Chapter 246

All this time, I’ve been trying to secure Carmen’s position in the Wilson family. But because of my schemes, not only has my plan backfired spectacularly—now Aubree is going to expose everything! Alice thought anxiously.

“What happened?” Ronald asked, his piercing gaze locking onto Alice with undisguised fury.

Carmen was brought into the Wilson family three years after Aubree went missing, when Aubree was eight years old. At that time, Carmen wasn’t even in Rithol City yet.

Aubree continued, “When I was five, I was abducted. I don’t remember how I escaped the traffickers, but I just ended up in an orphanage, though not in Rithol City at first.

“When I was seven, the orphanage relocated here. Then, when I was ten, Alice came to the orphanage under the pretense of taking photos for a charity project. But in reality, she came to see me. So at the very least, when I was ten, Alice already knew my whereabouts.”

Alice was silent, her body trembling and her face ashen.

“I was brought back to the Wilson family at fifteen; it’s been three years since then. When I returned, Alice, you kept saying that I’d grown up outside for fifteen years and I must be full of bad habits and vices. You used that as an excuse to ‘educate’ me, abusing me in all sorts of ways. You even turned a blind eye when Carmen framed me in front of Bryan and the others. No, you didn’t just turn a blind eye. You fueled the fire.”

“You used that as an excuse to educate me and abuse me in many ways. You even turned a blind eye when Carmen framed me in front of Bryan and the others. No, you didn’t just turn a blind eye. You fucked the fire."

“By your logic, my character was already set at fifteen. So why didn’t you bring me back to the Wilson family when I was ten? Wasn’t I still malleable then!” Aubree asked.

Ronald was too stunned to speak. “Ten years old? How could it be?” He muttered to himself, then suddenly looked at Aubree and said, “We only got news about you three years ago, that can’t be wrong.”

Aubree shot Ronald Wilson a look of utter contempt. “You know jack shit,” she said.

“Not only did Alice conceal the fact that she’d found me when I was ten, but her so-called ‘mental breakdown’ was completely fake,” Aubree said.

“Ronald, you’re not stupid. Think back; was adopting Carmen just because you were afraid Alice would lose her mind? Or did she have a hand in orchestrating it all?”

Is Aubree implying that Alice, to adopt Carmen, not only turned a blind eye to the daughter she had lost for five years but also pretended to have a mental breakdown? Ronald thought.

Ronald’s breathing quickened as he stared at Alice and asked word by word, “You really did this! Eight years ago, you deliberately chose not to bring her home?”

“I didn’t!” Alice protested desperately. Seeing Aubree was well-supported and doing fine in the orphanage, I just wanted to wait until Carmen’s position in the Wilson family became more secure. Otherwise, if Aubree returned too soon, what should Carmen do if she were pushed aside? she thought.

Aubree crossed her arms with a cold sneer. “Right, you didn’t. You just happened to visit the orphanage and conveniently forgot who I was," she said.

Nonetheless, Aubree was Ronald’s flesh and blood, his only daughter after having four sons. At least before she turned five, he truly doted on her as a father, showering her with all his love.

After she went missing, Ronald indeed mobilized all resources to look for her. But what happened after that? Why did he change?” Aubree wondered.

Ronald closed his eyes. After Carmen came into the family, he had stayed out of family affairs. He adopted Carmen, thinking that she could at least keep Alice company. It might stop her from having those mental episodes.

Carmen was sweet and well-behaved. Alice would, whether intentionally or not, subtly influence Ronald by constantly praising Carmen. Gradually, he transferred the fatherly affection he once had for Aubree onto Carmen, growing to love her as his own.

Eventually, Ronald fully accepted Carmen as his daughter. He even told himself that if Aubree had truly died out there, then Carmen could replace...

After Aubree was found, Ronald was consumed with guilt. He tried his best to make amends and made sure she lacked nothing. But by then, Aubree was already fifteen, and as her father, he found it hard to truly reconnect with her.

Moreover, Alice was solely responsible for raising and disciplining the children; Ronald, at most, only asked about their schoolwork.

Alice constantly told Ronald how ill-behaved Aubree was, listing all her bad habits. All he knew was that her grades were terrible, and by comparison, Aubree was nothing but an embarrassment to him. Naturally, he favored the brilliant adopted daughter.

As Ronald followed Aubree’s line of reasoning, his eyes suddenly froze in realization.