Chapter 4

I didn't immediately grasp the impropriety of his presence, my mind consumed only by Ivy.

I gripped his arm tightly.

“Mr. Harrison, quickly, get me and Ivy out of here! If we don’t leave now, she’ll die!”

But Mr. Harrison looked at me as if he’d never seen me before, prying my fingers off his arm.

“I apologize, ma’am, but I only follow orders from our CEO, Mr. Vance’s wife, Ms. Celeste Vance.”

I felt a bucket of ice water dumped on me, standing frozen in place.

CEO’s wife, Celeste Vance?

A sudden image flashed through my mind.

It was then I realized: Julian Vance’s waist tattoo, “YQ,” wasn’t the initials of his mother’s name, but *Celeste Vance’s*!

What about me then? What about our nearly ten-year marriage?

Celeste Vance chuckled, seeing my distraught expression.

“Some people, born in the slums, always dream of living a fantasy. Ivy’s mom, do you still insist you’re Mrs. Vance?”

“Please, Mrs. Vance, I beg you to show mercy and spare my daughter. I promise I’ll discipline her properly from now on.”

As I spoke, my knees buckled, and I knelt before her.

Although Julian Vance and I were legally married, my daughter’s life was in danger. I couldn’t risk further angering Celeste Vance.

The more subservient I was, the happier Celeste Vance would be.

And the less my daughter would suffer.

“Like mother, like daughter. The mother is a compulsive liar, and the daughter is just as vile!”

“Mrs. Vance, you can’t let her off that easily! She made our children not eat shrimp and wasted so much of our time. You must uphold justice for us!”

Someone brutally kicked me from behind.

Blood surged into my chest, and a mouthful of fresh blood splattered onto my daughter’s already shattered smart watch.

The thought of Ivy trying to call me for help, only to be abused and destroyed by these psychos, made my heart feel like it was being squeezed in a vice. Breathing became difficult from the pain.

“Since you all put it that way, I suppose I’ll reluctantly help you out. For every shrimp this little wretch eats, I’ll reward her with a million dollars.”

I snapped my head up, my eyes bloodshot.

This Celeste Vance, she truly intended to kill Ivy!

“No! She’ll die if you do that!”

But they ignored me, swarming forward and encircling my daughter.

Ivy was shoved back and forth, trapped in the middle, her terrified cries drowned out by their clamor.

“I am Seraphina Sterling! The biological daughter of Mayor Sterling of Capitol City! If you stop now, I will let you off the hook. Otherwise, every single one of you will face severe consequences. You won’t get away with this!”

Ms. Jenkins let out a small laugh.

“Ivy’s mom, using the same trick twice makes you look foolish.”

“Mrs. Vance, I think we should just perform a tongue-cutting surgery on Ivy. That way, when she grows up, she won’t be a liar like her mother.”

Celeste Vance smirked disdainfully.

“Since Ms. Jenkins suggested it, I’ll offer Ivy’s mom this service for free.”

With that, she pulled out a knife.

She crouched beside Ivy.

“No! Celeste, you lunatic, stop it!”

Ivy was already semi-conscious, like a rag doll, completely at their mercy.

Hearing my voice, she forced her eyes open and looked in my direction.

But I was pinned to the ground by four or five people, unable to move, forced to watch helplessly.

Celeste Vance first slapped Ivy hard, then roughly pulled out her tongue.

She measured it with her eyes, then sharply raised her arm and thrust the knife towards Ivy.

Just in the nick of time.

The door suddenly burst open.

“What are you doing?!”

It was Julian Vance!