Chapter 482

“This can’t be true! Victoria would never write this! There must be some error… Look into it immediately!”

“But… I’ve already verified the handwriting. It’s unmistakably Victoria’s. The document even carries her fingerprints,” the attorney explained helplessly.

What more evidence could they possibly need?

Adrian entered at that precise moment. “There’s no need for further investigation. Isabella is your biological daughter. Years ago, Victoria’s birth mother and Eleanor gave birth in the same hospital. Her mother was dying after delivering Victoria. To secure a better future for her child, that woman secretly switched the babies. She took the true heiress, Isabella, and abandoned her in a trash bin. That’s how Victoria became the Montgomery heiress. This is why your heart ached when you found the baby in the bin. This is why you always treated that foundling better than Victoria.”

Eleanor felt as if struck by lightning. Her pupils dilated in shock.

It was true—her heart had wrenched at the sight of little Isabella in that bin. She had always favored the child she rescued over Victoria. But was that really enough to believe Isabella was her actual daughter?

It sounded absurd.

Everyone in the hospital room was stunned into silence.

Isabella—Eleanor’s real daughter? Victoria was just a swapped imposter? It was too dramatic to believe. It felt like a plot from a soap opera.

Adrian handed over a DNA report. “The day after you exiled Isabella five years ago, she asked me to collect strands of your hair for a DNA test outside Westchester. She tried calling everyone to come home, but all her calls were blocked.

“This new DNA test was conducted yesterday using Isabella and Benjamin’s blood. She always intended to show you, but never got the chance.”

Eleanor, Richard, Theodore, and the others crowded around to read the report. The results were clear: Isabella was undeniably the true Montgomery heiress. She and Benjamin shared the same mother.

The first test might have been done at a hospital outside Westchester, but Grace Memorial was owned by the Blackwood corporation. No matter how powerful Isabella was, she could never have bribed Blackwood staff…

“So… Isabella is actually my cousin?” Sophia murmured, still dazed.

“It does make sense, though,” Gregory added. “Victoria ran off with the money because she knew she wasn’t a real Montgomery. She wanted to destroy the entire family.”

Adrian laughed mockingly. “Oh, it’s much worse than that. Victoria discovered the truth when she was eight. First, she manipulated Benjamin and Isabella, rendering them useless. She planned to seize every share of the family fortune. Five years ago, during Isabella’s engagement party, she overheard Victoria conspiring with Alexander. That’s why they pushed her down the stairs! Victoria has been a demon lurking in the shadows since she was eight, plotting against all of you. And you treated her like royalty! How utterly hilarious.”

His scornful words echoed through the room.

Eleanor’s body jolted violently. Overwhelmed, her blood pressure spiked. She collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

Richard quickly lifted her onto an empty bed. The room descended into chaos again.

Theodore trembled, urgently gesturing to Adrian. “Hurry, find Isabella… Bring her back…!”

“It’s too late, Father,” Richard muttered, his voice thick with regret. Each word felt like a punch to his gut.