Chapter 478: Naomi Rivers’s Plight

Chapter 478: Chapter 478: Naomi Rivers’s Plight

Everything went smoothly after that: the paternity test, the family reunion, and then Naomi Rivers moved back into the home she hadn’t seen in over a decade.

However, by then, the family already had a girl around her age, as well as a brother who was ten years younger than her.

"The day after I returned, Selene Rivers told my parents that my upbringing meant my education wasn’t the best and that I always had to work part-time jobs to get by, so it would be better to send me abroad to study.

That way, I could return with a prestigious foreign degree and go straight to work at the family’s factory."

As Naomi Rivers spoke, a mocking expression flickered across her face, as if she were recounting something utterly ridiculous.

In truth, after their youngest son was born, Mr. and Mrs. Rivers had stopped searching for Naomi entirely. Even before that, their efforts had already dwindled to almost nothing.

With a new daughter and a young son, it was as if Mrs. Rivers had been granted salvation; her health improved day by day.

Mr. Rivers felt that since he had taken Selene in, he was obligated to provide her with a good life. He threw himself into his work, projecting all the guilt he felt over his biological daughter onto Selene Rivers.

So when Naomi Rivers was found, they worried Selene wouldn’t be able to cope. Thus, when she proposed sending their biological daughter to study abroad, they agreed without the slightest hesitation.

In their eyes, Naomi had lived a life of hardship and her grades weren’t outstanding. Getting a degree abroad and returning to a cushy management position in the factory would ensure she was financially secure for the rest of her life. They saw it as a form of compensation for their parental failings.

This way, Selene wouldn’t have to worry about being driven out, and Naomi would have a bright future. It was the perfect solution for everyone.

But things didn’t go as they had planned. On the day Naomi was supposed to leave the country, Selene hired some local thugs she knew to take Naomi to this remote mountain ravine.

As for Mr. and Mrs. Rivers, Selene found someone in the destination city to use Naomi’s credit card as usual. This person never answered calls or video chats, leading the Rivers family to believe that Naomi still held a grudge and didn’t want to speak with them. This created the perfect illusion that Naomi was actually abroad.

Then, when the time was right, she would fake Naomi’s death.

After all, Mr. and Mrs. Rivers would never go overseas to confirm it in person. Selene could just have someone find a vagrant’s body, cremate it, and pass the ashes off as Naomi’s.

Once she obtained the death certificate, Selene immediately had Naomi’s official household registration canceled back home. With that loose end tied up, she could come here and torment Naomi with complete peace of mind.

Sean Hughes, who had listened to the entire story, and Zoe Sawyer, on the other side of the door, both couldn’t help but gasp.

’Naomi Rivers’ life has really been one setback after another.’

She’d worked so hard to get into university, and just when her life was finally looking up, she found her birth parents.

She thought she had her family back and could finally make up for her lost childhood, only to be inexplicably targeted by the adopted daughter and kidnapped to this place.

"But would any parents really do something like that?" Zoe Sawyer said, her expression incredulous. "Favoring the adopted daughter and ignoring their own flesh and blood... it’s as melodramatic as something out of a novel."

Heath Hale crossed his arms, his tone calm. "Real life is more melodramatic than any novel, because reality doesn’t have to make sense."

"However, right now this is just Naomi Rivers’ side of the story. We’ll need to investigate further before we can determine the actual facts."

Everyone’s testimony is inevitably biased in their own favor. As they investigated the truth, they also had to determine how much of that testimony was actually reliable.

Zoe Sawyer nodded in understanding. ’If worst comes to worst,’ she thought, ’I can always use the Door to look back and see the truth for myself.’

As Naomi Rivers finished her story, a hush fell over the scene. Everyone present turned to look in her direction.

Mila glared at Sean Hughes, her eyes filled with rage. It was all this policewoman’s fault. Why did she have to make Rivers bring up such a painful memory when things were perfectly fine?

"Pfft! Why’d you have to go and bring up the one thing she doesn’t want to talk about!" Mila spat in Sean Hughes and Naomi Rivers’ direction. "Rivers is pregnant! If she gets worked up, it’ll be all your fault!"

Evan Keller walked over, his eyes fixed on Naomi Rivers, who was sitting in a chair. He posed his own question. "You were young when you went missing and don’t have any memories from before then. So where did you hear the story you just told us?"

The question was like picking at a scab. Since Sean Hughes and Naomi Rivers were former classmates, it would have been awkward for her to ask it.

But that was fine. Evan Keller would do it.

At the same time, Evan Keller also had some questions.

He’d had his team do a quick survey of the surrounding terrain. While the path leading further up the mountain was overgrown with weeds, there was a single-lane concrete road leading back down.

If they had wanted to, they could have found an opportunity to escape down the mountain and call the police to have these people arrested.

The road was riddled with potholes and it would be easy to trip if one wasn’t careful, but it was still far better than a dirt path or no road at all.

What reason could possibly make these four women choose to stay and kill someone, rather than escape this hell?

But those questions could wait. Once the officers from the local station arrived to take everyone down the mountain, they could separate them for proper interrogation.

Soon enough, the police from the local station found their location. As the group of a dozen or so officers approached and took in the scene at the village, their eyes widened in astonishment.

The man in the lead stepped forward, extended a hand toward Evan Keller, and said, "Hello, I’m an officer from the local precinct. You can just call me Henry. And you are...?"

Evan Keller handed over his badge. "Here are my credentials. My team and I are on a confidential mission, so I’m not at liberty to disclose the details."

Henry took the credentials, gave them a once-over, and confirmed they were legitimate. Hearing Evan’s explanation, he nodded. "Understood. Let’s get these bodies and the suspects down the mountain."

The group quickly divided up the tasks.

Henry’s men and the people Sean Hughes had brought were responsible for bringing the bodies from the village and the pit down the mountain.

Due to Sean’s prior acquaintance with the victim, the interrogation of Naomi Rivers, Victoria Ford, and the others was assigned to Evan Keller.

Additionally, the severely injured Selene Rivers needed to be taken down the mountain immediately. Their parents were also to be contacted and told to come to the location.

All told, it took the group more than three hours to transport all the bodies down the mountain.

Meanwhile, as Henry led the way, Evan Keller learned some of the village’s history from him.

Before the founding of the country, Brellwood had been a base for a military unit. Back then, the forest was much denser and the mountain paths were rugged and treacherous, making it an ideal hiding place for many refugees.

Over time, it slowly developed into a village. But as the younger generations left to find work, they experienced the prosperity and convenience of the outside world and naturally had no desire to return to the inaccessible Brellwood.

From here, a round trip to see a doctor, go to the market, or visit relatives took at least two hours.

Gradually, more and more people moved away. Brellwood began to fall into decline, and more than half of it was now abandoned.