I Knew My Brother Was the Fake

1 At Thanksgiving dinner, my brother publicly accused me of being the fraud. He slammed a DNA report on the table, shoving it toward me. “Look, Audrey! Faye is the real Blackwood daughter! You’re an imposter—what right do you have to sit here?” Then he pulled Faye forward. Her face was the mirror image of our mother. Everyone froze. As I reached for the report, text appeared over Faye’s head, visible only to me: 【Female lead returns to her wealthy family for a sweet romance with the fake young master?】 【Not yet. They still think they’re siblings.】 【Feel bad for the side character—she’s the biggest victim, mistaken for the fake heiress and sent to suffer with the Nolans.】 Faye and I looked like twins, with identical birthdates on our IDs. A slow smile spread across my face. “Ever think,” I said, “that you might be the real imposter?” … I was Audrey Blackwood, the cherished daughter of a wealthy family. Everyone adored me. Everyone except my brother, Adrian. He’d spent his entire life trying to get rid of me. When he was three, he swapped me with the nanny’s daughter. My parents found out and tanned his hide. When he was five, he abandoned me in a park, only to nearly get kidnapped himself before the police saved him. When he was fifteen, he hired some punk to hit on me, but the guy turned out to be into men and ended up harassing Adrian for three days straight. After that, he’d actually calmed down for a few years. I thought he’d finally accepted me as his sister. I guess I was wrong. On Thanksgiving, of all nights, he decided to give me the surprise of a lifetime. “Mom, Dad,” Adrian announced, standing abruptly. “Tonight, I’m exposing Audrey Blackwood for the fraud she is. She doesn’t deserve a single bite of this family’s food!” He produced a small, decorative hammer from his pocket—one of the table setting pieces—and shattered my wine glass. Red wine and shards of crystal sprayed across the tablecloth. My mother gasped, rushing to dab at my dress with a napkin. My father slammed his hand on the table, his brow furrowed with rage. “Adrian, have you lost your mind? Who gave you the right to treat your sister like this!” Adrian shot me a look of pure contempt before turning to the doorway and leading a girl inside. She was wearing the couture gown I was supposed to get for my eighteenth birthday. Around her neck was the sapphire necklace Mom gave me, and on her wrist, the emerald bracelet from Dad. My gaze snapped to the culprit. “Adrian, are you insane? First you smash my glass, and now you’re giving my things away to strangers?” He threw the DNA report at me, the pages fluttering onto my lap. “I can do it because Faye is the true Blackwood heiress, Mom and Dad’s real daughter!” he declared, his voice ringing with triumph. “You’ve stolen the first eighteen years of her life. A few trinkets are nothing! Besides, they were always meant to be hers!” With a flourish, he pushed Faye in front of our parents so everyone could get a clear look at her face. Mom and Dad both stared, stunned. The resemblance between Faye and our mother was uncanny. Mom has aged gracefully, looking like she’s barely in her thirties; seeing her and Faye face-to-face was like looking in a mirror. And me? Standing beside them, I suddenly looked like the odd one out. A knot of anxiety tightened in my stomach. I reached for the report Adrian had thrown at me, but then the text appeared over Faye’s head again: 【Finally, a fresh take on the ‘switched-at-birth’ trope. The real heiress returns and sparks fly with the fake young master.】 【Real Heiress vs. Fake Young Master. I ship it.】 I jerked back in shock, and the comments vanished. I rubbed my eyes. Leaning forward again, they reappeared. 【Is that the real heiress’s unlucky sister?】 【The side character has it rough. One DNA test and the whole family turns on her. The female lead resents her, the fake young master torments her, and her parents grow distant. She gets sent to the Nolan family to be tortured, only to find out it was all a huge mistake. Who wouldn’t turn into a villain after that?】 Real heiress? Fake young master? Unlucky victim? The flood of information left me reeling. Adrian, mistaking my silence for guilt, moved to shield Faye protectively. “Don’t even think about trying anything,” he snarled at me. “If you dare to hurt Faye, I’ll make you regret it.” He locked his eyes on mine. “Remember this: Faye is my real sister, connected by blood. You? You’re just a cuckoo who’s been living in her nest.” And then it all clicked. The fake heiress was actually the fake young master. Adrian was the cuckoo.

