. However, they treated him like a burden, often beating and scolding him.
He was underfed and poorly clothed. After finishing middle school, he wandered off the street and joined a gang.
He dyed his hair yellow, got into fights, and made a living by collecting protection fees.
My youngest daughter was thrown into a trash bin by the housekeeper and was eventually picked up and raised by a kind person.
Unfortunately, her foster parents were extremely poor and couldn't afford her education.
After finishing middle school, she started working by singing in a disreputable bar, often being harassed by customers.
At first, I found it hard to accept the truth that my children had been swapped.
But after countless DNA tests all showed the same result, I had no choice but to accept this absurd fact.
Learning that my real children were living poorly, hungry and cold, without opportunities to study, I couldn't help but feel some sympathy.
But then I felt that in their current state, they could not possibly represent our family in any way.
It would be disgraceful.
The three children I raised with my own hands turned out to be outstanding and exceptional.
This sharp and strong contrast made me unable to accept my biological children.
Aside from sharing my bloodline, they had no redeeming qualities to show.
Their existence felt more like a shame and stain on the Wood family.
Just when I was thinking of letting the mistake slide and keeping it hidden, this morning, my husband happened to find the DNA test report I kept in the drawer.
Under his repeated questioning, I had no choice but to tell him the truth.
The children who just entered the room also heard the whole truth.
Travis said, "Celeste, how can you say such cold and heartless words? Those are our biological children.
"They are starving and suffering. How can you say such heartless words? Are you even human?"
Travis was furious.
He shouted at me hoarsely.
I put down the magazine displeased and stared at him.
I said, "None of us wants to see something like this happen. But now that it has, does scolding me make you feel better? You might as well accept it."
Travis's face turned red with anger.
He suddenly stood up.
He said, "I can barely accept this fact. Since you knew about it three months ago, why didn't you bring those kids home right after finding them?"
I scoffed disdainfully, a flash of contempt passing through my eyes.
I said, "They are totally unpresentable, completely unfit for our family."
Travis angrily pointed his finger at me.
He said, "How can you say something so heartless? They are your kids."
Seeing him like this made me furious. I stood up and sharply knocked away his finger.
I retorted sharply, "So what? Besides sharing blood with me, what else do they have?"