Orphan To Unbreakable Queen - Chapter 101: Chapter 101

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 my previous life, 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 still 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. Diamonde."
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 she 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. Valdez, 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 only 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 frequenting 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 first, leaving only Aubree and Bowen in the lounge.
"I heard Aidan 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 her," 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.
In Isla's eyes, Bowen was the most perfect-looking man she'd ever seen, so naturally, she believed they belonged together.
Now that Alvin had come along, someone who not only matched her aesthetic standards but could also game with her, she'd naturally tossed Bowen to the back of her mind.
So this is what being a "face-con" feels like?' Aubree's mind drifted for a moment, and when she snapped back to reality, she realized just how close she was to Bowen.
Snapping back to reality, Aubree hastily snatched her hand back. "You don't have to explain," she blurted out. "I'm not even anyone to you, so you don't need to explain this to me." With that, Aubree hastily stood up. She had a sinking feeling that if this continued, things might go out of control.
"I've got to go now," Aubree said, then hastily made her escape.
Bowen watched her retreating figure, his eyes dark and brooding, yet beneath that somber gaze burned an unshakable determination.
'Is she running away? Or just not ready to face her feelings?' he wondered. 'Well, I guess that's a good sign. At least Bree is starting to care. Otherwise, she wouldn't have gotten so flustered.'
The following day, Aubree cleared her schedule for the day. After picking up some gifts, she went to the orphanage with Bowen.
During the holidays, Ethel was playing with the children in the yard. When she saw Aubree arrive, her face lit up as she happily hurried over to greet her.
"Aubree, what brings you here today?" Ethel asked.
"I just wanted to come see you," Aubree replied. "And there's something I'd like to ask you."
Ethel had someone put away the gifts Aubree brought, then took her hand and led her to sit in a quiet corner.
Bowen gazed at the orphanage, whose appearance had barely changed over the years, and a faint smile touched his lips. Looking back now, he still couldn't explain why he'd taken that particular path, the one that led him past this orphanage, where he first saw Aubree, her face lit up with a radiant smile.
Ethel was up there in age. After sitting down with Aubree, her gaze lingered on Bowen, a hint of curiosity in her eyes. In a warm, gentle tone, she asked, "Aubree, who is this young man?"
"You could say he's a friend of mine. His name's Bowen Turner," Aubree replied.
Ethel let out a thoughtful "Oh," as if a realization had just dawned on her. 'A Turner, huh?'
Of course, Bowen knew exactly what Ethel was getting at, but his face betrayed nothing. He remained as calm and composed as ever.
Aubree took out the two photos and handed them to Ethel. "Grandma Ethel," she asked carefully, "do you still remember when I was ten and you invited a photographer to take pictures of us? There was a strange woman who came that day. Do you remember anything about her?"
Ethel replied, "Oh yes, I remember that well. At that time, it wasn't me but the woman you mentioned who arranged for the photographer. She said it was a charity project and wanted to take your photos for media coverage to help you find your biological parents. She didn't give her name. Everyone just called her Ms. Diamonde."
Diamonde... Then there's no mistake,' Aubree thought bitterly.
Aubree produced another photo, a recent media shot of Alice, and handed it to Ethel. "Is this her?" she asked.
Ethel exclaimed, "Oh, yes! That's her!"
Aubree sneered inwardly. 'Helping them find their biological parents? How could Alice have the gall to say something like that?'
She clenched her fists tightly as she recounted the whole story to Ethel. Ethel's eyes widened in shock. "What? How could this be?"
Ms. Diamonde is Aubree's birth mother?' Ethel couldn't believe it.
Ronald had always been the one visiting the orphanage. Alice never once showed her face. Since Ethel never kept up with social media, she never realized that Ms. Diamonde from those years ago was Alice.
Ethel's heart ached as she listened to Aubree. She pulled Aubree into a comforting embrace and murmured, "My dear, you've been through so much. If you ever need anything, just let me know anytime."
Aubree felt a lump in her throat. 'Even the staff at the orphanage cared more about me than my so-called family ever did,' she thought bitterly.
"Okay," Aubree whispered. "I'll probably need your help to confirm it later."
They were deep in conversation when suddenly a voice called out from the doorway. "Bowen, what are you doing here?"