Chapter 282 She Wasn’t My Daughter
If their guess were right, that necklace had probably been swiped from Caroline’s place.
From the way she acted, she hadn’t even noticed it was gone yet.
And she really hadn’t. Her head was spinning with worry over Maia, so even if she had realized, she wouldn’t have had the time or energy to deal with it.
Even after getting Blake involved, she didn’t stop searching on her own.
An hour later, her phone rang–it was Blake. “She’s been located…” he said.
Caroline’s heart jumped. She interrupted, unable to wait another second. “Seriously? Where is she?”
There was a pause before Blake answered in a low voice, “A drone found her in a cave up in Mount Ashford. They’re still working on getting her out.”
Hearing that made Caroline’s chest tighten. She instantly thought of Ruth. It had to be her. Ruth must’ve dragged Maia into that mountain.
That area was so far out, and people said there were wild animals wandering around–boars, dogs. Ruth had practically left the girl to die.
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Saving Maia was all that mattered now. As for Ruth … Caroline would deal with her later.
She was about to say she’d head there right away, but Blake cut in, “You should brace yourself first.”
He understood how much Maia meant to her. She was the only real friend she had.
Caroline’s chest clenched. “What … what do you mean?” she asked, dreading the answer.
Blake replied, “The drone didn’t pick up any signs of life.”
Caroline froze. Her brain refused to believe what she just heard. “No way… That drone must be wrong.”
She ended the call and headed straight for Mount Ashford, letting Alaina know what was going on on the way there.
She had just reached the bottom of the mountain when Alaina arrived too.
The two of them climbed up together, only to see a group gathered at the top.
Caroline guessed they were part of the search team.
They rushed over–and when they got close, they finally saw her. Maia was on the ground, her body torn and bloody. It was obvious she’d been attacked by animals.
Alaina broke down the moment she saw her. She dropped to the ground in tears. “My poor baby… we didn’t even get to be together again. And now she’s gone!”
She’d planned to make things right with her poor daughter once the DNA results came in—but now, that chance was gone for good.
Why did life have to be this cruel?
Chapter 282 She Wasn’t My Daughter
Caroline stood there in silence, tears pouring down her face.
48 Pearls
Maia had just been on the verge of coming home to the Somertons, and now this.
Even though Ruth was clearly the one to blame, Caroline felt guilt cating at her too.
If she hadn’t walked away back then, Ruth might not have gotten the chance to take Maia.
She clenched her fists.
Ruth, you’re not getting away with this.
Caroline pulled out her phone and called the police. But without solid proof, there wasn’t much they could do. After looking into it, they couldn’t find any evidence that Ruth had taken Maia to the mountain.
Judging from the state of Maia’s body, she had definitely been killed by wild animals.
Caroline knew in her heart that Ruth was the reason Maia was on her. That helplessness was unbearable.
dead–but there was no way to legally pin it
What made it worse was Ruth didn’t even care about planning a funeral.
Caroline showed up at her place and confronted her right at the door. “Ruth, forget whether or not you meant to kill her. You always said Maia was your daughter–so why don’t you care now that she’s gone? Not even a funeral? How can you be this heartless?”
Ruth shot back with a cold laugh. “I only ever called her my daughter because she was useful. Now she’s dead, so what good is she? And you think I’m gonna waste money on a funeral for her? Keep dreaming.”
Caroline was disgusted. She bit back her rage and said, “With a heart as cold as yours, aren’t you scared of karma?”
Ruth rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. If you care so much, you give her a funeral.”
The girl hadn’t handed over any money while she was alive, and now people thought she should shell out for the funeral. What kind of fool would do that?
She didn’t give her money while she was alive–why should she pay now that she’s dead?
Ruth thought it served her right.
Taking Maia to the mountain had just been meant as a scare tactic–to make her more obedient by leaving her hungry for a bit.
She never expected her to actually die.
But now she was gone, and Ruth didn’t feel a thing.
At least she still had the 500,000 from selling that necklace. That would last her a while.
Caroline realized arguing with someone like Ruth was a waste of time, so she turned around and left.
Wren’s eyes were full of tears. “She was your biological daughter… why won’t you give her even a small funeral?”
Ruth just smiled like it was no big deal. “You’ve got it all wrong, Mom,” she said. “That girl was never my
daughter. Helen is.”
