Aubree stared at the two photos on the table, suppressing a bitter, desolate laugh. “So they always knew where I was. They only took me back when I was fifteen just because they didn’t want me,” she muttered. “No wonder she resented me so much after I came back.” No wonder, in her previous life, whenever Carmen was unhappy, it was always her fault, Aubree thought bitterly.

Even Caesar felt a knot in his stomach. Honestly, after all his years as a lawyer, he couldn’t understand it. "The Wilson family had made such a public spectacle when their daughter went missing," he thought. "And their frantic search became the talk of the town. Yet five years later, even after knowing exactly where she was, they chose not to bring her back."

“Miss Miller, don’t worry,” Caesar said. “We also found it quite puzzling, so we conducted further inquiries into Ms. Diamond…”

Bowen’s heart ached as he looked at Aubree. He explained gently, “Alice was diagnosed with severe mental illness at the time.”

“What do you mean?” Aubree asked.

“After you went missing at the age of five, Alice couldn’t handle the shock and developed a severe mental illness, so the Wilson family adopted Carmen as your replacement. When Alice finally had a daughter again, she became a bit obsessed,” Bowen said, carefully choosing his words.

He’d only managed to uncover all this by resorting to some rather unconventional methods.

“She watched Carmen obsessively,” Bowen continued. “If Carmen were out of sight for even a minute, Alice’d become frantic. It wasn’t so much that they doted on her adopted daughter. Deep down, she’d already completely replaced you with Carmen.

“When news of you finally reached the Wilson family, it plunged Alice into sheer terror. She was terrified your reappearance would once again snatch her daughter away.”

So she chose to abandon me. Aubree’s lips twisted into a bitter, mocking smile. “But it doesn’t matter now. Be it feigned favoritism or outright abandonment, I’ve already seen the Wilson family for what they were in my previous life.”

Fortunately, this time, Aubree managed to cut ties in time. Sure, it stung for a moment, but after that, she was over it.

After all, the Wilson family and I are sworn enemies, Aubree thought coldly.

“Perhaps she was just…”

Bowen tried to say something to comfort her.

“It doesn’t matter,” Aubree met Bowen’s worried gaze with a reassuring smile. “Whether she had mental problems or just wanted to abandon me, the outcome is the same either way.”

She then turned to Caesar. “Mr. Valder, when you specifically told me this, what’s your angle?”

Caesar replied, “As your biological parents, they knew you were in the orphanage yet refused to acknowledge you. Instead, years later, they recognized you as an adopted daughter. It gives you grounds to sue Ronald and Alice for child abandonment."

“However, our current evidence isn’t quite sufficient. We need someone who can positively identify the person in the photo as Alice.”

Their identification of Alice relied partly on speculation and partly on Bowen’s off-the-record tactics, neither of which would hold up as legal evidence.

Aubree nodded. “I’ll go back to the orphanage later, and ask Grandma Ethel about it.”

Bowen thought to himself, "Speaking of the orphanage, I did have Nina tailing Mark. Now that I think about it, Mark’s been free around the orphanage a lot lately, too."

“I’ll go with you,” Bowen said.

“Alright,” Aubree agreed. She knew they’d inevitably need Caesar’s help later, so having Bowen along wouldn’t be a bad thing.

With their discussion wrapped up, Caesar perceptively took his cue and left, leaving only Aubree and Bowen in the lounge.

Chapter 184

"I heard Aidani left Isla with you. How come I haven’t seen her pestering you lately?” Aubree felt a bit awkward and changed the subject. After all, Bowen had just helped her out. It would’ve been rude to leave right away.

A strange look crossed Bowen’s face for a moment. "Is Bree bothered by my relationship with Isla?" he wondered.

The truth was, Aubree didn’t mean anything by it, just making conversation.

“I don’t like…” Bowen said.

“Huh?” Aubree was a bit confused. "What’s this all about?"

Bowen gently took both of Aubree’s hands from her lap, looking at her intently. “Strictly speaking, Isla and I aren’t even friends,” he said. “She’s not really into me. You could say she’s just attracted to my looks.”

Bowen wouldn’t have been so lenient with Isla if he hadn’t known she was just a spoiled kid from a privileged family.