5
I curled up on the floor.
Pain made everything hazy.
All I could do was listen helplessly to my
daughter’s cries.
Guilt and despair washed over me.
Just when I felt like giving up…
The door burst open with a crash.
く
Ivy neart slowly started to calm down.
“Lily… save Lily,” I choked out.
Arthur gently patted my back.
His voice was soft.
“Lily’s okay. Lee already took her to get
checked out.”
He carried me out of the storage room.
I could feel his body trembling slightly with
rage and pain for me.
Upstairs in a private room, he gently placed
me on a sofa.
He looked at the bloody marks on my body,
Arthur urgently called the butler to get the
family doctor.
He told
kita maid to bring clean clothes for me.
While the doctor treated my wounds, he never
left my side, watching intently.
When I trembled from the sting, his own hand
clenched unconsciously.
Afterward, he carried me back down to the
ballroom.
His eyes scanned the crowd.
They landed on Ethan and Chloe.
His voice was ice as he demanded:
L
His cold gaze swept over Ethan’s friends
kneeling on the floor.
A single look from him was enough.
His bodyguards instantly understood and
moved forward, grabbing the men.
“Drag them out.”
“Break their hands.”
“Then hand them over to the police.”
Arthur’s voice was low, chilling, devoid of any
warmth.
The crowd gasped collectively.
<
men away.
“Mr. Ford, mercy! We’ll never do it again!
Please, spare us!”
“It was Chloe! She put us up to it! We didn’t
know anything! If we’d known Sarah was your
wife, we wouldn’t have dared touch her, not in
a million years!”
Their pleas echoed through the ballroom.
They were quickly hauled away.
A dead silence fell over the room.
Ethan’s legs gave out.
He collapsed to the floor, his face drained of
color, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
<
He stared up at Arthur, wanting to beg for
mercy, but no words came out.
Terror completely consumed him.
Everyone knew Arthur Ford’s methods were
ruthless.
Crossing him ended badly.
Seeing this, Chloe suddenly dropped to her
knees with a thud.
She scrambled across the floor to Arthur’s
feet, sobbing.
“Mr. Ford, it was all Ethan! He tricked me into
hurting Sarah! I was just used! Please, spare
me…”
L
Chloe’s two sons were terrified too.
They immediately dropped to their knees
beside her.
“Yeah! He’s not our real dad anyway!”
“It’s all his fault, not Mommy’s!”
Ethan looked like he’d been struck by
lightning.
He stared at Chloe in utter disbelief.
“Chloe, what are you saying?”
“You were the one who said you couldn’t live
without me! You cried and begged me to run
away with you! If you hadn’t manipulated
everything, why would I have ever left
Then he turned to the boys, grinding his
teeth.
“And you two little bastards! How dare you tell such outrageous lies! If I’m not your
father, who is?”
The older boy wrinkled his nose, looking
disgusted.
“You’re not! Our real dad visits us every
month. He buys us limited–edition toys. He’s
way richer than you!”
The younger one pouted.
“Yeah! Last time I wanted that new remote-
control plane, you wouldn’t buy it for me. I
don’t like you at all! Our real dad is much
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better!”