Her eyes didn't sparkle anymore; she had lost faith in the world.
Grace went on, "Back then, watching Christopher be there for Leah, put all his care and attention towards her, and watching Leah go into the delivery room, made me green with envy. My baby and Leah's were born almost on the same day. It was just a matter of morning and afternoon, so... I secretly swapped them."
Hearing this, Allison's pupils dilated. She wanted to speak, but no words came out. She initially thought, that not being Grace's biological child was the end of the story, but she never expected the truth behind it to be like this.
She was actually Christopher and Leah's daughter!
It took her a while to finally stutter, "M...Mom... are you messing with me? This can't be true..."
Grace shook her head. "No, it's true. Your biological mother is Leah."
Everything went black before Allison's eyes, and the world seemed to shift around her in an instant. She closed her eyes, exhaled deeply, and asked, "So, Penelope is..."
Seeing how things escalated, there was no point in hiding anymore. "Penelope is me and Christopher’s daughter."
"So, my brother, my father, aren't they the innocent ones in all this?" Allison recalled how Joshua always had a bright smile whenever he saw her. He was always so good to her.
"Did my dad know?"
"He didn't at first, but he found out later." Grace closed her eyes in sorrow.
It was shortly before Allison's 11th birthday. Due to a fever, a blood test from the doctor revealed that Allison's blood type didn't match Joshua's. He had confronted Grace.
Grace didn't hide it, and she told him the truth. Joshua was so furious, he stormed out.
"She doesn't know? She's lived my life for twenty years, and you think a simple 'she doesn't know' can erase that? You said it has nothing to do with her. What about me? I'm the innocent one here."
"I'm sorry, Allie..." This sounded hollow, but other than that, Grace didn't know what else to say.
"You told me this, aren't you afraid I'll tell the Flanagan family?"
Grace had thought about it. "Actually, I was planning to take this secret to my grave. I never thought things would turn out this way. It's completely understandable if you want to tell the Flanagan family. They are your family, and they are your parents.
"Penelope has had a happy life for the past twenty years. She's your sister, and you're hers. The things she did wrong, you should blame me. It's all my fault. This has nothing to do with the two of you, so I'll take responsibility for my mistakes." Penelope was now engaged to Lucian. She saved Miranda’s life, the Lindbergs wouldn't refuse to marry her, and Leah wouldn't make things difficult for her because of this truth.
Allison suddenly remembered something. "Oh yeah, do you remember my bracelet? You took it off and gave it to Penelope. That bracelet was given to me by Lucian."
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