Aria could only stare at Victor, unable to process what she had just heard.

All this while, they had been suffering, and her mother had died in the hospital because they couldn't afford to pay the bills. Her mother had been a heiress?

Her entire life, she had believed that her mother had been abandoned by her family. She had grown up believing they had rejected her mother and wanted nothing to do with her.

“They've been looking for her?” Aria finally whispered.

Victor gave a bitter laugh. “Yes.”

Aria's fingers curled tightly around the edge of the chair.

“You're so cruel. Why didn't you tell her? She was always...