The Last Swap: My Body, Her Sacrifice

After reuniting with my family, I become the real son in a story about a fake heir and the real one. But on the 15th of every month, my sister, Ingrid Lawson, and I switch bodies for a day. Whenever I'm in her body, I carefully maintain her professional relationships and do my best to protect her image as the heiress. But she treats my life like a joke she can end whenever she wants. One month, she puts the fake heir Don Lawson's name on the proposal I have worked so hard on. The next month, she tears up my diagnosis of severe depression. When I tell her to stop, she just laughs impatiently. "Depression? That's just your tactic to get the inheritance. "Don has been frail since he was a kid. What's so hard about giving in to him? No wonder Mom and Dad don't like you. You're so petty. "Since you can't learn how to behave, I'll show you how a good brother should act." During our eighth body swap, she signs my consent form to donate a kidney to Don. I'm completely disillusioned, but she just shrugs it off. "Don isn't in good health. It's just a kidney. Why can't you donate it? It's our last body swap, so stop being selfish." If that's how she wants it, I don't care anymore. She doesn't know that the pair of pendants only lets us switch bodies nine times. After the final swap, we'll both be trapped in each other's bodies forever. Chapter 1 After I accidentally activated the ancestral pendant at the family reunion banquet, my sister, Ingrid Lawson, and I began swapping bodies for one day every month on the 15th. At first, I thought this was God's way of making things up to me, so I could have a chance to experience what it felt like to be favored by our parents and respected by everyone. To ensure that her years of effort as Lawson Corporation's successor didn't go to waste, I was always careful when I was in Ingrid's body. I didn't want one careless move to destroy the strong, capable image she'd spent years building. But Ingrid squandered everything I'd worked so hard for while she was in my body. Last month, I spent two straight weeks researching and putting together a flawless resort proposal. It was a challenge my father, Roy Lawson, had casually brought up at the dinner table. I wanted to prove that I was just as good as Don Lawson, the fake heir, even though I'd been missing for over a decade. But when I switched back into my own body, I saw that Don's name was on the proposal in the family's group chat. Roy sent three messages, praising Don. "That's my boy. We've raised him well. His business sense is far better than certain people who don't even belong in our league." Ingrid, who was in my body at the time, replied, "Exactly. Don is the best. I have to hand it to him." I clenched my fists and stormed downstairs to demand an explanation. Sitting on the couch, Ingrid poured coffee into Don's cup without looking up. "It's just a proposal. Don wanted it, so I gave it to him. So what? You're just some country bumpkin who only just came back to the family. "Even if you gave it to our parents, they'd think you'd copied it from somewhere. Giving it to Don is the only way to get the most out of it." I gritted my teeth, struggling to hold back my anger, then pulled my severe depression diagnosis out of my pocket. "Ingrid, I can't sleep through the night. I've been pushing myself to prove I'm worth something. Why do you keep trampling on my dignity?" Ingrid paused, stood up, and took the report from me. Then, she tore it into pieces, the paper fluttering to the floor around my feet. She looked at me and laughed impatiently. "Depression? That's just your tactic to get the inheritance. Don has been frail since he was a kid. What's so hard about giving in to him? "No wonder Mom and Dad don't like you. You're so petty. Since you can't learn to behave, let me show you how a good brother should act." I stared at the shredded papers on the floor, feeling hopeless. Roy and my mother, Barbara Peele, sat nearby. They didn't stop Ingrid. Instead, they nodded in agreement. "Ingrid's right, Damon. You're too narrow-minded. You should learn from your sister and be more patient with Don." They'd all forgotten that the trafficker had tried to take Ingrid, not me. I was the one who bit his wrist and took the hit for her. Ingrid took the chance to run, but I was knocked unconscious and sold to someone in a remote mountain village, where I spent 15 years living in hell. I'd taken the hit for her. And now, she resented me for getting in Don's way. Chapter 2 From that day on, Ingrid did more and more outrageous things using my body. The Lawson family didn't like me, so I only got a pitiful allowance every month. To escape them one day and pay for my own medical treatment, I secretly took on freelance