Chapter 263 Spit the Money Out

Chapter 263 Spit the Money Out

Frederick became more and more frightened. All those trivial details he normally wouldn't pay attention to now came flooding back like a tide, frantically piecing themselves together in his mind.

His voice suddenly dropped, "Mom, think about it. There's always been rumors that Paul switched the babies to get revenge on his wife. But why would he want revenge on his own wife, and why did he specifically switch the Montgomery family's child?"

He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

"Unless... unless his wife was pregnant with Gilbert's child all along. Paul was cuckolded by Gilbert, worked like a slave for him, and had to raise someone else's kid. He wasn't getting revenge on his wife—he was getting revenge on the entire Montgomery family! So he switched away the Montgomery family's real daughter and left Gilbert's daughter with the Montgomery family! Doesn't that make perfect sense?"

Veronica gasped on the other end of the phone.

"And... Yvonne was with the Montgomery family for twenty years. Why did no one ever discover she wasn't their biological daughter? The Montgomery family isn't some ordinary household. If they really wanted to investigate, what couldn't they find out? But she lived peacefully as their young lady for twenty years. Why? Because she looked like them! She has the Montgomery family's blood running through her veins, of course she looks like them! She..."

He suddenly stopped in his tracks, an image flashing through his mind.

It was the first and only time he'd seen Catherine and Yvonne together.

The two women standing side by side—at the time, he'd only thought Catherine's presence and looks completely overshadowed Yvonne, and hadn't thought anything more of it.

But thinking back now, there was something indescribably similar about Yvonne and Catherine's face shapes, features, even the way they stood.

"If that's the case, then Yvonne is Catherine's cousin. Even if Catherine doesn't like Yvonne, we kidnapped Catherine's cousin, tricked her, locked her in a basement... What do you think Catherine will do to us? What do you think Leonard will do to us?"

No wonder...

No wonder even though Yvonne made such a huge mistake, the Montgomery family wouldn't kick her out—they just kept her confined, nothing more. It was because of this reason.

But they were stupid enough to think the Montgomery family was doing it for their reputation.

Veronica on the other end of the phone was completely stunned.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say "calm down, don't scare yourself," but the words stuck in her throat.

Because she realized she couldn't come up with any counterargument.

What if? What if it was true?

Even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, the Aldridge family couldn't bear the consequences.

What was the Aldridge family's current situation? The company was on the verge of bankruptcy, old Mr. Aldridge was lying half-dead in the ICU, and their only hope was this money they'd scammed from Yvonne.

But if Yvonne really was of Montgomery family blood, then this money wasn't a lifeline—it was a death sentence!

"So... what do we do now?" Veronica's voice finally took on a tremor.

"Frederick, what should we do?"

Frederick was furious and without thinking, screamed into the phone, "How should I know what to do! Who told me to get close to Yvonne in the first place? Who said if I could win her over, the Aldridge family would be saved? Mom, this whole plan was your idea from start to finish! You told me to go to that villa to keep her company, sweet-talk her, get her money! I said I didn't want to go to that godforsaken place with no signal, but you made me go! I said that rich widow would be more reliable, but you said I couldn't win over the widow! Now look—we got the money, we kidnapped her, but you kidnapped Gilbert's daughter! Gilbert's daughter! You tell me what to do!"

Veronica's face turned ashen at Frederick's barrage of accusations, her voice rising an octave, "What are you yelling at me for! I told you to get close to her and scam some money, but did I tell you to kidnap her? Did I tell you to turn on her and lock her in a basement? Did I tell you to call her stupid to her face? You're the one who went too far, and now you're blaming me?"

Frederick was struck speechless.

At the time, he'd been so intoxicated by that deposit notification, thinking that getting Yvonne's money meant he'd secured his ticket to a comeback. He never thought about leaving himself an escape route.

Now the money was still in the account, but he didn't dare spend it.

"What's the point of talking about this now?" He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

"You need to find someone to dig around—did Gilbert actually have a daughter back then? What really happened with that story about the butler switching babies? Is what Yvonne said true or not? We need to find out as soon as possible!"

He paused, his voice suddenly dropping very low.

"Also, she let something slip once before, saying she was the real daughter. I thought she was bragging, competing with Catherine. But what if... she was serious?"

Veronica gasped and, no longer bothering to scold Frederick, immediately agreed with a trembling voice.

"Okay... I got it!"

The call ended. Frederick clenched his fists.

Please don't let it be...

Please don't let it be true!

Veronica's return call came faster than expected.

Frederick had been restlessly waiting in his office for less than forty minutes when his phone screen lit up.

He answered instantly, his first words being, "Well? Did you find anything out?"

On the other end, Veronica's voice carried several degrees more panic than before, "I didn't get too many specifics. The Montgomery family has this matter locked down tight—not a whisper has gotten out. But I found out something else. Just a few days after Catherine discovered it was the butler who switched the babies and sent him to prison, Catherine went to the nursing home overnight and brought Gilbert out. By my count, Gilbert has been back with the Montgomery family for two months now, and Elizabeth is personally taking care of him."

Frederick's hand holding the phone froze in mid-air.

The butler was arrested, and Gilbert was brought back to the Montgomery family right after.

This wasn't some sudden remembrance that they had a brother living outside who should be brought back to live out his golden years.

This was clearly bringing him back overnight to reunite with his daughter!

Yvonne had been locked up in Tranquil Mind Villa for so long. He'd originally thought the Montgomery family had truly given up on her, but if they'd really given up on her, how could they bring back her biological father at such a critical moment?

It wasn't abandonment—it was sending her away to reflect.

As long as she finished reflecting, sooner or later she'd be brought back to be the Montgomery family's young lady.

And they were stupid enough not to understand these twists and turns, and made their move.

Frederick spoke with a trembling voice, "Mom... why don't we return the money and let her go? Before the Montgomery family comes after us, there's still time..."

"No way!" Veronica's voice suddenly shot up.