Chapter 505

Zoe felt like the ground was spinning beneath her feet. The shocking revelation nearly buckled her knees, and she stumbled back a step.

“The child you brought back is a mirror image of Yuna! You spun things perfectly, claiming you had twins. Am I wrong?”

As Frederick laid bare the deeds of twenty-five years ago without any reservation, Zoe was struck speechless, her eyes wide with a mix of guilt and astonishment.

How could she have known that Frederick had once sought out Thelma?

What was she to do now?

Every eye in the room was on her, and Hackett’s gaze was so sharp, she felt it could cut right through her.

Damn it all! She was one crucial step away from sending Yuna off to be the darling heiress of the Fitzgeralds!

With Yuna, the Lockwoods would bask in endless luxury and prestige! They wouldn’t have to live at the mercy of Frederick’s whims anymore!

No, she had to think fast, think of something else!

Backed into a corner, Zoe’s mind raced, and she spouted a lie effortlessly, “Mr. Winston! Indeed, the child we brought back was Yuna, not Marguerite! Since Yuna was the precious daughter of the Fitzgeralds, we treated her with the utmost care, raising her as our own!

Our affection for her surpassed even that for Marguerite, so everyone naturally assumed Yuna was our flesh and blood, and Marguerite the adopted one. But in order for Yuna to grow up well, we let others speak as they wished. We didn’t want a single scratch on her upbringing, feeling already indebted to the Fitzgeralds, we couldn’t bear to shortchange their child!”

At this, Marguerite’s face was streaked with tears, evidently swayed by Zoe’s narrative.

All the slights, insults, cold shoulders, and Zoe’s venomous words from the past seemed to have found their reasons.

Teresa, seeing her mommy so distraught, frantically dabbed at her tears.

If only she had known the damage her portrait would cause, she never would have agreed to help her godfather with this scheme!

Oh, it was all her fault!

Zoe’s story might fool everyone else, but not Frederick.

He knew the Lockwoods too well after all these years. What kind of people they were, he knew better than anyone!

Truth be told, he didn’t really care whose child Marguerite was.

Yet, watching her quietly shedding tears, with that expression of pain and unspoken perseverance, it stirred an ache in his heart.

In the shadows, his warm hand tightly clasped Marguerite’s smaller one, giving her strength while he bluntly challenged Zoe, “Once you claimed Marguerite was a street beggar, then your adopted daughter, and now you say she’s your own flesh and blood. What will it be next time?”

Zoe stood frozen.

She didn’t know how much truth Frederick was privy to, and her words certainly wouldn’t convince him.

But it didn’t matter if Frederick believed her or not; she only needed to convince Hackett.

She fell to her knees before Hackett again, cautiously pointing to the paternity test report in Hackett’s hands.

Though her face was turned toward Frederick, her words were meant for Hackett’s ears.

“Mr. Winston, there’s no denying, this mess is our fault! But everything we did was to protect Yuna better.

If Mr. Winston doesn’t believe it, just look at the paternity test! It’s all there in black and white!

You can see for yourself, or even inquire at the blood lab. The results are nationally registered, there’s no faking it!”