Winning Her Heart back (Emelie and William) novel Chapter 858

"I started by looking for photos of the Pierce family and the Graham family, which are pictures of two families of four, but I couldn't find a single photo. That was fine, as it could be chalked up to them being lost over time.

"Then, I tried to track down the former household staff of the Pierce family and the Graham family, hoping that they could identify Mrs. Filo from a photo. But I couldn't find a single one of them either.

"That's where things got really strange. There were at least 20 household staff between the two families. How could they all disappear like that?"

Emelie hummed in acknowledgment, switching to a new plate as she mechanically resumed peeling the sweet potatoes.

"So, I dug deeper. Some of those household staff had passed away naturally, and some had left the family homes to follow their children elsewhere. As for the rest... someone had bought them houses, found them jobs, and given them money to leave their original residences."

Lyle's voice grew serious. "They were forced to leave their homes so that no one could find them."

Emelie hummed again. It was a sound of agreement and acknowledgment that she was listening.

"I kept searching and finally found two former household staff of the Pierce family. When they saw Mrs. Filo's photo, one said that she looked just like Mrs. Pierce, while the other said that she was Mrs. Pierce. They also described Mrs. Pierce as lively, cheerful, and generous. These are traits that match Mrs. Filo."

Lyle licked his lips. "So, I believe that Mrs. Filo is the same Mrs. Pierce who was said to have jumped into a river in despair after her husband was sentenced to death and her son was kidnapped by human traffickers."

In other words, she was Emelie's biological mother.

Emelie lowered her head, her face expressionless.

She hadn't done a DNA test with Wesley because that would have been too offensive and would have humiliated the bond they had built over the past ten years. Besides, she couldn't bear the cold, hard facts laid out in black and white.

This seemed to show that her feelings were not as calm as she appeared.

"Based on the testimonies of the household staff from both families, I think the story from back then pieces together like this..." Lyle said.

"Mrs. Pierce didn't jump into the river, and she didn't die. She faked her death and then went to the Graham family before switching identities with Hannah.

"After that, Norman fired all the household staff because they had seen the real Hannah. He then hired new ones. The new staff, having never met the real Hannah, believed that the woman calling herself Hannah was the real one.

"Mrs. Pierce did all of this to escape being silenced by the Davis, Swanson, Collins, and Middleton families. Ten years later, the woman who had become Hannah divorced Norman, returned to the Filo family in Faldoria, and became the Mrs. Filo we know today.

"So, if we now know that Mrs. Filo is Mrs. Pierce, then what about Wesley?"