In the span of just half a day, the snow falling from the sky grew heavier.
Flakes of black snow, each carrying particles of volcanic ash, drifted down from the sky in what looked like a mysterious and unsettling dance.
They landed gently on the ground, accumulating in a thick layer, as if draping the earth in a black and gray shroud.
In the afternoon, the city buses were suspended once again due to fears that volcanic ash particles would get sucked into the engines and damage the vehicles.
Elaine Hughes stood before the bus stop at The Metropolis Residences, watching the snow-filled sky with a heart full of helplessness and anxiety.
She had originally planned to take the bus home, but now she had to face reality: she would have to walk.
There was no money to put gas in the familyâs runaround car, so she couldnât ask Robert Lancaster or the others to drive out and pick her up.
Elaine Hughes wrapped her coat tighter, gritted her teeth, and began the step-by-step journey home.
The snow grew heavier, and the wind more violent, blowing so hard she could barely open her eyes. The black snow fell thick and fast, landing on her and chilling her to the bone.
There were almost no other pedestrians on the road; only her lonely figure struggled through the snow.
...
Elaine Hughes walked for a full four hours before she finally reached the Lancaster Villa. By then, she felt as if she was about to lose all feeling in her legs.
As she stepped through the front door, she felt an unexpected sense of relief, as if she had just survived a disaster.
With trembling hands, Elaine Hughes opened the villaâs door. Then, as if she had exhausted her very last ounce of strength, she collapsed onto the floor of the entryway.
She ripped off the scarf covering her mouth and nose and began to gasp for air.
While she was outside, she had been too afraid of inhaling the volcanic ash particles in the snow to breathe freely. She had kept her mouth and nose covered with her scarf the entire time and had nearly suffocated.
Even so, her throat now felt like it was full of sandâsore and itchy, making her unable to stop herself from coughing.
Hearing Elaine Hughesâs coughing, Sylvia Lancaster, who had been waiting anxiously in the living room, rushed over to check on her.
Seeing that Elaine Hughes was back, Sylvia Lancaster asked anxiously, "Mom, youâre finally back! How did it go? Did Melody Summers agree to give us that house?"
With the heavy snow already falling, Sylvia Lancaster knew there was no time to waste. They had to move out of the villa before the blizzards piled the snow so high they risked being buried alive.
Hearing her voice, Elaine Hughes lifted her head and looked at Sylvia Lancaster with a numb expression.
On the way back, she had walked and thought the entire time.
âNow I finally realize it. My own daughter, the one I carried for ten months, truly wants nothing to do with me!â
It was as if she were waking from a long dream, and Elaine Hughes was suddenly overcome with grief.
âI was so excited for my daughter to be born. I never imagined that as soon as she was born, she would be swapped by the familyâs nanny!â
âThe nannyâs daughter took my daughterâs place and enjoyed over twenty years of a life of luxury.â
âWhile the nannyâs daughter enjoyed a life of wealth with the Lancasters, my biological daughter was starving.â
âThen, by some miracle, my real daughter finally had a chance to return to my side, but I pushed her away with my own hands.â
âFor the sake of the nannyâs daughter, I abandoned my own flesh and blood.â
âThere is no mother in this world more foolish than me!â
âAnd this girl in front of me, this nannyâs daughter that I raised with my own hands, had the audacity to seduce my own son!â
At that thought, all of Elaine Hughesâs inner pain transformed into rage.
She pushed herself up on her numb legs, staggering to her feet.
Then, meeting Sylvia Lancasterâs anxious and expectant gaze, she raised her hand and viciously slapped her across the face!
A sharp CRACK echoed through the empty entryway.
Elaine Hughes had put her all into that slap. Sylvia Lancaster felt nothing but a fiery sting across her cheek.
She clutched her face, staring at Elaine Hughes in disbelief. "Mom?!" she stammered. "...Y-you... why did you hit me again?!"
âThis is the second time!â
This was the second time Elaine Hughes had hit her!
Ever since Sylvia Lancaster had transmigrated into this world, Elaine Hughesâwho had once doted on her, treasured her, treated her like the apple of her eyeâwas like a completely different person!
