“At that time, your grandfather went out with the other members of the family while I stayed at home. It was then that I had the chance to ask Mr. Barnes to perform the heart transplant surgery."

Mrs. Jenkins shook her head with some regret.

"I was softhearted. Even though I had taken Maria's heart away for your sake, I was afraid she would die instantly. So I asked Mr. Barnes to give her your old heart. I then thought that with a heart as weak as your previous one, Maria would not live more than a month.

I never expected her to survive."

Barbara silently listened to Mrs. Jenkins and did not interrupt her for a single moment.

Barbara knew that if Maria had died after the operation, Canaan would likely have sensed something was amiss and relentlessly uncovered the truth, probably making things difficult for Mrs. Jenkins.

In other words, Mrs. Jenkins' keeping Maria alive back then wasn't out of kind-heartedness. It was just part of the well-devised scheme.

“I suffered from a congenital heart condition back then. There is no way my old heart could keep Maria alive this long. I am pretty sure she must have undergone a heart transplant surgery some other time."

Hearing Barbara's words, Mrs. Jenkins nodded slightly.

It could be easily speculated that Maria had undergone another heart transplant surgery. If Barbara had failed to see this, all the time and effort Mrs. Jenkins employed in training Barbara for years would have been futile.

"If it hadn't been for that two damn servants who secretly sent Maria out of Broome, despite the risk involved, Maria would have died just three months after she was born!"

Mrs. Jenkins' words were filled with resentment.

Puzzled, Barbara asked cautiously, "Grandma, what servants are you talking about?"

Hearing Barbara's question, Mrs. Jenkins just snorted and looked at Reuben and Doris.

The look she gave them was a silent order for them to answer Barbara's question for her.

Reuben understood what Mrs. Jenkins expected of them at once. He bowed and smiled apologetically.

“Those two servants are actually a couple. They are Isla's parents," Reuben said.

“What? They are the ones!" Barbara was utterly shocked by the revelation.

The initial look of shock in her eyes gradually gave way to anger.

If Isla's parents hadn't gotten involved, Maria would have been dead a long time ago. But because of what they did twenty years ago, not only did Maria survive, but she returned to the Jenkins family and continued to defeat Barbara again and again.

Like everyone present, Doris noticed the angry expression on Barbara's face. Doris comforted Barbara with a smile, "Cool down.

Although they did things secretly, they could not hide the truth from Ms. Jenkins. It only took Mrs. Jenkins a few days to find out what they had done and she killed them.

Mrs. Jenkins was then determined to decimate their entire family. It was only thanks to Canaan's involvement that Isla was able to survive.

It was a fine sunny morning in the Lemna Yard.