Chapter 94
If yesterday was an accident, then this woman showing up at the manor gate again today definitely couldn't be an accident.
I looked at her with a somewhat serious expression and asked, "Who exactly are you? What are you trying to do, lurking around here?"
Facing my questioning, the woman seemed to gather her courage and stepped forward, leaning close to me and asking, "Are you Sonya?"
I looked at her in surprise, then became even more alert.
This woman actually knew my name, which meant she had already looked into me beforehand.
I took a step back, creating a safe distance between us, and said in a low voice, "I am Sonya, but I don't think I know you."
Tears welled up in the woman's eyes when she saw me. She seemed a bit excited and took another step forward.
I stepped back again and sternly warned her, "Don't come any closer. If you take another step forward, I'll have to take action against you!"
Hearing this, surprise flashed in the woman's eyes, followed by sadness.
Finally, she looked at me and said quietly, "Sonya, I'm your aunt."
Aunt?
My mind immediately recalled the words written on the back of that photo Luca had sent me—she was my father's sister.
I opened my mouth and stared at her, my eyes full of surprise and doubt.
I wasn't a fool. I couldn't just believe anyone who claimed to be my aunt.
I even suspected she might have been sent by Luca to get more money from me.
Seeing my guarded expression, she gave a somewhat self-mocking smile. "I know you have a special status now, and you probably don't want to meet with poor relatives like us."
Seeing her look so dejected, my heart inexplicably ached.
I unconsciously took a step forward. "Are you really my aunt? Are you my father's sister?"
Looking at me, hope lit up in her eyes.
She nodded repeatedly and pulled out her ID card, handing it to me. "Yes, Sonya, my name is Camilla. I'm your father's older sister."
I looked at the name on the ID card, then examined Camilla standing before me.
Honestly, looking carefully, she did share some resemblance with me. Although I looked more like my mother overall, I could still see traces of my father's features in my eyes and brows.
I put down the ID card and handed it back to her. "Why are you looking for me now?"
I don't know if it was because of preconceived notions, but since Luca had mentioned this aunt of mine first, I remained somewhat wary of her.
Camilla looked at me with some hesitation and said, "Are you doing well now?"
I nodded, raised my hand to point at the manor beside her, and said, "I live in there now. I'm the lady of this place. I'm doing pretty well."
Camilla showed a happy smile. She reached out and gently held my hand.
A warm feeling I'd never experienced before surged up from my heart.
Was this the power of family?
Even though I'd never met Camilla before, I now felt incredibly close to her.
"Knowing you're doing well puts my mind at ease. I came to give you something."
As she spoke, she pulled out a somewhat blackened, old wooden box from her large bag.
She opened the box, and inside was actually a stack of money, along with a photo wrapped in white paper and a picture frame.
In the frame was actually my mother and a man who looked unfamiliar to me, but gave me an incredibly familiar feeling.
I pointed at the man in the photo and said, "This is my father?"
Camilla nodded. When she looked in the direction I was pointing, some nostalgia and sadness showed in her eyes. "My brother was a very brave man. He was shot and killed trying to help an old woman who was being robbed."
My mind was a bit confused.
Throughout my life, I'd heard many different versions of how my father left. But most of them were that my father suddenly disappeared without reason, or that he left with another woman, abandoning my mother and not wanting her anymore, or some even said I had no father.
I found this hard to accept and looked away, saying to Camilla, "How can I believe you?"
Urgency crept into Camilla's voice. "Medical technology is so advanced now. We can totally do a DNA test. At least that can prove I'm your aunt and that we're blood relatives."
Her words tempted me, but I was still cautious. "Why are you suddenly looking for me now, after I married Kane?"
Hearing this, Camilla's expression became somewhat awkward.
She nervously fidgeted with her fingers, then said as if making up her mind, "I saw the news of your marriage to Mr. Moretti in the newspaper. Those papers always dig up gossip and uncover your backstory. Seeing the blurry profile of your mother in the photo, I was certain you were my brother Robert's daughter."
So my father's name was Robert?
A trace of self-mockery flashed in my eyes. Only now did I learn what my father's name was.
But I still couldn't completely trust her. If my father really died saving someone, why had my mother never mentioned it?
After all, dying while saving someone could strictly speaking be considered a heroic act.
Given my mother's personality, she definitely wouldn't have kept it hidden until now.
"Why did it take so long after father left to come find me? Didn't you think about looking for me before?" I asked Camilla bluntly.
Camilla sighed, resentment showing in her eyes as she explained, "I tried to find you and your mother before, but Luca always blocked me. He said that your mother was his wife now, and you two were both his property. If I dared to come looking for you, he would definitely beat you both to death."
That did sound like something Luca would do.
I nodded and looked at Camilla. "Then why didn't you come find me privately? I definitely wouldn't have told him."
Camilla looked at me and reached out her hand, seeming to want to touch my face.
I stepped back warily, once again creating distance between us.
Camilla knew that a few words couldn't dispel the doubt in my heart, so she pulled out remittance receipts from all these years. "Look, these are all the money I sent to Luca, hoping he would treat you, mother, and daughter better. Unfortunately, gamblers can't be trusted."
Those receipts clearly showed that starting from when I was about eight years old, she had been continuously sending money to Luca.
Sometimes more, sometimes less, but almost every month.
I felt a bit choked up for a moment, but at the same time, I understood.
The reason Luca loved gambling and always lost money but always had money to go to the casino, besides my mother's support and my wages, there was also the remittances from this woman named Camilla, my aunt.
All three of us women had been supporting that vicious man.
My hands couldn't help but tremble. In places I didn't know about, my aunt, who shared my blood, had been silently enduring.
She had been helping me in secret, but I knew nothing about it.
I blinked, and tears fell.
I didn't expect that after all this time, I was still such a crybaby. How pathetic.
I looked at Camilla and said, "Let's go inside and talk."
I took the initiative to invite her into the manor, but Camilla looked very uncomfortable.
She clutched the hem of her cheap clothes, hesitating as she said, "I just wanted to come see you and give you the things your father left behind. I'd better not go in."
I rarely took charge as I pulled Camilla's hand and said to her seriously, "I told you, I'm the lady of this manor now. I can bring in whoever I want."