In the span of just two days, Elaine Hughes had hit her twice!
The completely different treatment across two lifetimes, the stark contrastâit was more than Sylvia Lancaster could accept!
She felt a tide of grievance and indignation wash over her. Not only did her face burn with pain, but her heart ached as well.
Sylvia Lancasterâs eyes filled with tears. In a trembling voice, she said to Elaine Hughes, "Mom! Iâm your daughter! How could you treat me like this?!"
Faced with Sylvia Lancasterâs grievance-filled eyes, Elaine Hughes remained completely unmoved.
Hearing Sylvia Lancaster mention the word "daughter," her anger flared even hotter. She roared at Sylvia in a hoarse voice, "Shut up! You are not my daughter!"
When Sylvia Lancaster heard this, it felt like a knife stabbing into her heart.
She clutched her chest and choked out, "Even if Iâm not your biological daughter, Iâve still been with you for over twenty years! For twenty years, Iâve been by your side, fulfilling my duties as a daughter. How can you have the heart to treat me like this?!"
Sylvia Lancasterâs words only served to remind Elaine Hughes that she, as the nannyâs daughter, had usurped a place that wasnât hers, enjoying the life that should have belonged to her own daughter for over twenty years.
"Shut up! Just shut up!"
Overcome with rage, Elaine Hughes lunged at Sylvia Lancaster. Casting aside all composure, she grabbed Sylviaâs neck and screamed in a raspy voice, "Itâs all your fault! This is all your fault!"
Caught completely off guard, Sylvia Lancaster was tackled to the ground by Elaine Hughes, her heart pounding with panic.
Elaine Hughes kept strangling Sylvia Lancasterâs neck, treating her as if she were a sworn enemy.
Sylvia Lancaster couldnât breathe at all. She struggled desperately, but Elaine Hughes refused to let her go.
Just as Sylvia Lancaster was about to pass out from the choking, Simon Lancaster, having heard the commotion, rushed over.
The scene horrified Simon Lancaster, and he quickly stepped forward to pull them apart.
"Mom, what are you doing!"
Simon Lancaster pulled Sylviaâwhose eyes were rolling back in her headâinto his arms, questioning Elaine Hughes in confusion, "Didnât we all agree to let the past be the past and live well as a family from now on? Why are you giving Sylvia a hard time again? No matter what, Sylvia is still the daughter you raised with your own hands! How could you treat her like this?"
Seeing the pity on Simon Lancasterâs face as he held Sylvia, Elaine Hughes grew even more furious. Her eyes were bloodshot as she yelled at him, "She is not my daughter! Donât you understand? It was her biological mother who personally switched her with your own sister!"
At these words, not only was Simon Lancaster stunned, but Robert Lancaster, who had also come running at the sound, was shocked as well.
Robert Lancaster immediately pressed Elaine Hughes for answers. "What did you just say? What do you mean, âpersonally switched the childâ? Whatâs going on?"
Elaine Hughes looked at Robert Lancaster with sorrowful eyes and answered in a hoarse voice, "Honey, do you remember? Right after our daughter was born, we hired a new nanny. That young nanny said her name was Lily. She was fair-skinned and looked very delicate."
"It was that nanny named Lily! She was the one who swapped our daughter!"
Then Elaine Hughes stretched out a hand, pointing angrily at Sylvia Lancaster. "She is that nannyâs daughter! Our daughter wasnât accidentally switched at the hospital! She was deliberately replaced!"
This had been a premeditated usurpation!
Sylvia Lancaster was the beneficiary of this conspiracy. She was not at all as innocent as the Lancasters had originally thought!
Robert Lancaster was also utterly shocked by this revelation.
He desperately searched his memory, trying to recall events from twenty years ago. He could only remember that a young nanny had indeed worked for them back then.
âUnlike the other nannies, she was delicate and gentle-looking, yet she worked more diligently than anyone else.â
As the pieces fell into place, Robert Lancaster murmured, "So it was her... the nanny... switched the children... so thatâs how it was..."
The question that had lingered in the minds of the Lancasters for so many years finally had an answer.
The great Lancaster Family had been completely fooled by a mere young nanny!