Chapter 164: Twins
Chapter 164: Chapter 164: Twins
Master Foster shot to his feet in shock. Madam Foster clutched her chest, speechless. The emotional rollercoaster of sorrow and joy was too much for the old couple to bear.
After his initial astonishment, Raphael Foster’s eyes began to gleam.
"What on earth is going on? Didn’t you just say that Simon was already..."
Dennis Donovan was also getting restless. "That’s right, Serena, what is all this? Stop keeping us in suspense. Your Grandpa Foster and Wyatt are getting on in years; they can’t handle this kind of emotional whiplash."
Aurora Donovan abandoned her dessert, her eyes also fixed intently on her younger sister. ’This trip was definitely worth it. Following this girl always leads to some fresh, juicy gossip.’
Facing everyone’s intense stares, Arabella Donovan scratched her cheek awkwardly. "The child who was taken by human traffickers has indeed passed away. But from what I see in your Palaces of Children, you two should have another direct blood relative still living in this world."
"Grandpa Foster, the nasolabial folds on your face run straight down, but there’s another wrinkle running parallel to them. The same goes for you, Wyatt. This indicates that your living blood relative is of your grandchildren’s generation. Furthermore, he is doing well in all aspects of his life, and his prospects are on an upward trend. Your karmic bond with him is about to intersect. If you can find him, his future destiny will complement your own, tying you closely together."
Hearing Arabella Donovan’s confident words, the members of the Foster Family began to waver.
Raphael Foster instinctively turned to his parents for confirmation. "Dad, Mom, what’s going on? Did my brother really have another child? But that can’t be right. He and my sister-in-law were so in love, it makes no sense..."
Raphael still couldn’t bring himself to believe that his brother, who had been like a father to him, was a scumbag who would betray his family and wife, leaving behind an illegitimate child!
"This..." Master Foster was equally unwilling to believe it, knitting his brows. "Your brother would never do something like that."
"Then what’s this about another child?"
The Foster Family turned to look at Arabella Donovan again. Arabella, who was poking a cherry tomato with her chopsticks, paused. "Are you sure your brother and sister-in-law only had one child?"
"That’s right. They really only had one child, Simon."
"Wait, could it be..."
Raphael Foster and Madam Foster spoke at the same time. The father and son paused, then looked at the old woman in surprise.
"Mom, did you remember something?"
"But that’s impossible." Madam Foster denied it to herself before she could even explain, which made Master Foster pace anxiously.
"What’s impossible? Just say what you’re thinking!"
"Have you all forgotten? Yiyi was originally pregnant with twins, though only one was born in the end."
Master Foster froze, his expression complicated.
Dennis Donovan, however, immediately seized on the key point. "Your daughter-in-law was pregnant with twins, so how did only one end up being born?"
Recalling the events of that year, Master Foster sighed. "Yiyi was indeed pregnant with twins back then. Unfortunately... unfortunately, she had an accident when she was out at eight months. The babies were born prematurely. Only one of the two survived. The other... was stillborn."
Because of this, Master Foster’s daughter-in-law was heartbroken and blamed herself, believing that if she hadn’t gone out that day, the other baby would have been fine.
Later, after Simon was abducted and her husband died in a car crash, his daughter-in-law fell into a deep depression and passed away. It was likely that the weight of this old tragedy had been festering in her heart, and the subsequent events were simply the last straw that broke the camel’s back.
Hearing the old couple bring this up, Raphael Foster snapped out of his daze and finally put the pieces together.
"That’s right. My sister-in-law was devastated for a long time. My brother was afraid it would damage her health, so he told us not to mention the baby who didn’t make it in front of her."
After that, everyone kept silent about the child. As time went on, they all gradually forgot about the baby who had briefly come into this world.
As Raphael Foster finished speaking, he had a sudden realization and looked at Arabella Donovan in astonishment. "You’re not trying to say that the baby... he didn’t die? How is that possible? We were all waiting outside the delivery room. We saw the babies being born with our own eyes..."
Before Raphael Foster could finish, Arabella Donovan cut him off. "But did you ever see the deceased infant with your own eyes?"
At these words, the expressions on everyone’s faces changed.
Dennis Donovan was also surprised. "None of you saw the baby’s..."
Master Foster looked embarrassed. "We were all so devastated by the sudden terrible news. My son, especially, focused all his attention on his wife and the surviving child."
Raphael also added, "Mom was in shock, too. She nearly fainted, so Dad had to take care of her."
So, when it came down to it, the only one who had the opportunity to see the stillborn baby was Raphael. But he was only a boy of about ten at the time and had absolutely no experience handling such matters.
Besides, things were different over twenty years ago. For sanitation reasons, families were generally not allowed to take a stillborn infant home for private arrangements. Having missed that fleeting chance, they never had another opportunity to see the child. Naturally, it never occurred to them that someone had pulled a switch right under their noses and that the baby... hadn’t died at all!
Raphael slammed his hand on the table, furious. "Damn it! Who would do such a thing!"
"Who else but those animals? Raphael, contact your Mr. Aldridge right away. Have him thoroughly investigate what happened at the hospital back then. No matter what, they owe us an explanation for this!" Master Foster’s face was as black as thunder. He never imagined his family had been plotted against so long ago!
"What’s the use of saying all that?" Madam Foster shot her husband a fierce glare. "The most important thing right now is to find that child—my precious grandson!"
"Right, right, we have to find the child first."
The Foster Family’s gazes once again focused on Arabella Donovan. Arabella gave an awkward smile and said after a moment’s thought, "I can try, but there’s no guarantee it will work."
"Please, just try. Regardless of the outcome, the Foster Family will be indebted to you."
"When was the other child abducted?"
"When he was five years old."
"Five years old. Do you have a photo of him from that time?"
"Yes, yes, we do." Madam Foster immediately took out her wallet. In the topmost card slot was a photo of her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson.
"Will this one do?"
"Yes. Twins have a much stronger blood connection and greater resemblance than ordinary siblings. I’ll try to extrapolate what he looks like now by merging the appearances of his twin brother and his biological parents. Please wait a moment."
The members of the Foster Family stared wide-eyed, waiting with bated breath.
Arabella Donovan, meanwhile, focused intently on the three people in the photo for a long while. She then closed her eyes as a torrent of fragmented images flooded her mind, piecing together the information she sought bit by bit.
After about thirty seconds, a strangely familiar face finally appeared in Arabella’s mind, causing her eyes to fly open in shock.
’It’s actually... him!’