Chapter 454
The Mysterious Billionaire and His Substitute Bride
This was the last thing that Johanna wanted to talk about.
She had been depressed for years, knowing that her daughter had been replaced. She even considered taking her own life, but Beal had stopped her.
The White family had a lot of connections in Barnes. They had asked anyone and everyone they could to look for their missing daughter, but there was no sign of her.
Gradually, Johanna came to believe that she would never reunite with her daughter. Beal, on the other hand, didnât lose hope and suggested they search in other cities. After all, Barnes was a metropolis and lots of people came and went every year, so it was possible that their daughter wasnât in Barnes anymore.
Now, they finally found herâtheir long lost daughter.
Johanna looked at Beal hesitantly. Beal didnât say anything and gave her a reassuring look.
Holding Janetâs hands, Johanna bit her lower lip nervously. She took deep breaths, but she was so emotional that she couldnât squeeze a single word out.
Finally, Beal looked at Janet and sighed heavily. âWhen you were born, there was an earthquake of unprecedented magnitude in Barnes. The whole city was in chaos. The hospital collapsed, and all the expecting mothers and infants were trapped inside. Your mother, who was staying in a VIP ward at the time, was moved with the other mothers during the evacuation. The situation was a complete mess at the time and she had no idea that you were replaced. Later, when we did find out, we investigated the matter and found that a couple took advantage of the chaotic situation to replace you with their daughter and took you away.â
Tears rolling down her cheeks, Johanna lowered her head guiltily and covered her mouth with the handkerchief in her hand. In between sobs, she said, âItâs all my fault. I wasnât able to protect you. If I did, you wouldnât have been replaced. You were born without birthmarks. I didnât get to see you clearly because I was too weak and therefore didnât memorize what you looked like.â
Beal hurried to comfort his wife. âDonât blame yourself. All babies look alike when they were just born.
Itâs difficult to tell them apart.â
Janet patted Johannaâs hand, too. âYouâve found me now and thatâs what matters. Truth be told, I never wanted to look for my biological parents before. I always thought that they had deliberately abandoned me.â
Now that she knew that Johanna and Beal never meant to lose her, she didnât feel unwanted anymore.
Johanna threw her arms around Janet and wept tears of joy. Janet had grown up to be such a gentle and considerate young lady. âIâm so glad we found you, my child. My life wouldâve been meaningless otherwise.â
Janet could keenly sense that her mother really cared about her. Thinking of the baby who had taken her place, she asked, âHow is the girl now?â
âHer name is Lila. She lives in Barnes with us now. Your mother and I didnât know that she wasnât ours at first, so we raised her as our own.â Beal sighed.
After all, the baby girl had looked a lot like baby Janet. Beal and Johanna had no idea that the girl they raised wasnât theirs.
It wasnât until Lila had a blood test that they realized that something was wrong. Bealâs blood type was A, and Johannaâs was O, while Lilaâs was Bâthere was no possible way she was their biological daughter.
So they secretly conducted a paternity test and found out that indeed, Lila wasnât related to them by blood. They launched an in-depth investigation into the matter. That was when they found out that their baby had been replaced amidst the chaotic aftermath of the earthquake.
âPeople can be really evil. Even the clothes and wristbands on the two babies were switched, so it obviously was not just a simple mistake. I knew what my baby was wearing and that was why we took that girl with us.â Johanna sneered angrily. Just thinking about the evildoers who had stolen her daughter made her want to tear them to pieces.
It was because of them that she wasnât able to see her own child in more than twenty years.
Lila, on the other hand, had been treated as Johannaâs and Bealâs biological daughter for years. They loved her deeply and by the time they realized the mistake, it was too late for them to leave her. Thus, they continued to treat Lila as their own while secretly looking for their real daughter.
A few years ago, they had managed to track down Lilaâs biological parents, but the evil couple had abandoned Janet as a baby and had no idea where she was.
With her lips pursed, Janet asked warily, âHas Lila met her biological parents?â
âLila is still with us. She has no idea that sheâs not our biological daughterâ¦â Johanna sighed heavily.
These problems were not easy to solve.