627.Chapter 627
“It’s a good thing you made the decision to leave and join the nunnery back then. If you’d stayed in the Duke’s estate, your heartless father would’ve ruined you beyond recognition.” Mary said this with a calm yet cutting tone.
Little did she know, her words perfectly mirrored Eliza’s tragic experiences in her past life.
Eliza lowered her gaze slightly, staying silent. ‘I need to hear more. I need to uncover the truth.‘
“Your brothers are either incredibly foolish or simply victims of your father’s cunning schemes. He knew I was watching, so he didn’t target you directly. Instead, he manipulated your brothers, turning them into tools to torment you for the sake of that illegitimate daughter of his.”
“And all of you are Caroline’s children–on one side, her daughter, and on the other, her four sons. He thought this would put me in a moral dilemma, unable to choose between the two. Hah, he underestimated me.”
Mary chuckled coldly, her sharp gaze cutting through the air like a blade.
She turned to Eliza. “You’ve met that boy, haven’t you? Surely you’ve noticed something about him–his appearance, perhaps?”
Eliza nodded. “He goes by the name ‘Rafe‘ now. His face… it resembles my father, no–it’s almost identical to Sophie’s.”
She paused mid–sentence, shaking her head. If her mentor was asking this, there had to be more to it than just a resemblance.
After all, a son looking like his father isn’t unusual. But if he also bears a striking resemblance to his father’s other illegitimate daughter, then something is definitely amiss.
“Are you saying Rafe and Sophie share the same mother?” Eliza asked, her voice tinged with doubt.
But the ages didn’t quite add up. Sophie was a few months older than Rafe.
Besides, Rafe himself had claimed they didn’t share the same mother.
Was Rafe lying, or was there another layer of secrets buried here?
“No, they don’t share the same mother. But they do look alike because their mothers were biological sisters.”
Mary’s revelation left Eliza momentarily stunned, before a bitter laugh escaped her lips.
“So my ‘dear father‘ really went that far, huh?” she said with a cold sneer.
Her fingers curled into a fist so tight that her nails bit into her palm, drawing blood–but she didn’t care. The warmth in her usually gentle eyes had been replaced by a frosty chill, her gaze filled with nothing but scorn.
“So, that’s how it all makes sense now,” Eliza murmured, her thoughts piecing everything together.
No wonder Rafe and Sophie look so much alike.
She couldn’t help but suspect that Rafe’s sudden appearance in Woteria, especially with the Malone family’s shady dealings with the other tribes, wasn’t just a coincidence. Someone must have orchestrated it.
“Rafe said his mother is dead. Do you think that’s true?” Eliza asked, her tone uncertain.
Mary sighed deeply. “I’ve seen a child strangled to death right in front of me come back to life. Do you really think it matters whether his mother was truly dead back then?”
Eliza nodded slightly, the reasoning settling in.
‘It doesn’t matter if she was dead before. What matters is whether she’s alive now,‘ Eliza thought, her suspicions growing stronger.
She had a gut feeling that the woman was still alive.
After all, if Winston Stonor could fake his illegitimate son’s death and bring him back, it wouldn’t be a stretch to think he might have hidden the boy’s mother somewhere too.
The bigger question was whether Rafe was aware of it.
‘If Rafe knows the truth and lied to me, then I’ll have to reconsider this partnership, Eliza decided, her expression hardening.
After leaving Mary, Eliza returned to her courtyard and enjoyed a restful night.
The next morning, she woke up before dawn, a Successfully unlocked! ples for morning prayers and scripture copying.
Once she finished, she noticed it was about time to set off.
