Not only the deputy... even Xu Xiusen never expected that, more than 20 years later, he and his mother-in-law would have a heart-to-heart talk in the emergency room of the hospital.

Now that things have come to this, Xu Xiusen has no need to hide the truth from Xu Moran.

However, when he mentioned that he had only recently learned that Xu Moran was his biological daughter, he choked up several times and his eyes reddened many times, showing how strong his guilt was.

The deputy's eyes were also red; if she weren't in front of Xu Xiusen, she probably would have already shed tears.

After recounting everything he knew, Xu Xiusen countered with a question to his mother, "Mom, all these years, haven't you ever doubted that you picked up the wrong person back then?"

The deputy... sighed deeply, "How could I not have had my doubts? A person's character is innate. Yuanyuan, from childhood to adulthood, has never resembled you or Huiwen in any way. I even saw it with my own eyes..."

The deputy didn't continue speaking, but instead let out a longer sigh.

Xu Xiusen did not press the deputy for details about what she had seen with her own eyes. Now that the deputy was willing to believe that Xu Moran was her biological granddaughter, he no longer needed to know about other people's affairs.

The deputy... didn't say it aloud, but a memory of something that happened when Zhang Yuanyuan was seven or eight years old flashed through his mind.

She lived in an area populated by officials of similar rank. That day, she returned home early and, as soon as she got out of the car, she saw Zhang Yuanyuan hitting the little boy next door on the head with a stone.

The little boy, with a bloody head, went back to find the adults. When the two sides confronted each other, Zhang Yuanyuan claimed that the little boy had accidentally bumped into himself after hitting her.

In other words, it was the little boy who slandered her.

The deputy was shocked to hear that Zhang Yuanyuan, at such a young age, was lying through her teeth.

Finally, when Zhang Yuanyuan tearfully mentioned Huiwen's name, she softened and, against her conscience, protected Zhang Yuanyuan.

Because of her high official position, her neighbor beat her child severely in front of her and then left.

After that incident, no matter how many children were in the compound, none of them wanted to play with Zhang Yuanyuan.

Deliberately isolated by the children, Zhang Yuanyuan didn't look for personal reasons or think about how to play with them. Instead, she ordered her assistant to intimidate the children's parents.

Zhang Yuanyuan was only so young back then, yet she was already so snobbish and treacherous.

The deputy kept comforting herself, saying that this was the result of Zhang Yuanyuan living in the orphanage for five years; she lacked a sense of security, and that she would get better with time.

That night, she had a dream in which she saw once again the little girl following behind her, looking at her with timid and pitiful eyes.

The little girl didn't say anything, she just cried in front of her. Just as she was about to bend down to wipe the little girl's tears, the little girl suddenly disappeared, and the person who appeared in front of her was Huiwen.

Huiwen didn't call out to her, but just stared at her with wide eyes and silently shed tears.

Seeing Huiwen like this, the deputy felt heartbroken. Just as he was about to speak to Huiwen, the scene suddenly changed, and he returned to the old house in B City. At that time, Huiwen was just a ten-year-old girl.

Because her husband died young, she benefited from his early death, and the organization gave her a lot of care, which allowed her career to start at a higher level than many others.

She was focused on her career and hired a nanny to take care of Huiwen, but little did she expect...

Therefore, no matter how many people she wronged in her life, Huiwen was the only person she truly despised.

The nanny was a rural woman who came to the city to work. She looked very honest, but she was not. She often went to the small shop at the entrance of the village to buy firewood, rice, oil and salt, and before long she got involved with the male owner of the shop.

The deputy... has no time to take care of Huiwen, but provides her with the best financial support.

The nanny saw Huiwen's food, clothing, and daily necessities and was jealous. She also had a daughter, about the same age as Huiwen, but she was cutting grass and herding cattle in the countryside and didn't know many characters, let alone learning music, chess, calligraphy, and painting like Huiwen.

Every time she had an affair with the man who worked at the convenience store, she would complain about how unfair it was. Why is it that some people, just because they were born into wealth and luxury, can enjoy a life of luxury from birth, while others work themselves to the bone and can only barely make ends meet?

The male owner of the convenience store was himself a person living at the bottom of society, and the female nanny's words resonated with her.

After a brief discussion, the two men and women with ulterior motives hatched a wicked plan to target Huiwen.

While the deputy was away on a long trip for a meeting, the nanny tricked Huiwen, who was doing her homework, into going to buy a bottle of soy sauce.

And so the tragedy unfolded.

According to their original plan, the shop owner would hide Huiwen and then extort a ransom from the nanny by asking the assistant...

As a result, the shop owner was so happy thinking that he would soon become rich and live a life of luxury that he couldn't help but get some wine and start drinking.

When you're in a good mood, you drink more and more, and you get drunk very quickly.

There's a saying that goes, "When people are well-fed and warm, they think of lustful desires." The shop owner, seeing Huiwen huddled in the corner with her hands and feet tied, suddenly had a wicked thought.

By the time the deputy and the police found Huiwen, it was too late. Huiwen was covered in blood and had been beaten so badly from resisting that she was almost unrecognizable.

Even someone as mentally strong as Fu... lost all color in his face and his legs went weak when he saw Huiwen's miserable state, almost fainting on the spot.

This was her only daughter in her life, and she should have taken good care of her. However, due to her negligence and irresponsibility, she suffered such great harm.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!