Chapter 480

Penelope froze in her tracks, her mind suddenly abuzz with realization.

How could she have forgotten? Ever since Robert had returned from his studies abroad, he had mentioned that Marguerite’s twin sister had given birth to two children for Frederick.

And Penelope, never one to indulge in idle gossip, hadn’t paid much attention to the matter.

With a sense of urgency, her gaze landed on Marguerite.

“Could there have been a mistake? Why would it be Marguerite and Yuna? They’re twins, sure, but I only have one sister!”

Suddenly, scenes from twenty-five years ago played before Penelope’s eyes.

Snapping back to the present, she faced Robert, her deep eyes locking onto his.

“Perhaps it’s one of them?”

Robert’s face was a mask of confusion. “How could it be?”

“Do you remember,” Penelope began, “we had a maid who bore a striking resemblance to me? Even your father would sometimes mistake us. She married the gardener, and shortly after, discovered she was pregnant. Around the same time, I was expecting Nina. Your father used to make this joke, that given the maid and I looked so much alike, what a hilarious mix-up it would be if our kids turned out to be identical…”

Robert listened intently, scouring his memory for any trace of the maid. He had been a mere first-

grader, a boarding school student who only came home on weekends.

The maid’s image had long since faded from his memory.

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“I can’t remember,” Robert admitted. “It was over twenty years ago.”

Penelope’s thoughts were tangled like a ball of yarn, yet she relentlessly pursued every thread of possibility.

Marguerite… Yuna…They were both Lockwoods? The gardener had also been a Lockwood!

A premonition surged within her. She quickly refocused on Robert, pressing for details.

“What are Marguerite and Yuna’s parents’ names? What do they do?”

Robert had scant interaction with Marguerite’s parents, having only met them briefly at Laverne’s funeral.

“Their mother’s name is Zoe, and their father is Ablett. Frederick mentioned they used to run a casino.”

Penelope’s face went rigid, her eyes wide, “It’s them! The maid who looked like me was named Zoe, and Ablett was our gardener!”

Robert was dumbfounded. Marguerite’s parents had worked in his family’s home? What were the odds?

“But that doesn’t prove anything, does it?”

Penelope faced Robert, memories flooding her mind with relentless force, “How can it not? Zoe only had one child! Where did the twins come from? Back then, I wanted her to take maternity leave, but her family was so poor they could barely afford food.

Feeling sorry for her, and since we were both pregnant, I let her stay on. I even took her for prenatal checkups with me. The ultrasounds always showed a single baby!

After I gave birth to Nina, she was stolen. The very next day, they both resigned, they said they had gambling debts and saying they needed to flee town.

We were all so focused on Nina, we didn’t question it. Now, it strikes me as odd. Perhaps Nina was taken by them!”