She walked over, picked it up, and threw it into the trash bag.

Chapter 26: Completely Abandoned

Something she once regarded as a treasure had now lost all meaning.

After packing everything up, she took it straight to the outside bin and threw it away.

She turned back into the house without a trace of lingering attachment.

When Gideon returned, the sky was low with heavy clouds, and a pitter-patter of light rain had begun to fall.

Perhaps because the cold wind was too biting, the trash bag was blown open. The ugly doll lay quietly inside, droplets of water on its face as if it were weeping silently.

He bent down and picked it up.

What flashed through his mind was the thin, weak figure of a girl. She always stood outside the crowd watching everyone, her eyes full of hope and longing, yet she never dared to take that step.

He had bought that doll specifically, but the words he said when he gave it to her were extremely awkward.

But the last time he had seen that doll, its owner was already lying in a pool of blood, a mangled mess.

And it had stayed by her side, a quiet companion.

Luke asked him why he was so sure the one who pushed them was Luna. It was actually because of this doll. The Ugly Duckling died, Serena was injured, but Luna was nowhere to be found.

Besides her, who else could it have been?

But the one before his eyes was not the one from back then.

Gideon casually tossed it back into the trash can and turned to walk away.

The ugly doll was completely abandoned this time.

...

Luna thought for an entire night and decided to visit the orphanage. She still had five or six days left, and what she wanted to do could be done quickly.

This would also settle a knot in her heart.

The new address of the orphanage wasn't very far. It took her only an hour by taxi.

The place was completely different from before, without a single shred of familiarity.

Luna walked up to a volunteer and said, "Hello, may I ask where the Director is?"

The volunteer pointed her in the right direction and went back to work.

With every step, Luna felt anxious. Uncovering the past with her own hands was harder than she imagined. Standing at the door, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, the Director was still the same person.

The Director was in his seventies and seemed in good spirits. Currently, he was wearing reading glasses and reading a document word by word.

After a while, he realized someone was at the door. He looked up, squinting slightly. "You must be the new volunteer. Welcome, welcome. The children here are mischievous; I apologize for the trouble."

Tears sprang to Luna's eyes. During her years at the orphanage, the Director was like family to them, treating every child incredibly well.

She stepped closer and sniffled before saying, "Director, do you still remember me?"

The Director took off his glasses, looked at her carefully for a while, and then shook his head. "I don't remember. Child, I'm old and my memory isn't good. Were you a child here at the orphanage?"

Luna nodded. "When I was little, they called me... the Ugly Duckling." She pointed to her face. "There was a very large scar here."

To her surprise, the Director’s eyes widened suddenly. He stood up in disbelief, his body trembling with excitement or some other emotion. "You... you are the Ugly Duckling?"

"It's me."

"But in that car accident ten years ago, didn't the Ugly Duckling die? I remember identifying the body myself. The doll she usually carried was right beside her. How could..."

"Director, the one who died wasn't me. It was Lily."

Lily was the same age and had a similar build. Luna had disappeared after falling into the ravine; it was likely a mistake, and they had identified the wrong person.

Chapter 27: Why Does It Have to Be Her?

Sitting on the sofa, the old Director still could not calm his emotions. "It’s good that you’re alive. It’s truly good. I’m just an old man now; I never expected to see you again in my lifetime, Ugly Duckling... No, you’re a beautiful girl now, not ugly at all. How did you get rid of that scar on your face?"

Luna smiled, brushing it off lightly. "I had a surgery after the accident, and it was gone."

The Director sighed. "Back then, we thought the one who passed away was you and the one missing was Lily. I never imagined there would be such a twist. By the way, child, how did you find this place?"

"A friend gave me the address." Luna pursed her lips before asking, "Director, do you still have news about the other children who were in the accident with me?"

"I do. That accident caused a great loss to the orphanage. Not only did things happen to you and Lily, but a few other children went missing as well. Fortunately, most of them were found and later adopted by good families."

The Director stood up and began rummaging through files in a nearby cabinet. "Wait a moment, let me find them for you."

Luna’s hand tightened around her cup. After a moment, she looked up and asked, "Director, do you still remember Serena?"

"Oh, that child was quite a handful when she was little! I remember her. Serena... she had the best luck; she was adopted by the family. You know the family, right? The ones who had been sponsoring all of you before the accident..."

Luna froze. The family?

He pulled out the records from that year and handed them to her. "Here, take a look. It’s all in here."

It felt as though something was about to break through its cocoon. Luna took the files and flipped through them hurriedly. An answer was already flickering in her mind, but she didn't dare believe it!

It was impossible, impossible...

When she turned to a certain page, Luna’s fingertips stopped, unable to move another inch.

"There, this is Serena. Come to think of it, the three of you were together when the accident happened. That child was also terrified and badly injured. If she hadn't been at the scene and said that the one who died was you, we wouldn't have reached a conclusion so quickly."

Why?

Luna felt her entire body trembling. Serena could have been anyone, but why did it have to be her!

Without saying another word, she bid a hasty farewell and fled the place.

Fate truly loved playing jokes on her.

But this time, she couldn't laugh at all.

On the way back, she made an appointment to meet Serena.

Everything had to be settled.

As night fell, pedestrians clutched their clothes and quickened their pace to get home, hoping to avoid the impending storm.

Serena was somewhat displeased that Luna had asked to meet at this hour, but thinking that Luna might have finally decided to leave Gideon, she came anyway.

However, Luna was a full half-hour late.

Looking at the woman before her, Serena frowned. "What do you mean by this? Inviting me out only to be late?"

"Traffic jam." Her voice was faint, devoid of emotion.

"What is it? Gideon told me not to meet a vicious woman like you again. I don't want to make him angry."

Luna’s lips curled into a silent, ironic smile. "Do you really not remember me?"

Hearing these ambiguous words, Serena became even more annoyed. "Luna, what exactly are you trying to say?"

"Nothing. I’m just curious, Serena. After the car accident back then, have you slept soundly every night? Have you had any nightmares?"

Chapter 28: No One Will Care

Luna’s expression was incredibly sharp, and her voice was icy. Every word she spoke was like a sharp blade stabbing into Serena’s heart. Serena panicked instantly, not daring to look her in the eye. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Do you really not know? When Lily died, she was covered in blood. I can understand that you were afraid of dying and pushed us out, but why did you tell everyone that the one who died was me?"

Serena’s hands under the table clenched into fists. She took a deep breath before saying, "The body was mangled back then. I simply identified the wrong person."

"You, a witness to the entire event, are telling me you 'simply' identified the wrong person? Serena, was it really just a mistake?"

"What other answer do you want to hear? Luna, let me tell you the truth. Ever since Grandpa Arthur gave you those shares, Gideon has investigated you. He knows you were one of the children from the orphanage, and he knows about the accident. But he hates you just as much as before. Do you know why?

Because you were ugly, because you were insecure, and because you were lower than the dust. No one cared whether you were alive or not. But your appearance forced the family to face that incident again. You probably don't know this, but those kidnappers were targeting the family. Adopting me was already enough to put the family’s conscience at ease.