Jeffrey''s face turned ashen. He gritted his teeth and forced out a single word: "Yes.”


    As the word hung in the air, a wave of murmurs and whispers swept through the guests.-


    "Their own daughter gets kidnapped, and they''re here celebrating the foster daughter''s birthday? Have the Spencers lost their minds?”


    "I heard the real daughter was raised in some slum. She''s rough around the edges, not very likable. The foster daughter, on the other hand, is engaged to Mr. Gonzalez, the tech billionaire."


    "So, the secret to social climbing isn''t educating your kids, it''s swapping them with a wealthy family at birth. Even if the truthes out, they''re so attached they''ll still treat the counterfeit like a priceless gem. Pathetic."


    The Spencers'' expressions grew darker and more strained with every passingment.


    Before the situation could spiral further out of control, Teresa hurried to Yvonne''s side and wrapped an arm around her, her voice dripping with contrived concern. "That''s enough. All that matters is that you''re back safe. Come, let''s get you upstairs and into a proper dress. Today is your sister''s birthday, but it can be yours too."


    Yvonne looked at the woman before her her biological mother, with her perfect makeup and elegant demeanor-and could only find itughable.


    Her own daughter was kidnapped and nearly raped and killed, and her reward was the ''honor'' of sharing a birthday party with the impostor.


    Teresa led Yvonne upstairs to her room.


    It wasn''t small,plete with its own bathroom and walk-in closet. But it was situated on the north side of the house, a ce where the sun never reached.


    Yvonne stood before the full-length mirror, staring at the reflection.


    She actually knew this girl.


    Five years ago, when Yvonne was an intern at a local police precinct, her very first case was this girl''s.


    Her foster mother had beaten her to within an inch of her life, and she''d been rushed to the hospital. It was the doctors who had called the police.


    Back then, the girl was a bundle of skin and bones, her body covered in bruises and welts.


    Yvonne had helped her press charges for child abuse against her foster parents and then located her biological family.


    On the day the Spencer family came


    to pick her up, the young girl had


    been crying with joy. She had


    hugged yonne tightly and said, it''s wonderful officer! Trally found my mom and dad. I finally have a home."


    Shortly after, Yvonne had been reassigned to an undercover unit and lost track of the girl.


    Now, it felt as though she had woken from a five-year dream.


    Five years had passed. The scrawny twelve-year-old bean sprout had grown up,


    blossomed even. Her fox-like eyes were breathtakingly beautiful.


    Yvonne curved her lips into a smile, but the girl in the mirror smiled back with an sorrow so deep it seemed to have no end.


    All these years with her real parents, and she still hadn''t been treated with kindness.


    "Yvonne, are you changed yet? The guests are waiting."


    Teresa''s impatient voice called from outside the door.


    Yvonne snapped back to the present. She took the gown that had been prepared for her from its hanger and slipped it on.


    When she reappeared, her long hair was pinned up, revealing the scars that marred the skin on her arms and back, exposed by the low-cut evening gown.


    Years of abuse from her foster


    mother had left her with scars that would never fade. She had never


    dared to wear dresses, always covering herself from head to toe terrified of revealing her painful past.


    Teresa had once scolded her for it, calling her uncouth and unpresentable.


    "Yvonne, Mom and Dad have invited so many guests, we should get back


    to the party Oh! Yverine what what happened to your skin? Are you sick?"


    Queena took Yvonne''s hand, then gasped and covered her mouth in feigned shock


    at the sight of her scars.