2 The comments said I’d be mistaken for the fake heiress, becoming the next victim of Adrian’s stolen identity. I wasn’t about to let that happen. In a move so fast it was a blur, I spun around, grabbed the DNA report, ripped it into a dozen pieces, and tossed the confetti into a nearby wastebasket. I turned back, spreading my hands innocently. “You’re going to need some proof for an accusation like that, Adrian,” I said calmly. “What makes you so sure I’m the fake one?” 【Is she a paper shredder? How did she tear up a whole report that fast?】 【The fake young master’s face is beet red, but am I the only one who finds this satisfying?】 【But now the female lead is even more convinced she’s the evil fake heiress.】 I risked a glance at Faye. Her eyes were red-rimmed, making her look like she was on the verge of tears, but the look she gave me held a sharp glint of suspicion and hostility. Yep, she definitely saw me as the enemy. Adrian, meanwhile, was frantically digging through the trash, trying to salvage the shredded paper. He spent a few moments trying to piece it together on the floor before giving up in frustration. He couldn’t even reassemble the cover page. His fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white. If our parents weren’t here, I had no doubt he would have already tried to punch me. “Even without the report, I know Faye is a Blackwood,” he insisted, his voice tight. “The moment I saw her, I felt this connection. I just knew she was my sister!” He pointed a trembling finger at me. “And you! An imposter is an imposter. Don’t think destroying the evidence will let you keep squatting in this house!” I let a small, knowing smile play on my lips. “We’ll see who the real imposter is.” Adrian thought I was talking about Faye. He shot me a venomous glare before turning to comfort her. “Don’t worry, Faye. She can’t steal your identity. Your big brother will always have your back.” Faye’s voice was a choked whisper. “Okay. Thank you, brother.” Then she looked up, her eyes shimmering with tears as she faced my parents. “Dad, Mom… I know this is hard to accept, but I really am your daughter.” 【She looks so vulnerable and scared. She must be afraid her parents will choose the side character over her.】 【But the side character is innocent too! She’s also a real heiress. Why do they have to pit the sisters against each other?】 【Isn’t there a plot hole? If the female lead was switched with the fake young master, she’d be the same age as him. Why does everyone think she was switched with the other sister?】 【The female lead was undocumented as a child. When she was finally registered for school, her birthdate was just made up. It was just a coincidence that it ended up being the same as the side character’s.】 I see. Thanks for clearing that up, invisible commentariat. Looking at Faye, my mother’s heart seemed to shatter. Her eyes welled up as an undeniable sense of familiarity washed over her. It was as if Faye truly was her own flesh and blood. She couldn’t stop herself from stepping forward and taking Faye’s hand. Feeling the calloused skin of her palm, a wave of pain and regret hit her. Suddenly, Mom remembered I was still there. If I really wasn’t her daughter… she’d still raised me for eighteen years. How could she choose? They were both precious to her. She turned to my father. “Honey, no matter which of them is our biological daughter, let’s adopt the other one. We’ll raise them both.” “No!” Adrian immediately shot down the idea, his face a mask of disgust as he looked at me. “Mom, she’s a thief! She stole everything that should have been Faye’s. If I hadn’t found Faye, she might have spent her whole life suffering in poverty!” He gestured between us. “While she was living in luxury, Faye was enduring hardship after hardship. I won’t allow her to stay in this house. In fact, she needs to get on her knees and apologize to Faye!” Compared to me, Faye was painfully thin. My gown hung loosely on her frame, and her hair was dry and brittle with split ends. It was clear she’d had a difficult life. The comments above her head exploded: 【How dare the fake young master say that? He’s the real thief! He should be the one kneeling and begging for the female lead’s forgiveness! His real parents beat and abused her. She got into a top university, but they forced her to drop out and work as a hostess in a club.】 【But the male lead is innocent too! He didn’t ask to be switched at birth. And he does a lot to make it up to her later.】 【He’s only saying this now because of the misunderstanding. From his perspective, letting the ‘fake heiress’ stay is unfair to the female lead. He’s not wrong from his point of view.】 【But he’s the one who benefited from it all!】 … The commenters were at war, but my attention was fixed on two phrases: “beaten and verbally abused” and “forced to drop out and work as a hostess.” My own sister had lived like that for twenty years? Suddenly, I understood Faye’s hostility. If I were in her shoes, I wouldn’t be able to forgive someone who had stolen the happy life that was supposed to be mine. But the person she should hate isn’t me. It’s Adrian. I gave Faye a long, meaningful look before speaking calmly. “If I’m the fake heiress, you won’t have to kick me out. I’ll leave on my own.” Adrian scoffed. “Then you’d better start packing.” He turned to our father. “Dad, we have to do another DNA test tomorrow. We need to give Faye the certainty she deserves and make this imposter face reality.” That was exactly what I was waiting for. My father first agreed to Adrian’s suggestion for a new test. Then, his voice sharpened as he addressed his son. “Adrian, you are the heir to the Blackwood family. Where is the composure that comes with that title? And regardless of the test results, Audrey is your sister. Now, let’s eat.” The ever-perceptive butler had already instructed the staff to clear the cold dishes and bring out a fresh course. Adrian let out a cold snort and pulled Faye to the table, directing her to the seat I had just vacated. “Faye, you sit here.” Just as he was about to sit next to her, I slid into the chair myself, bumping him aside. Adrian’s face darkened. “Audrey!” he hissed. I cleaned my ear with my pinky. “What? Are you the only one allowed to get close to her?” He glared. “Don’t think sucking up to Faye is going to convince us to let you stay!” A flicker of something unreadable passed through Faye’s eyes. She glanced at me discreetly before starting to eat, taking small, careful bites. It was obvious she had crammed on table manners. My mother watched me with an approving smile. My father, however, addressed Adrian. “You’re the older brother. Set an example. Be more tolerant of your sister.” Grumbling, Adrian had no choice but to take the seat next to me, shooting daggers at me for the rest of the meal. I acted as if nothing was wrong, happily eating and serving food to my parents and Faye. The rest of Thanksgiving dinner passed in a strangely tense atmosphere. That night, Faye was given a guest room in the mansion. Adrian was not pleased. “Faye has been lost to us for so many years, and the first night she’s home, you put her in a guest room? That’s just cold.” He pointed toward my door. “Audrey’s room is the biggest and has the best view. She needs to give it to Faye!” Faye gently tugged on Adrian’s sleeve. “It’s alright, Adrian. I’m used to small spaces. The guest room is wonderful, really. I’m fine there.” But as she spoke, her eyes drifted to the framed photo on my nightstand—a picture of Mom and Dad kissing my cheeks, my own face beaming with joy. In her gaze, I saw a cocktail of envy, sadness, and longing. I sighed, pushed Adrian out of my room before he could argue further, locked the door, and pulled Faye onto my large, soft bed with me. Faye’s eyes went wide. She instantly yanked her hand away from mine, jumped up, and fled into the ensuite bathroom to wash up. I’m not sure what went through her head, but she did end up sleeping in the same bed with me that night. She kept a wide distance between us, her back turned to me, her head buried under the covers. She was like a hedgehog, curling into a tight ball at the slightest touch, hiding her soft belly. I knew she wasn’t asleep. “I’m eighteen,” I said into the quiet darkness. “What about you?”