jobs, developed software, and finally saved 300,000 dollars in my bank account. But during our seventh body swap, Ingrid took the money I'd worked so hard to earn and bought Don a limited-edition watch, all because he'd glanced at it in a magazine. And that wasn't all. At the Lawson family's annual banquet, Ingrid deliberately wore a ridiculous red-and-green suit and acted like a lunatic while holding a glass of wine. She deliberately knocked over a waiter's tray and smeared cake all over her face. The city's elite all watched me become a laughingstock. Meanwhile, Don wore the luxury watch Ingrid had bought with my money and stood by like a gentleman, calmly handing Ingrid a napkin, winning everyone's praise. "The Lawson family's real son is a complete lunatic." "Don is such a considerate young man. The Lawson family is lucky to have him." The day I switched back into my own body, I looked at my reflection in the mirror, the laughingstock I'd become, and the text on my phone showing my bank balance had hit zero. Just when I thought that was the worst thing Ingrid could do to me, I opened my eyes to see an organ donation consent form on my bedside table after our eighth body swap ended. My name was written in the signature field, along with a bright red fingerprint. I narrowed my eyes and charged out of my room, shoving Ingrid's door open. She leaned back in her office chair, reviewing reports, and didn't even look up when I entered. I was livid. "That's my kidney! Ingrid, you'll kill me!" Ingrid set down the documents, her face cold. "Why are you yelling? Don's condition has worsened, and he can't wait for a suitable kidney donor. You're his older brother. What's wrong with giving him your kidney? No one will die from missing a kidney." She stood up and looked at me with a mocking smile. "I'm just helping you. If you were just a little more magnanimous and did this, Mom and Dad would finally think more highly of you. Then, you'd actually have a place in this family." At that moment, I finally saw them for who they really were. 15 years of suffering hadn't broken me, but my own sister's words finally pushed me over the edge. They'd never seen me as a person. To them, I was nothing more than a walking blood bank for Don. I returned to my room without another word and locked the door. I went into the bathroom, picked up the razor blade on the sink, and pressed it against my wrist. If I had to live without any dignity, I might as well give my life back to them. The blade sliced into my skin. Pain shot through my arm, and blood gushed down my wrist, dripping onto the pendant I'd never taken off. Then, a miracle happened. The pendant suddenly grew scorching hot and absorbed my blood. A strange red light flashed across it, and red words slowly appeared on the surface. "Only nine body swaps are allowed. On the final swap, you'll be trapped in each other's bodies forever. There will be no return." I stared at those words. Nine body swaps. That meant the pendants could only swap our bodies nine times. And last month's swap had been the eighth. One more time, and we'd be trapped in each other's bodies forever, with no way to switch back. After a long while, I slowly lowered the razor blade in my hand, found some gauze, and wrapped it around my wound. I looked into the mirror, a cold smile appearing on my face. "Ingrid, since you thought being magnanimous and understanding was so easy and that donating a kidney was no big deal, then you could donate it yourself," I thought. Chapter 3 The day of the ninth body swap finally arrived. It was midnight on the 15th. The familiar sensation of falling hit me again. I opened my eyes in a huge apartment downtown, lying on soft silk sheets. The room smelled faintly of expensive perfume. I sat up and looked down at Ingrid's well-maintained body. Then, I went into the walk-in closet, picked out a black designer suit, and put on the three-million-dollar diamond necklace. I looked at myself in the mirror. The woman staring back looked cold and intimidating. From now on, this was my life. Ingrid was probably waking up in my undernourished body, with the old cuts still on my wrists, in the guest room where sunlight never reached. At 9:00 am sharp, I arrived at Lawson Corporation. "Hi, Ms. Lawson." "Good morning, Ms. Lawson." Everyone greeted me respectfully as I walked past. I just gave them a slight nod, my face emotionless, and headed straight to my desk. I called the CFO into my office through the intercom. "Cancel all the supplementary black cards under Don's name and freeze the account covering Lawson Manor's major daily expenses. No one gets to approve a single cent without my signature." The CFO froze for a moment. He didn't understand why I was suddenly doing this, since I had always