Stolen By My Billionaire Brother-In-Law-Chapter 88: Swapped Identities
"Speak!" Callum growled, his voice sharp and commanding, making Rubina flinch in terror. Her entire body trembled under his grip, her lips quivering as he pressed the gun into her temple. One cry and she was sure he wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
"We really don’t know who your parents are!" Amerie’s voice broke through the suffocating tension, her tone desperate and sincere for the first time. Her expression held an honesty that hadn’t been there before, her pleading eyes revealing just how she wasn’t lying this time. Rubina was after all her dear child and she couldn’t lose her.
Callum raised an eyebrow, his gaze narrowing in suspicion. He gripped Rubina’s shoulder, pressing the gun harder which made her break into sniffles.
"I’m not lying!" Amerie cried, her voice trembling in fear. She turned toward Gianna, the only other person who knew about Rivana just as much as she did. "Tell them, Gianna!" she pleaded, her desperation spilling over like a dam breaking under pressure.
Gianna, Emmerich’s wife, hesitated but finally nodded in confirmation. Stepping closer, she positioned herself protectively in front of Rafaelo, her arms slightly outstretched as though shielding her son from the chaos around them. Her fear filled eyes darted between Callum and Rivana, wary of every single men in the room. These people were crazy, she thought, all of them!
"After I gave birth to Ruby, Emmerich and Margaret didn’t allow me to be part of the family. We stayed with Susannah during that time," Amerie began, her voice steadying slightly as she recounted the past. "But suddenly, two years later, he came to call me to the house. He made an offer—one that would let me stay at the mansion." She continued, recalling the day. Emmerich was cradling a baby in his arms with his mother right beside him, and it was none other than Rivana.
"I needed to show you as my daughter and not Rubina," Amerie continued, her voice heavy with the memory. Emmerich had promised to care for Rubina in secret, but in her place, Rivana would be introduced to the family as their child.
"But I made a deal too," Amerie admitted, glancing at Gianna. Her tone turned sharp. "If they took Ruby in as their second legal heiress, as Gianna’s daughter, I agreed to raise Rivana as my own in front of the world."
Gianna’s face darkened as the memories resurfaced. She had been forced to take care of Rubina, this child born out of wedlock, to pretend to be her mother—or at least treat her as though she were her daughter in the society. If she didn’t comply, Emmerich and Margaret had threatened to exclude Rafaelo from his rightful inheritance. But neither of their promises had held true, and in the end, they had betrayed her too.
"After much thought, Emmerich agreed," Amerie said, recounting every detail. "Ruby was named Julian back then, but they changed her name, changed yours, and even faked your birth certificates. They made sure you appeared two years older than Rubina and not the other way around."
"You were two months old when they brought you to us," she explained further, recounting how every detail, from the girls’ birthdates to their identities, everything has been exchanged. Margaret even ensured that all the children’s names started with the letter R to erase any suspicion.
Rivana’s mind reeled as she recalled bits of her childhood. Susannah had always called her Juli when she was little, saying that was the name they gave her but then her grandma Margaret changed it since she didn’t like it. Even after Amerie entered the Faye family, Susannah had visited often, doting on Rivana and made sure she was well treated in the Faye house. But for those two years, it wasn’t Rivana Susannah had cared for—it had been Rubina.
"Didn’t Emmerich tell you who Rivana was?" Callum interrupted, his mind racing to piece the fragments together.
"They made us sign agreements," Amerie said, her face pale as she relived the day. "We weren’t allowed to ask where she came from, nor were we allowed to tell anyone else." Her voice faltered as she added, "Margaret made it very clear. She used Rafaelo’s and Rubina’s futures as leverage to keep our mouths shut."
The room fell into a heavy silence as everyone tried to process the tangled web of lies and manipulation. Rivana stood frozen, her thoughts a blur. Her mind felt like mush, and she struggled to make sense of everything.
Leonora scratched her head, her eyes darting between Rivana and Rubina as she muttered under her breath, "This is way too much for my pea-sized brain."
"And you never tried to find out who she was?" Callum pressed, his tone skeptical. Knowing Amerie’s cunning nature and Gianna’s relentless pursuit of power, he doubted they hadn’t at least tried.
"They left no clues," Gianna replied curtly. She shot Amerie a glare before continuing, "But I assumed she must have been the child of another one of Emmerich’s secret mistresses. Margaret must have worried it would ruin his reputation, just like how Santino Hugon’s reputation was ruined when he brought pregnant Melisande and her 15-year-old son Viktor in front of the world."
Rivana nodded faintly as the pieces clicked together in her mind. After Susannah’s health began to deteriorate, Santino had brought Melisande—whom he’d hidden for 15 long years—into the family, alongside her son Viktor. The scandal had ruined Hugons business and it made Susannah leave him and take their son Azrael with her, forcing them to stay in the Dynar Mansion. Azrael had been 19 then, while Rivana was 12, no actually just 10 since it was Rubina’s age.
"He also kept mumbling a name and apologizing whenever he was drunk," Gianna added, her brows furrowing as she tried to recall the fragmented moments from the past.
"What name?" Rivana asked sharply, stepping forward.
Gianna furrowed her brows, trying to piece together the distant memories of Emmerich’s drunken mutterings. It had been ages, and since they had grown even more distant over the years, it was all a fog. "Rosy?" Her eyes lit up with realization, and she nodded firmly. "Yes! It was Rosy!"
