Their Mistake, Her Rise - Chapter 278: Chapter 278
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Gerald asked, "You think she's not our sister?"
"No. The DNA test confirmed she's my biological daughter. Someone must have tampered with her background records," Bruce cut straight to the point. With that, he unsealed the folder right in front of his sons.
The folder contained several documents and a handful of photographs.
Bruce put the documents aside for now and looked at the photos first. There was a little girl in the picture, just like the one they'd seen in the previous photos. That was Zoe as a child.
But the setting was nothing like the countryside. Instead, it looked like a slum abroad. Dozens of ragged foreign children filled the scene. The sight left all five brothers utterly stunned.
Bruce was equally shocked, but as a seasoned man who had weathered countless storms, he maintained far greater composure than his sons.
Bruce carefully pored over the newly gathered documents. The more he read, the more stunned he became. Even a seasoned veteran like him, a man weathered by countless storms, could no longer maintain his composure.
With a choked voice, he said, "God. I never imagined my daughter had endured such hardships. We've failed her so terribly."
"Dad, what do you mean? Show us the documents," Sean said urgently, immediately reaching for them.
Bruce heaved a sigh, guilt weighing heavily on him.
After reading through the documents, all five brothers fell into a heavy silence. Zoe was definitely no small-town girl. Her life story was so extraordinary, it could fill a bestselling novel.
The true reason for Zoe's disappearance remained a mystery. But there was something certain. She was trafficked overseas, and, being stateless, was forced to grow up in the slums.
However, the slums were no safe haven. For an orphan to grow up there, they had to do whatever it took, no matter how desperate or dangerous. That she survived at all was nothing short of a miracle.
Worst of all, Zoe had the misfortune of being caught in multiple wars. Just to survive, this mere child was forced to take up arms and fight grown men for scraps of food.
"No wonder she's covered in wounds, especially gunshot wounds," Herbert muttered.
"Yeah, I actually thought she'd done something disgraceful," Jacob admitted, his voice heavy with guilt. 'What a vile assumption that is,' he wondered.
Sean's eyes glistened with unshed tears. He said, voice thick with emotion, "I never imagined Zoe suffered so much out there. If she hadn't come home, would we ever have gone looking for her? Probably not, not in our whole lives."
Those words struck a deep chord in everyone present. Before Zoe chose to return, they had completely forgotten about their long-lost sister.
Just as Sean had said, if Zoe hadn't found her way home, no one in this family would have remembered to look for her.
With tears streaming down his face, Charlie choked out, "From now on, I swear I'll treat Zoe ten times better."
The others all nodded in solemn agreement, the air in the room growing thick with tension.
Sean slammed his fist against his thigh, his voice raw with anguish and fury. "Those monsters. How could they force starving children to take up arms just for a scrap of bread?"
Charlie said angrily, "Sean, it is disgustingly common overseas. Those bastards have zero humanity. They'll dangle food and supplies to force defenseless people, folks who've never even held a gun, straight into enemy fire as cannon fodder."
Charlie, having traveled abroad frequently, was all too familiar with these brutal realities.
Gerald nodded as well. During his training abroad, he'd also heard similar accounts from many of his foreign training partners.
Gerald added angrily, "I've heard less than one in ten survive. Those damn warmongers don't care if you're an adult or a child. As long as you can fight, you're just cannon fodder to them."
Charlie wiped his tears, his voice choked with emotion. "Zoe must've been so desperate and alone. She saw no other way out, and that's why she made that choice. Poor thing, what she's been through."
The five brothers were on the verge of breaking down in tears all over again.
Bruce cleared his throat, stepping up as the family head. "Alright, everyone, pull yourselves together. We need an emergency family meeting now."
"Dad, are you really going to interrogate Zoe? She's suffered enough. If she doesn't want to talk about it, let's just drop it. Let's pretend we never knew." Sean pleaded, hoping his father would let the matter go.
But Bruce shook his head. "I get what you're saying, but if we don't clarify her past, what if it brings trouble to the Evans family down the line? She's had blood on her hands since she was a child.
"We need to uncover the whole truth. Only then can we figure out how to protect her and make amends."
