Chapter 527:
Marcus also noticed Lucilla’s feet, his brows lifting. “She walked all the way down the mountain like that? That’s a long trek. She must’ve been traveling since last night.”
“Let her in,” Felix instructed with a wave.
The grip on Lucilla finally loosened, and she darted into the room. Her eyes immediately fell on the bandages wrapped around Rylie’s arm and leg, and her face twisted in anguish. She reached out, her fingertips brushing the dressing on Rylie’s arm. “Hurt…”
“Did you really come all this way just for me?” Rylie asked gently. After a brief pause, she added, “I’m not your daughter.”
From the first day they met, Lucilla’s treatment of her had been different. Rylie had never been able to explain it. Out of hundreds of students, Lucilla had never once called anyone else “sweetheart.” Only her.
Why?
Lucilla didn’t seem to understand the words, but her distress was clear. She fumbled in her pocket and pulled out two eggs along with a dented carton of milk, setting them by Rylie’s hand.
“Eat this,” Lucilla insisted, her voice trembling as she smoothed Rylie’s hair. “When you’re done, Mama will take you far away. Somewhere safe. You won’t be hurt again. You won’t die.”
A knot of unease tightened in Rylie’s chest. “I’m not your daughter.”
If Lucilla truly were her mother, the three men in the room would have reacted by now. Instead, they exchanged guarded glances, studying her erratic behavior to ensure she didn’t harm Rylie.
“Do you three know her?” Rylie asked, accepting the gesture. She bit into the egg that had long since gone cold before looking at her brothers for answers. Each one shook his head.
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Felix was the first to speak. “We’ve never met her before. But we weren’t with you for over ten years — anything could’ve happened. If she’s treating you like this, maybe you knew her once?”
Rylie searched her memory before shaking her head again. “I don’t think so. From the moment I can remember, the Kirk family was already raising me.”
“It’s unlikely anyway,” Deandre added. “If this woman is from Malvren, that’s far from Inewood. That’s where the Kirks found you, and the two cities aren’t even close.”
“Then we call and confirm,” Felix said.
In Eshea, every region had an institution established by the government responsible for collecting and compiling local population information. Felix dialed, and within minutes, the facts came back.
Lucilla was indeed from Malvren. Her mental health had deteriorated later in life. Years ago, she’d given birth to a daughter — but back then, Malvren was cut off by mountains, and travel in or out was difficult. Not long after she delivered, her newborn was sold for the equivalent of one thousand dollars.
The one who sold the child was her own husband.
By the time Lucilla discovered what had happened, she was already unraveling. When she still had enough clarity to search, she reported the crime to the local police. But surveillance in the area was incomplete, and the mountain passes offered endless hidden trails to smuggle a baby away. The authorities never found her child, though they logged the case.
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