When I saw Grayson''s hesitant demeanor, I guessed what it was about. "Spill it. Is it rted to me?"


    "I found Ste after the Pierce family had trouble back then," Grayson said, looking at me with some hesitation.


    My heart skipped a beat, and I looked at Grayson. His expression made me curious and reinforced my belief that this was definitely not a simple clue.


    "You mean the real Ste?" I asked eagerly. "Tell me, quick. I want to hear it. This will be useful."


    Grayson looked at me, nodded firmly, and said, "Okay.


    "After Lucille passed away, Celine forced Ste to go to an orphanage. At that time, As refused to agree no matter what. He didn''t want to be separated from Ste. But he was just a child and couldn''t stop it from happening. He could only watch helplessly as they took little Ste away. They just said they sent her to an orphanage, but no one knew where she had been sent."


    My heart suddenly ached.


    "As cried and screamed after Ste was taken away. Finally, he developed a high fever and was taken away by the Lively family. Later, David stepped in and took ATL Empire back, officially entrusting it to Celine to manage."


    "David is a confused fool. All the disasters in the Pierce family started because of him." I muttered to myself.


    Grayson looked at me in surprise. "You knew about this?"


    "Grandma Rose told me. I just had a general idea, and I didn''t know any details. That''s why I wanted to get the whole story. I can''t really ask As about it. After all, I''m afraid of reopening his wounds," I exined to Grayson.


    "I understand what you mean." Since he had followed me for so long, Grayson understood my state of mind.


    "Every one of those memories is heart-wrenching for him. I don''t want him to recall them more than once," I said sincerely.


    That was why I had held back from asking him anything. It wasn''t because I didn''t want to know.


    "What happened afterward?" I looked at Grayson. "Did Ste end up in that unknown orphanage hidden in the mountains?"


    "Yes. That''s why Mr. As escaped


    from the Lively familyter on," Grayson, revealed another piece of information. "He became the target of pursuit because he broke away from the Lively family."


    "He escaped from the Lively family?" I questioned. "Was it because he wanted to look for Ste?"


    Grayson nodded confidently. "Yes."Content provided by N?velDrama.Org.


    "How old was he?" I murmured. I understood As''s feelings because he had once told me that Lucille had entrusted him with taking care of Ste.


    My nose tingled. I couldn''t bear to think about how helpless As was back then, and how difficult it must have been for him.


    "By then, Ste had already been in the orphanage for two years," Grayson continued. "Mr. As escaped from the Lively family precisely because they wouldn''t tell him where Ste was." "Two years," I repeated in a whisper. "They forced those children apart for two years. How cruel."


    Grayson also expressed his distress. "After this incident, the Lively family and the Pierce familypletely severed es. At that time, David was almost useless. He spent his days in self-reflection. He showed no concern whatsoever for As''s situation."


    Images of a young As shed in my mind. No wonder he had be so aloof and cold.


    "Later, a little girl joined the Pierce family. Celine imed it was Ste."


    "The impostor?"


    Grayson nodded, confirming that it was her. The timeline matched up to when she first appeared.


    "When As heard that Ste had


    returned to the Pierce family, he secretly returned as well. But he realized that she was not the reaf Ste He was enraged and vowed to find the real Ste and uncover the cause of Lucille''s death."


    "He was so young," I couldn''t help but sigh. It was undoubtedly this incident that had sparked the subsequent pursuit against him.