Chapter 3 Is She Not Part of the Baker Family Either?

Victoria stood at the entrance of the rundown alley, listening to the vendors' shouts echoing around her. Somewhere in this maze lived the Baker family.

She had never met her biological parents in her previous life.

Victoria had been worried that asking about her real parents would upset Brian and Joan.

Then, she got so caught up in her drama with Ella that she couldn't find a way out.

Plus, the Baker family hadn't looked for her in her past life either. Maybe they didn't want a daughter her age suddenly showing up.

With a mix of hope and nerves, Victoria took a deep breath and decided to go for it.

At least meeting them once would fulfill her long-held wish; she yearned for a family and loving parents.

Victoria walked in.

Meanwhile, at the Baker house...

"Is Ella still not picking up?" Rainey Baker, Ella's adoptive mom, asked.

"Her phone's off," Jerry Baker, Ella's adoptive dad, said with a deep frown, taking a heavy drag on his cigarette and blowing out a cloud of smoke.

After Ella went back to the Scott family, she cut off all contact with the Bakers.

"Could something have happened to her? She's a girl, all alone in Silvervale. I was against it from the start," Rainey sighed.

"She insisted on going, and I couldn't stop her. Ella's grown up now and has her own ideas." Jerry stubbed out his cigarette. "I'll go to the police station and report it."

He suspected Ella was ignoring his calls on purpose because the last time they talked, she had impatiently told him not to call again.

But since he and Rainey hadn't heard from her in so long, they were worried.

Plus, Silvervale was a big city, and Ella hadn't told them where she was living.

Just then, there was a knock on the old iron door, followed by a young girl's voice. "Excuse me, is anyone there?"

Jerry opened the door. "Who are you? Who are you looking for?"

It was Victoria standing outside.

She looked at Jerry's weathered face. He looked much older than Brian, with aged skin and deep wrinkles on his forehead, showing the hardships of life.

But Victoria couldn't see any resemblance to herself in him.

Victoria stared at him for a while, and the excitement of meeting her biological parents gradually faded.

Why did he look like he didn't know anything?

Victoria asked tentatively, "Do you have a girl named Ella Baker? She's eighteen, about my age."

Jerry nodded. "Yes."

Inside, Rainey, hearing Ella's name, walked over excitedly. "Do you know where Ella is? Are you her friend?"

Seeing Rainey's worried look, Victoria was puzzled.

Did Ella not tell the Baker family when she went back to the Scott family?

Why did they look like Ella was missing?

Seeing Victoria's complex expression, Jerry stepped aside. "Come in, let's talk inside."

Victoria followed him inside. The Baker house was small but very tidy. The living room seemed partitioned off, with no windows, and there was a small dining table.

Victoria sat on a plastic stool and picked up a cup of tea that Rainey had poured.

Rainey, a bit embarrassed, said, "The tea here isn't great. If you don't like it, I can get you a box of milk?"

"No need," Victoria said, taking a sip of the tea. It tasted average, a bit astringent, but it was clean and thirst-quenching.

Rainey asked eagerly, "Do you know Ella?"

Victoria asked in return, "Has she not contacted you recently?"

Jerry spoke up, "We call once a week. When I called the day before yesterday, it didn't go through. I thought her phone was dead and didn't think much of it. But these past two days, I've called many times and still couldn't reach her."

Rainey chimed in, "Yeah, Ella's always been independent. I don't know if she's mad at us again. We've been trying to figure out her tuition fees."

Turned out, Ella didn't do well in school and only got into an average university, which had high tuition fees.

She even wanted Jerry to pay for a transfer, thinking thirty grand could get her into a better school!

Given the Baker family's situation, they couldn't afford that.

But later, Ella found the Scott family herself, so she didn't need the tuition money the Bakers had saved for her.

Victoria listened and pieced it together. "So you don't know that Ella was found by the Scott family? She's now the heir to the Scott Group in Silvervale."

Jerry and Rainey were both shocked.

Rainey stammered, "Really? So she has such a good background."

Jerry was skeptical. "Then why didn't Ella tell us? I thought she was in danger. Are you sure you're not lying to us?"

Victoria pulled up news on her phone about the Scott family finding their lost daughter, complete with high-def photos of Ella, Brian, and Joan's faces.

There were many press releases at the time because the Scott family didn't want to wrong Ella.

After looking at the news photos for a long time, Jerry finally believed it.

He sighed. "It's good that she's found. But why didn't Ella tell us?"

Could it be that she was afraid they would ask for money?

Thinking of this, Jerry shook his head again.

Rainey said, "Ella has always been pampered. Her aunt even said she was a poor child who acted like a rich one, vain! Turns out she really is a rich family's child."

Hearing this, Victoria had a guess. "So, you knew Ella wasn't your biological child?"

Jerry said, "Yeah, we found her on a park bench. We reported it to the police at the time, but they said no one in Embercrest had lost a child. The orphanage conditions were poor, so we raised her ourselves. Although our family wasn't well-off, we could still afford to feed and clothe an extra little girl."

Rainey added, "We originally wanted to have a daughter, but with Ella, we were content. We didn't expect that after raising her, she wouldn't be close to us."

Victoria nodded. It seemed it wasn't a case of mistaken identity, but someone had swapped her with Ella and then abandoned Ella in Embercrest.

Who could it be? Did this person have a grudge against the Scott family?

Seeing Victoria deep in thought, Rainey couldn't help but ask, "Thank you for telling us about Ella. We've talked for so long, but I haven't asked your name."

Victoria said, "Victoria."

Rainey asked, "And your relationship with the Scott family?"

Victoria replied, "I was the Scott family's adopted daughter. I only recently found out that my parents weren't my biological ones."

"So you're here to reconnect with your family? Unfortunately, we're not your parents." Rainey looked at Victoria, who was beautiful and polite. If Victoria were her daughter, she would be overjoyed, but Victoria wasn't.

"You must be very sad." Rainey, a gentle woman, felt a bit sorry for Victoria, who had lost her parents.

Victoria smiled politely. "In that case, I won't disturb you any longer."

As she was leaving, Victoria suddenly remembered something. "By the way, I heard from Ella that you were going to sell her for money?"

Jerry and Rainey seemed like honest people, so Victoria wanted to ask.

"There's no such thing!" Jerry looked at Rainey in shock.

Rainey was also puzzled. After a long while, she remembered. "There was a Bobby Owens from our hometown who got into a famous university in Silvervale. When Ella went to work in Silvervale, I told her to find Bobby if she needed help. It was entirely up to Ella. We would never sell her! Besides, compared to our family's situation, Bobby's conditions were better."