CHAPTER 19: CHAPTER 19: SOPHIE CALLS IVY SUMMERS "MOMMY", SHOCKING THE WHOLE FAMILY (PART 2)

Ivy Summers and Rachel Shaw were both stunned.

Damien Lancaster’s eyes tightened even more, as he maintained his backward glance.

What did she shout?

Mummy!

Who is she calling?

Ivy Summers?

Sophie instantly recalled Ivy’s words.

Never reveal your identity in the Lancaster Family, no matter what.

The next moment, Sophie’s eyes welled up with tears. She lifted her little head and began to cry loudly, "Mummy, mummy, I want mummy, I want mummy..."

At this age, when a child encounters danger, calling out for their mother is instinctive.

Even adults, when scared, call for their mother first.

Sophie cleverly made use of this fact.

Damien Lancaster strode over. Ivy Summers had just regained her senses from that cry of "mummy," and was about to check on Sophie’s situation when her arm was gripped tightly. Damien saw Ivy’s hand, red and swollen, and his expression instantly turned grim. His gaze snapped towards Rachel Shaw.

It seemed as if Rachel Shaw was the one who was frightened. She turned pale, shoulders hunched, and once she realized what had happened, she asked in a panic, "Ivy, are you okay?"

Ivy’s hand was already fair, and at this moment, having been scalded by hot water, it looked glaringly red.

Without another word, Damien dragged Ivy to the restroom.

"Ma Lowell, take Sophie to rinse with cold water."

Ma Lowell immediately came over and carried Sophie to the restroom. Seeing the steaming water splash onto Sophie’s leg, Ma Lowell felt pained just by looking.

Rachel Shaw still stood there, momentarily forgetting to move.

The look Damien had just given...

Was he upset over Ivy Summers and... blaming her?

Damien held onto Ivy’s hand, turned on the faucet, and quickly rinsed it with cold water.

The icy water stimulated Ivy’s scalded skin, making her shiver all over.

Damien felt her slight tremble, staring at her hand with narrowed eyes, ever pondering something.

Ivy bit her lip; the cold water alleviated the pain but didn’t ease her internal tension.

Ivy’s heart had never raced this fast before.

Sophie called her mummy!

Although Sophie quickly realized the situation and cleverly exploited the notion that a child in danger would instinctively call for their mummy, brushing off suspicion.

Ivy was uncertain if this could fool Damien.

Damien’s hand remained on Ivy’s arm, with only the sound of rushing water in their ears, and seeing the persistent red on her hand, he grew inexplicably angrier and angrier.

After quite a while, Ivy felt less pain and withdrew her arm slightly, "I’m fine now."

Damien turned off the water and looked back at Ivy, "Are you a fool? Using your hand to catch such hot water?"

Ivy looked at Damien’s stern face, not understanding why he was angry when it wasn’t him who got burned.

Ivy shook her hand and muttered softly, "It didn’t burn you, why are you so upset?"

"What did you say?"

Ivy raised her head, looking at Damien’s handsome, stern face, "I said I knew the water was hot. A child’s tender skin would only be hurt more severely than mine, so seeing it, I naturally couldn’t let her get hurt."

Ivy’s explanation was reasonable; anyone with a bit of compassion would do their best to prevent the scene from happening.

Damien narrowed his eyes, staring at the woman before him, recalling Sophie’s cry of "mummy."

That "mummy" could be a child’s instinctive call for her mother in danger, or it could be the revelation of a true relationship, forgotten to be concealed when danger was imminent.

If it were the latter, then Ivy Summers would be Sophie’s mother, which would make everything—Sophie appearing at the auction, drawing on his car, showing up at the hotel presumably as a hacker—make sense.

Damien tightened his thin lips, his gaze on the woman growing more intense. He stared at her for a while, saying nothing, but waves of emotion churned within him.

If Sophie were indeed Ivy’s child.

Then she would also be his child.

Of course, these were all just speculations. Without evidence, Damien dared not raise his hopes too high.

To be certain, the most straightforward method would be a paternity test!

Ivy’s eyelashes quivered slightly as she looked at Damien’s deep, dark eyes, shrouded in a haze that obscured his thoughts.

"Damien, is Ivy okay?" Rachel Shaw’s worried voice sounded outside.

At this moment, that voice fell into Ivy’s ears as deceitful and hateful.

Ivy had seen it clearly; Rachel appeared to accidentally bump into the kettle, but in reality, her actions were deliberate and targeted at Sophie.

Ivy clenched her hand beside her, opened the door, and stared at Rachel.

Rachel looked at her timidly, her eyes filled with tears and regret, "I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. It was unintentional that I bumped the kettle, Ivy, are you okay? Do you need to see a doctor?"

"Unintentional?"

Ivy’s clear eyes quietly gazed at Rachel.

Rachel looked away twice, glancing at Damien, who stepped out behind her, her eyelashes fluttering, "Damien, I really didn’t mean it..."

As she spoke, Rachel lowered her head in self-blame, almost on the verge of tears.

Damien hadn’t noticed what had happened earlier, only that Ivy had leapt forward without hesitation to protect Sophie.

Now, he narrowed his eyes at Rachel.

Ivy stepped forward, grabbing Rachel’s hand, "Rachel Shaw, are you sure it wasn’t intentional? Such coincidence, you just happened to bump into the kettle, the kettle tipped towards the child, that was freshly boiled water. Such a small child, did you think about the consequences of spilling it on her?"

Rachel definitely knew the consequences.

Precisely because she knew, she did it.

With malicious intent, she wanted to harm Sophie, simply because Sophie had just spoken up for Ivy, fueling her malice, desiring Sophie to suffer.

To harm such a young child without hesitation.

Ivy’s eyes were ablaze with anger.

Rachel, of course, wouldn’t admit to it.

She furiously shook her head, looking at Ivy as if she were Snow White glaring at the wicked old witch.

"Are you trying to say I did it on purpose? I didn’t! I really didn’t, it was truly an accident. I have no grudges against that child, why would I harm her."

"Is that so?" Ivy raised her head. The Lancaster Family’s living room had surveillance cameras; she pointed to the cameras, "If that’s the case, wouldn’t you dare to check the surveillance footage with me?"