They Swapped Me Away, Then Begged Me to Return Chapter 09

They Swapped Me Away, Then Begged Me to Return Chapter 09

I never picked up Evan’s video call. But the tablet kept lighting up in the middle of the night anyway.

The feed opened straight to a hospital hallway this time. Mom sat rigid on a plastic bench, clutching a medical complaint form, her eyes swollen red.

The bakery scandal had escalated badly—several children had fallen ill from the expired jam, and angry families had camped outside demanding compensation.

Mom dialed Lucy’s number over and over, but Lucy never answered.

She only sent one text message: [Handling PR crises is your responsibility.]

Mom stared at the screen like she barely recognized the girl she’d doted on.

After a long pause, she whispered brokenly, “No matter how upset I was, the old Leah would’ve dropped everything to help me calm unhappy customers.”

Dad stood beside her, his face ashen.

His promotion announcement had been pulled entirely.

The whistleblower’s complaint had flagged every section of his submission that plagiarized other people’s research, word for word.

Gavin had posted a line in the company group chat: [Didn’t you say whoever gets the results gets to take credit as lead?]

Dad slammed his phone face-down on a chair, his knuckles strained tight.

In the past, he would’ve snapped and called me unreasonable for causing trouble. Now he couldn’t muster a single word.

Evan stumbled home soon after. He looked thinner than when I’d left, dark purple shadows under his eyes.

After investors froze all funding, auditors had locked his company’s bank accounts, and the promised twenty million investment hung over him like a blade.

He went to find Lucy, who was trying on outfits inside my renovated bedroom.

The cream-white walls, brand-new bed, custom wardrobe—all the things they’d torn my old room apart for.

She’d tossed my star-shaped nightlight into a corner, dismissing it as cheap and tacky.

Evan stood in the doorway, his voice raw and hoarse. “Where did all those winning proposals really come from?”

Lucy stared at her reflection in the mirror. “What’s the point of asking that now? You only cared about the results, and I delivered them. Did any of you stop to ask what I’d done to get those wins back then?”

Evan’s hands clenched into fists. “You lied to all of us.”

Lucy let out a cold laugh. “It wasn’t a lie. You were all just desperate to succeed at any cost.”

Back in the living room, Mom suddenly rushed forward and grabbed Lucy’s wrist. “Give me back that bracelet.”

Lucy frowned. “You gave it to me yourself. Are you having second thoughts now?”

Mom’s voice trembled uncontrollably. “That bracelet belonged to Leah’s grandma. It was meant for her.”

Lucy glanced down at the jade, slipped it off without a second thought, and dropped it on the coffee table. “So you never actually liked me. You only liked how I could make all your dreams come true.”

Mom froze completely.

I watched the bracelet sit abandoned on the table through the screen. It had made its way back to them, but my wrist no longer ached for it.

Dad spoke up suddenly, quiet and desperate. “Can we swap the original Leah back?”

Lucy slowly lifted her head to meet his gaze. “Swap her back? You three submitted the exchange request. You tapped confirm together. While she waived her appeal, you were decorating a welcome party for me. Aren’t you a little late to regret this?”

Evan looked as if those words had pinned him to the floor.

He grabbed the old phone linked to the cross-world app and spammed call requests over and over.

Once, twice, a dozen times in a row.

My tablet buzzed nonstop on my desk.

Tessa glanced at me. “Do you want to answer?”

I shook my head.

On the video feed, Evan finally broke down screaming at the screen.
“Leah, I know you can see this. Please come back. I’m so sorry.”

I glanced down at the long list of evidence Fiona had compiled beside me.

Line after line named every person Lucy had stolen from—designers, consultants, graduate students, startup founders.

She wasn’t a better version of me. She’d built every ounce of her success by tearing apart other people’s lives.

I muted the video’s audio. Evan’s mouth still moved, but I couldn’t hear a single word anymore.

Dylan set a glass of warm water beside my elbow. “We’re heading to the police station tomorrow. Get some rest.”

For the first time in months, I slept soundly through the night.

Clean, quiet wind drifted through my bedroom window.