Regretting What She Got

Danielle's eyes sparkled after I spoke. She said hurriedly, "I've got time. How could I be absent for such an important occasion? It's Mason's parent-teacher conference! After all, Griselda won't be able to go tomorrow. I'll be free. Don't worry, Mrs. Campbell. I'll be on my best behavior!"

Her helpless demeanor disappeared. Excitement took over.

"Daisy, where would we find a family of such excellent helpers apart from Ms. Jackson and her daughter? We've got to cherish them."

Zachary slung an arm around my shoulders as he spoke, peering lovingly into my eyes.

I nodded politely.

Danielle dressed herself in her best attire the next morning and dragged Mason out the door. However, he groaned when she touched his arm.

"Ms. Danielle, you're hurting me!"

Danielle's expression changed. She asked anxiously, "Mason, what's wrong? Let me take a look!"

She yanked his sleeves up and saw a faint bruise on his arm. As though she'd unearthed a scandalous secret, she shrieked, "Oh dear! Mrs. Campbell, how could you lay such a heavy hand on Mason?"

Danielle brought his arm to her lips and blew gently on it while comforting him.

I couldn't bear to watch her make a fuss out of nothing, so I interjected, "His wound is so insignificant you'd need a magnifying glass to see it. Stop overreacting. Just because you beat your kid up every day doesn't mean I'll do the same to mine."

The more impassive I was, the worse Danielle felt for him.

"Mrs. Campbell, you can't disregard Mason's feelings just because you spent little time with him growing up! How could Griselda's worthless life be measured against Mason's? After all, he's been treasured as the only heir to the Campbell family."

Mason couldn't stand it. Then, he queried, "It's your fault. If you hadn't beaten up Griselda yesterday, I wouldn't have fallen, would I?"

Danielle's tactical mention of Griselda triggered Mason's unhappiness.

"Mom, you should send Griselda away since she's so disobedient. Otherwise, our home will always be in a state of permanent chaos. It sours my mood!"

Mason hugged my leg as he spoke. Despite his young age, he'd already begun making statements that were downright evil.

I said nothing, but Danielle agreed with him.

"Alright, alright. Mason, it was my fault. I'll never allow Griselda to show up in front of you ever again. I'll get rid of everything you dislike. Let's head to school first!"

As I watched the two of them head off, I knew that everything was playing out as I desired.

Polly resigned, saying that she wanted to return home and retire. Peace returned to our house, as Griselda never came home after her trip to the hospital.

It looked like Polly had taken her away.

At eighteen, Mason was offered a place in a prestigious foreign university. Zachary suggested throwing him a huge party and intended to transfer a portion of shares of the Campbell Corporation to him.

As Mason signed the shares transfer contract, a woman's hoarse voice interrupted his glee.

"My darling grandson, it's my fault for only recognizing you now!"

All of Zachary's relatives and business partners were confused.

"Aren't Mrs. Campbell's parents both abroad? Even if they had returned, they probably wouldn't look so sleazy, would they?"

"Look at the drooling kid beside her. She looks about the same age as Mason."

"Has this woman gotten dementia and recognized the wrong person?"

Everyone didn't know her. However, Zachary, Mason, and I knew her well. It was Polly.

Before the guards arrived, Polly pulled out a DNA report.

"This explains it. Griselda has never gotten along with me and my daughter. She has caused nothing but trouble for us. Turns out, we're not related at all. She's not my daughter. Why would she have a great relationship with us?"

"Mrs. Campbell, you and Danielle were the only ones who'd given birth in that hospital back then. The doctors definitely mixed up the babies.

"My apologies for allowing Sonny to enjoy life with you guys for so many years. I knew nothing about this back then. Now that I'm aware of the truth, it's time to swap the kids back into their rightful places."