The Queen They Buried

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

Even Caesar felt a knot in his stomach. Honestly, after all his years as a lawyer, he will 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 heartached as he looked at Aubree. He explained gently, “Alice was diagnosed with severe mentalitness 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 cather 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 the 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

to cut ties in time. Sure, it stung for a moment, but after that, she was

family and I

“Perhaps she was

was

say

had mental problems or just

Caesar. “Mr. Valder, when you specifically told me this, what’s your

biological parents, they knew you were in the orphanage yet refused to acknowledge you. Instead, years later, they

sufficient. We need someone who can positively identify the person

on speculation and partly on Bowen’s off the record tactics, neither of which would

back to the orphanage later,

of the orphanage, I did have Nina tailing Mark. Now that I think about it,

lot lately, too.

the orphanage a

you,”

Caesar’s help later, so having Bowen along wouldn’t be a

Caesar perceptively took his cue and leht, first, leaving only Aubree