My Birthday, My Downfall novel Chapter 15

My parents' expressions were full of hesitation.

They couldn't trust my foster parents now, but they still believed in the character of the child they had raised.

It was true that I had run away before, but it was because my parents wanted me to marry an old bachelor from the village.

The man, Charlie was a notorious scoundrel and an old bachelor in our village—someone that no family wanted to provoke.

If it weren’t for the fact that my foster parents wanted to keep me tied to the village, they wouldn’t have even considered dealing with him.

To my surprise, my foster parents had called the police.

That night, when the police brought me back, I was beaten so badly that I nearly suffocated.

If it weren’t for Xena getting sick and needing a kidney transplant, I would’ve already been forced to marry this old bachelor.

"Coco! Coco!" A rough male voice sounded from outside.

I looked toward the door in confusion.

When Charlie appeared, he immediately rushed in and tried to drag me away.

"Come back with me! Your parents have actually hidden you here!"

My foster parents also rushed in. "Wait a bit, wait for a moment!"

"Wait for what! I've already paid! She’s my woman now!"

My parents stared in shock at the scene, seemingly unable to process what was happening.

I struggled to free myself from his grip, but I was powerless against him, my eyes turning red from the effort.

Mom snapped out of it and asked, "Who are you? Why are you trying to take my daughter?"

"Why? Because I paid you! I gave you money!" Charlie said, his tone full of confidence.

"If I hadn’t seen your daughter being brought here in the video, I would’ve never known where to look for her—"

In a moment of desperation, I bit down on his hand.

Charlie yelped in pain and pushed me away. My parents immediately rushed to support me, and I caught a glimpse of Xena, whose eyes were gleaming with hidden mockery.

I pushed her away. "This is their real daughter. Take her instead!"

Charlie’s eyes lit up. Xena’s skin was delicate and fair, the result of years of pampering.

She froze in fear, then hid behind my foster parents. "Mom, Dad! Help! I don’t want to go with him!"

My foster parents tried to calm her down. "We’ll return the money, and I’ll still marry Coco to you!"

"Just wait for a while, please!"

Xena’s smile froze on her face, embarrassed.

"They knew all along that you weren’t their biological daughter?" Dad asked, frowning at me.

"They knew from the start. They even had pictures of Xena," I said with a bitter laugh.

Xena panicked, trying to deny it. "No! It was just a mistake, they took the wrong baby!"

"Shut up!"

"Mom—" Xena stared in disbelief at my mother, as if this was the first time she had ever been treated this way.

Her gaze met Mom’s angry expression, and she swallowed the rest of her words.

It turned out that my foster parents had been deceiving my real parents all along. I hadn’t been able to hear, so I never knew how they had communicated.

I looked at Xena with sarcasm. "Did you know your parents did this on purpose?"

"I didn’t! Stop saying things like that!" Her eyes momentarily showed guilt.

My parents saw through her fake bravado.

Mom completely lost control. Shaking with anger, she grabbed Officer Luke’s arm. "I want to report a case! Someone is trafficking my daughter!"