Chapter : 894

“It turns out… I was switched at birth. My real family is the Blackwells, and I’m apparently the heiress who inherited all this magic. I know it sounds bizarre, but—”

My mother’s sob silenced me, and I turned to look at her. Her face was pale, and she had tears pouring out of her eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” my mother said, wiping at her eyes.

“Shelly…” my father started to say, his voice softer than I had ever heard it.

She gave him a look that silenced him.

“She deserves to know, Richard,” my mother told him.

My entire body tensed at her words; they were keeping something from me, and my insides felt like they were going to explode.

My father let out a breath.

“I know…” he finally said after a long pause. “I was just hoping we had a little more time.”

“Me too,” my mother whispered.

“What is going on?” I asked, staring between the two of them, my brows furrowed and my heart in my throat. “You’re keeping something from me?”

“Before we tell you, just know that we love you so much and we only wanted to protect you,” my father told me, reaching out and touching my hand. “We never wanted to lie to you… But we knew if you knew the truth, you’d want to find out more information, and you’d come across more than you can handle.”

“We wanted you to live a simple life,” my mother said as more tears filled her eyes. “We never wanted the weight of the world to rest on your shoulders because it’s not fair to you. We are so sorry for not telling you the truth from the beginning, sweetie.”

My heart dropped into my stomach as I blinked at them—realization dawning on me in an instant.

“Wait…” I said, trying to wrap my mind around what they were telling me.

“Are you saying… You knew?” I asked, my voice coming out shaky.

They both nodded slowly.

“Yes, we knew,” my father replied. “And we are so sorry…”

I shook my head and quickly stood to my feet, needing some distance between us. I turned to look at them.

“What exactly do you already know?”

“When you were born, we held you in our arms, and then they took you away. An

hour later, they brought you back… and you weren’t you,” my mother said between her tears.

“I mean… technically you were you… But you weren’t you before,” my father clarified.

“You weren’t the baby we initially held,” my mother said softly, standing to her feet.

“And you didn’t say anything?” I asked, my brows furrowed. “Why?”

“Meg thought it was better that way… she wanted her baby protected and far away from her family. She thought maybe it would be for the best if she were with a family she knew nothing about that way her baby could remain hidden.”

“So, what?” I asked, staring between the two. “I’m a decoy?”

My mother sucked in a sharp breath.

“We never thought of you as a decoy. We love you so much, Judy. And we were going to tell you the truth once you were older. We had no idea about you being a BlackweII or having magic at the time. And then when we did find out.

“Wait, you knew about the magic, too?” I asked, my mouth parted in shock.

“Yes,” my father said, also standing to his feet. “We were informed a few years later, and we knew we had to protect you no matter what. So we agree₫ never to tell you. If you didn’t know then there wouldn’t be an issue. Your never get your magie, and you’ll remain safe.”

Hurt flashed in my eyes as I took a step away from them.

“You kept something this important from me because you were afraid?” I asked,

tears swirling in my eyes. “And you think that’s a good enough excuse?”

“Of course not,” my mother said, stepping closer to me. “This is coming out wrong…”

“You realize you pretty much kidnapped me and then kept my identity a secret for years?” I asked, my voice coming out bitter.

My mother looked like I had just slapped her, and my father’s face turned red.

“Judy-“

“I think I’ve heard enough. If you’ll excuse me,” I said, and then I turned and stormed out, leaving them staring after me in shock.