3 The next morning, my father pulled some strings and found a private clinic that could run a DNA test on short notice. As our Maybach pulled up to the clinic’s entrance, a figure suddenly darted in front of the car. The driver slammed on the brakes. Faye, sitting across from me, was thrown forward. I reacted instantly, catching her and pulling her into my arms. She blushed, a flicker of surprise on her face. Once she was steady, I looked through the window. The comments were back. 【Didn’t the side character live with the Blackwoods for half a year before her adoptive family dragged her away? Why are the abusive adoptive parents showing up now?】 【The female lead didn’t send money home, so her adoptive parents went to the club looking for her. They found out the fake young master took her, and when they heard the Blackwoods were doing a DNA test, they rushed over to stop them, terrified his identity would be exposed.】 【Oh no, the side character is screwed. After she’s taken back by the Nolans, she gets sold off to some old cripple to be his wife and bear his children!】 My hands tightened into fists. I peered out the window. A middle-aged couple was blocking our way. The man was splayed across the hood of the car, while the woman frantically rattled the door handle and pounded on the window. “Child snatchers!” she shrieked for all to hear. “Give me back my daughter! Everyone, come see! The rich are stealing people’s children!” Faye’s face turned deathly pale. Adrian’s expression was thunderous. He grabbed me by the collar, dragged me out of the car, and shoved me toward the screaming woman, Brenda Nolan. “You want your daughter?” he spat. “Here she is! She’s your daughter. Faye is the precious gem of the Blackwood family!” Brenda froze for a second, but she quickly realized the Blackwoods hadn’t figured out the whole truth. She immediately burst into crocodile tears and lunged for me. “So you’re my real daughter! Come on, let’s go home with Mom.” I sidestepped, and she stumbled past me, nearly smashing her teeth on the pavement. “The DNA test isn’t even done,” I said coolly. “Who knows if you’re really my mother?” Hearing this, Brenda waved her hands frantically. “Oh, that’s too expensive! We’re simple people, we can’t afford things like that. Just test Faye. If she’s a Blackwood, then you must be my daughter.” With that, she and the man, Rick, planted themselves by the entrance, refusing to come inside. They were terrified I’d drag them in for a test too. “Your parents are just dripping with desperation,” Adrian sneered at me before taking Faye’s arm and leading her into the clinic. We paid for a rush job, and the results came back quickly. Two reports. One for Faye and my mother, the other for Faye and my father. Both confirmed a direct biological link. She was their daughter. There was no question of her being an illegitimate child from one side. My mother hugged Faye, both of them sobbing. My father watched his long-lost daughter with a look of profound heartache. Adrian, clearly disappointed by my calm reaction, started his victory lap. “Audrey,” he began, a cruel smirk on his face. “Oh, wait. I should call you Audrey Nolan now, shouldn’t I?” If I were you, I’d be crawling back to that gutter with your hick parents right now instead of sticking around to be humiliated! Brenda and Rick chose that moment to reappear, dabbing at their dry eyes and begging me to acknowledge them. I just shook my head. “I’m not your daughter.” Brenda collapsed to the floor, wailing and beating the pristine tiles. “What a cruel fate! To give birth to a daughter who won’t even recognize her own parents! What are we supposed to do in our old age?” Rick, a brutish-looking man, jabbed a finger in my face. “You ungrateful brat! I bet you just can’t stand to give up the good life. You’re planning to cling to the Blackwoods, aren’t you?” Adrian stood off to the side, arms crossed, enjoying the show. I just tilted my head and gave him a sweet smile. “The fake heiress is an ungrateful brat, you’re right about that. But I’m not the fake heiress.” Adrian’s amusement vanished. “If it’s not you, then who is it?” I leaned in, my voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “Have you ever considered that you might be the cuckoo in the nest?” A second later, my father’s voice boomed from behind me. “Adrian, you’re the one who was switched at birth.”