Chapter 177: Dirty Laundry II
"Sent to the orphanage?" Amelia echoed, her eyes widening in surprise. But when she thought about it, this wasn’t something she would put past Catherine Laine.
Of all the times Amelia had the luxury to meet her, she wasn’t the most pleasant woman. If Amelia recalled correctly, Catherine was also a friend of Annalise’s― that was one of the reasons why she was so enthusiastic about tying Matteo and Emmeline together for marriage.
"She had just given birth to Aiden shortly before. But even as children, Matteo was favored by the Montgomery elders. He showed a great aptitude even as a toddler, and more so when he grew up and started attending kindergarten."
Cherry shrugged. "As a mother, I suppose Catherine didn’t want there to be any competition for her son. She is the third party, after all, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she wanted to wipe clean all traces of the first wife’s existence from the Montgomery family history― Matteo included."
"But she failed," Amelia said. "Matteo returned."
"Yes," Cherry said. "But I can’t remember how. All I know is that he was sent to the orphanage for a couple of years. My uncle tried looking for him at first, but over time, he sort of just... stopped. Perhaps Catherine convinced him otherwise. Eventually, Matteo just returned."
She sighed. "I’m sorry I don’t know more, Amelia. That’s pretty much all I remember about this. I could ask around, but that incident is sort of taboo to speak about in the Montgomery family home."
With a huff and a roll of her eyes, Cherry added, "Not that I am a welcome guest there."
"That’s fine. You’ve already helped plenty. Thank you, Cherry," Amelia said. "Frankly, I have a feeling this is the most anyone is going to tell me."
"Anytime," Cherry said with a grin. "I’m just about to head back to Paragon Luxe since my errands are finished. Do you want to come grab a drink?"
"Not today," Amelia said with a shake of her head.