doted on Don. Still, he nodded. "Noted, Ms. Lawson." I leaned back in my chair and quietly looked out of the window. This was just the beginning. "Ingrid, you'd learn that without your heiress status to hide behind, you were worth nothing to the Lawson family," I said inwardly. At 3:00 pm, I was in a meeting about an overseas acquisition when my phone started buzzing. It was a call from the housekeeper. Her panicked screams came through the phone. "Ms. Lawson, you need to get to Wellspring Hospital right away! Mr. Damon pushed Mr. Don down the stairs! Mr. Don has lost a lot of blood. He's in the ER now!" My eyes flickered slightly. It looked like Don couldn't wait any longer. I hung up and told the executives, "Let's put this on hold. I have some personal business to take care of." When I arrived outside the emergency room, the hallway was in chaos. Roy and Barbara stood outside, their eyes bloodshot as they paced back and forth. Ingrid sat on the tiled floor, looking miserable. Her clothes were a mess, a handprint stood out on her face, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. She scrambled toward me and grabbed my pant leg. "Help me explain! I didn't push him. Don fell down the stairs on his own! He deliberately grabbed me at the top of the stairs, then threw himself down! Mom and Dad won't believe me. You have to explain it to them!" Ingrid looked up at me, her eyes filled with shock and anger. She had probably never suffered such humiliation in her life. Roy strode over, yanked her away, and slapped her hard across the face again. It sent her crashing into the wall. "You bastard!" he cursed as he pointed at her nose. "Don has always treated you so well, and you actually hurt him like this? The surveillance cameras just happened to be broken. You think that means you can talk your way out of this? "If anything happens to Don, I'll kill you!" Her ears ringing, Ingrid clutched her swollen cheek and stared at the man who had always treated her kindly. She shook her head desperately and rasped, "I'm not making excuses! He really did fall on his own! I'm…" Chapter 4 Ingrid nearly confessed that she was Ingrid, stuck in my body, but she stopped herself just in time. She knew if she said that, everyone would probably think she'd gone crazy. She looked at Barbara. "Mom, please believe me. I really didn't push him…" "Don't call me that! I won't recognize a vicious person like you as my son!" Barbara stepped backward, disgust on her face. "You're just jealous of Don! You signed the kidney donation consent form, and you're bitter about it, so you tried to kill him, didn't you? "Let me tell you something, Damon. You're not getting away with this!" Just then, the emergency room doors swung open. The doctor hurried out, drenched in sweat. "Mr. and Mrs. Lawson, his kidneys were already failing. The fall caused severe internal bleeding, and his remaining kidney has ruptured badly. He needs a kidney transplant immediately, or he won't survive the night!" Barbara's legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed to the ground. She swiveled around, staring at Ingrid. "The consent form has been signed, and Damon's test results are all acceptable." Barbara gritted her teeth and pointed at Ingrid on the floor. "Get him into the operating room right now and take his kidney for Don!" Several burly bodyguards rushed forward and pinned Ingrid down. She struggled for a moment, then glanced up at the digital clock on the wall. 11:35 pm. Only half an hour left until 12:00 am. I watched her from the shadows, knowing fully well what was going through her mind. As long as she could hold out for another half hour, she'd return to her own body, and I would be the one lying on the operating table, enduring the agony of having my kidney removed. So when the bodyguards pried her fingers apart and dragged her through the operating room doors, Ingrid stopped struggling. Through the gap in the doors, she looked at me and flashed me a smug smile. The red light above the operating room flicked on as silence settled over the hallway. I walked over to the observation window outside the operating room and watched the doctors and nurses prepare for surgery. They'd stripped off Ingrid's clothes and strapped her to the cold operating table. She kept her eyes on the clock. The seconds slipped away. 11:55 pm. The nurse began disinfecting her skin. 11:58 pm. The anesthesiologist picked up a syringe. 11:59 pm. The corners of Ingrid's mouth lifted. She closed her eyes and relaxed, waiting for that familiar sensation of falling and for her soul to return to the body dressed in a designer suit. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. The clock struck midnight. Five seconds passed. Nothing happened. Ingrid's eyes flew open.