The test results were now in his hands, but Ronald suddenly hesitated to look. He had built his empire from scratch, and he had never encountered failure.


    While Alice’s social standing had yed a part in their rtionship, the truth was, after all these years, he had remained faithful to her. It would be a lie to im there was no affection between them.


    He reflected on himself. As a person and as a father, he had fallen short in many ways. But as a husband, he had a clear


    conscience.


    Ronald looked at Bryan and said, “Do you know what Aubree said?” Bryan keenly noticed the subtle shift in the way his father referred to Aubree.


    Ronald told Bryan everything Aubree had revealed. Bryan was stunned. “No way! That can’t be true!” he blurted out.


    “So, Dad, you did the DNA test to see if Carmen is Mom’s illegitimate daughter?” Bryan asked.


    Ronald didn’t intend to keep this from Bryan. In fact, he wanted Bryan to investigate why Alice had done all this.


    “Let’s see the results,” Ronald said and flipped open the test report in his hand. As his gazended on the veryst line, the heavy weight that had been pressing on his heart finally lifted. Alice wasn’t Carmen’s biological mother.


    ‘No matter what other reasons may be behind all this, at least the oue is still a good one, Ronald thought.


    Ronald let out a long sigh of relief and said, “Since that’s not the case, it’s a good oue.”


    ‘At least she didn’t cheat on me, and I didn’t dote on my wife’s illegitimate daughter and raise her for over ten years, he thought.


    “Bryan, please spend some time looking into why your mom has been treating Aubree this way.”


    “I know,” Bryan said. ‘Even if you didn’t mention, I’ll look into it,’ he thought.


    Andtely, he kept thinking about the time when Aubree was abducted by human traffickers. After all these years, he thought he had mostly forgotten about it, but looking back now, that memory still haunted him.


    The indelible memory also made Bryan sense that something was off.


    When the traffickers abducted Aubree, he wasn’t exactly a child anymore, but he still didn’t have the strength to fight back. He was with Aubree at the time. The traffickers had snatched her right out of his hands by force.


    But if they were human traffickers, why didn’t they take me away too? It was as if they were specifically targeting Aubree,’ Bryan thought.


    A thoughtful look crossed Bryan’s face. ‘The traffickers back then have not been


    must find them, Bryan thought.


    After receiving the results, Ronald had no intention of speaking with Alice any further. She clearly won’t reveal anything; there’s no point. I might as well investigate it on my own and wait until I have something concrete,’ Ronald thought.


    Carmen didn’t dare stay in the hospital any longer. The following day, she was discharged and returned to the Wilson family residence. The first thing she did was discuss the marriage alliance with Ronald.


    “Dad,” her voice trembled as she spoke. Seeing Ronald not show any sign of displeasure, she mustered her courage and


    continued.


    “Dad, about the marriage alliance that you mentioned, I thought it through. It’s the right thing to do. The family has raved me for so many years. I should at least be of some value.”


    Ronald stared at her coldly as if she were a stranger.


    Carmen’s heart tightened, but she continued, “Ordinary people wouldn’t bring much benefit to the Wilson family at mas expelled from school, but all those years I spent studying art weren’t for nothing.


    “You can transfer me to another school so I can still take the college entrance exam. Alvin is going to apply to Katinil Art School. Even if I can’t get into Rithol Art School, I can still get into a nearby school, right?


    “I will do whatever it takes to secure a marriage alliance between the Wilson and Turner families?


    Ronald’s eyes flickered. What he cared about wasn’t the alliance between the two families, but if Carmen seeded in assed grant him another way to get closer to Aubree.


    This is yourst chance,” Ronald said. He then called his assistant to arrange Carmen’s school transfer.


    There was one more thing. Back then, to appease Carmen, he had given her a portion of Wilson Group’s shares and real estate that rightfully belonged to Aubree. ‘I must find a way to get them back, Ronald thought to himself.


    Back then. Aubree was still a minor. The shares and properties hadn’t been fully transferred to her yet, so Ronald could easily reassign them as he pleased.


    But now, since everything was legally registered under Carmen’s name, getting them back will require some serious maneuvering, Ronald thought.