"No. The DNA test confirmed she's my biological daughter. Someone must have tampered with her background records," Bruce cut straight to the point. With that, he unsealed the folder right in front of his sons.
The folder contained several documents and a handful of photographs.
Bruce put the documents aside for now and looked at the photos first. There was a little girl in the picture, just like the one they'd seen in the previous photos. That was Zoe as a child.
But the setting was nothing like the countryside. Instead, it looked like a slum abroad. Dozens of ragged foreign children filled the scene. The sight left all five brothers utterly stunned.
Bruce was equally shocked, but as a seasoned man who had weathered countless storms, he maintained far greater composure than his sons.
Bruce carefully pored over the newly gathered documents. The more he read, the more stunned he became. Even a seasoned veteran like him, a man weathered by countless storms, could no longer maintain his composure.
With a choked voice, he said, "God. I never imagined my daughter had endured such hardships. We've failed her so terribly."
"Dad, what do you mean? Show us the documents," Sean said urgently, immediately reaching for them.
Bruce heaved a sigh, guilt weighing heavily on him.
After reading through the documents, all five brothers fell into a heavy silence. Zoe was definitely no small-town girl. Her life story was so extraordinary, it could fill a bestselling novel.
The true reason for Zoe's disappearance remained a mystery. But there was something certain. She was trafficked overseas, and, being stateless, was forced to grow up in the slums.
However, the slums were no safe haven. For an orphan to grow up there, they had to do whatever it took, no matter how desperate or dangerous. That she survived at all was nothing short of a miracle.
Worst of all, Zoe had the misfortune of being caught in multiple wars. Just to survive, this mere child was forced to take up arms and fight grown men for scraps of food.
"No wonder she's covered in wounds, especially gunshot wounds," Herbert muttered.
"Yeah, I actually thought she'd done something disgraceful," Jacob admitted, his voice heavy with guilt. 'What a vile assumption that is,' he wondered.
Sean's eyes glistened with unshed tears. He said, voice thick with emotion, "I never imagined Zoe suffered so much out there. If she hadn't come home, would we ever have gone looking for her? Probably not, not in our whole lives."
Those words struck a deep chord in everyone present. Before Zoe chose to return, they had completely forgotten about their long-lost sister.
Just as Sean had said, if Zoe hadn't found her way home, no one in this family would have remembered to look for her.
With tears streaming down his face, Charlie choked out, "From now on, I swear I'll treat Zoe ten times better."
The others all nodded in solemn agreement, the air in the room growing thick with tension.
Sean slammed his fist against his thigh, his voice raw with anguish and fury. "Those monsters. How could they force starving children to take up arms just for a scrap of bread?"
Charlie said angrily, "Sean, it is disgustingly common overseas. Those bastards have zero humanity. They'll dangle food and supplies to force defenseless people, folks who've never even held a gun, straight into enemy fire as cannon fodder."
Charlie, having traveled abroad frequently, was all too familiar with these brutal realities.
Gerald nodded as well. During his training abroad, he'd also heard similar accounts from many of his foreign training partners.
Gerald added angrily, "I've heard less than one in ten survive. Those damn warmongers don't care if you're an adult or a child. As long as you can fight, you're just cannon fodder to them."
Charlie wiped his tears, his voice choked with emotion. "Zoe must've been so desperate and alone. She saw no other way out, and that's why she made that choice. Poor thing, what she's been through."
The five brothers were on the verge of breaking down in tears all over again.
Bruce cleared his throat, stepping up as the family head. "Alright, everyone, pull yourselves together. We need an emergency family meeting now."
"Dad, are you really going to interrogate Zoe? She's suffered enough. If she doesn't want to talk about it, let's just drop it. Let's pretend we never knew." Sean pleaded, hoping his father would let the matter go.
But Bruce shook his head. "I get what you're saying, but if we don't clarify her past, what if it brings trouble to the Evans family down the line? She's had blood on her hands since she was a child.
"We need to uncover the whole truth. Only then can we figure out how to protect her and make amends."
End of Their Mistake, Her Rise Chapter 278. Continue reading Chapter 279 or return to Their Mistake, Her Rise book page.