CHAPTER 2: CHAPTER 2: MOMMY, SOPHIE SAW DADDY

Five years later.

Yrador’s top auction house.

The spacious hall was filled with high society figures.

On the auction stage, the Auctioneer wore a white cheongsam, her hair elegantly styled, a thin veil covering her face, making her features unclear, yet her every movement was stunningly beautiful.

With confident ease, she introduced the item on display in flawless English, prompting a bidding frenzy below.

A pair of clear, bright eyes swept over the audience, hands holding a gavel, commanding the entire room.

On the second floor, Damien Lancaster sat there, turning his head to glance, "Is she the one grandpa insisted on meeting?"

The assistant next to him handed over some information, "Yes, her name is Zinnia, and she became an auctioneer here five years ago. Her first auction saw a landscape painting with a starting price of one million sell for a staggering sixty million, a 60-fold profit, making her famous with one stroke."

Damien Lancaster narrowed his eyes, "Does she always appear with a veil?"

The assistant thought for a moment, then said, "Yes, I heard someone once offered ten million to have her remove it, but she refused, and it’s said she must be incredibly ugly, which is why she doesn’t want to reveal her face."

Damien Lancaster snuffed out his cigarette and quietly watched, "Her eyes are beautiful."

With such beautiful eyes, she couldn’t possibly be shockingly ugly.

Moreover, those eyes resemble someone.

Who do they resemble?

Like Ivy Summers.

The woman who, five years ago, left behind a divorce agreement, silently aborted his child, and vanished without a trace.

"Bring her to see me."

Damien Lancaster stood up, took two steps, then stopped.

"It’s been five years, and there’s still no trace of Ivy Summers?"

The assistant was in a panic.

They say people can’t just vanish.

But their lady really vanished into thin air, with no trace for five years.

Damien Lancaster had a headache, "Keep looking."

That woman was ruthless enough, divorcing him, aborting his child, and blocking every way to contact her.

No one would guess that the president of the mighty Lancaster Group was the one left by a divorce agreement, or that he has spent five years searching for the woman who abandoned him.

Damien Lancaster must find her; he needs to ask her what heinous crime he committed that made her leave so mercilessly.

Damien Lancaster left.

Assistant Julian Jacobs stood there, cold sweat dripping, having searched everywhere to no avail.

After five years, finding a person felt like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Julian Jacobs muttered bitterly to himself, "Ma’am, where in the world are you?"

As an auction concluded, Zinnia elegantly bowed slightly and then turned to leave the stage.

Five years ago, Ivy Summers came to Yrador and joined an auction house, renaming herself Zinnia to avoid unnecessary trouble, always wearing a veil at the auction house.

Arriving at the office.

A soft little pink bundle toddled over, opening her little arms to hug Ivy Summers’s leg, and called out crisply, "Mommy."

Ivy Summers removed her veil, revealing a delicate and stunning face. She bent down to pick up her daughter and kissed her pale, tender face, "Sophie, have you been waiting long? Where are your brothers?"

The little pink bundle balled her little hand, raising her head, "Hmph, the brothers went out to play."

"Didn’t they take Sophie?"

"They said they were going to play boys’ games and couldn’t bring Sophie."

Ivy Summers, "..."

Those two boys didn’t want to take Sophie, just say it outright.

Back then, when Ivy Summers was heartbroken and intended to abort the child, standing at the operating room door made her reluctant, and eventually, she gave up.

Two months after arriving in Yrador, she gave birth to three babies, two boys and one girl.

The eldest is Nathan Summers, the middle is Leo Summers, and the youngest is Sophie Summers.

The eldest is sensible, the second is mischievous, and the youngest is the cutest.

Ivy Summers looked at the adorable little dumpling in her arms, feeling grateful for the decision made back then.

"Oh, guess who Sophie and the brothers saw today."

"Who?"

"The bad daddy."

Sophie said loudly, but Ivy Summers didn’t hear it clearly.

"Who did Sophie say she saw?"

"Sophie and the brothers saw the bad daddy, the one who appears on TV, called... called... Damien Lancaster, the really fierce and mean one."

Sophie said, and even raised her little hand to make gestures to Ivy Summers.

Listening to Sophie, Ivy Summers’s heart tightened.

For these years, she seldom heard Damien Lancaster’s name.

At times, Ivy Summers almost forgot this person existed.

Yet, when his name came from Sophie’s mouth, past memories surged, and Ivy Summers’s heart ached.

But why would Damien Lancaster be here?

Her children only knew their father as Damien Lancaster, having seen him on TV a few times, and probably mistook someone else for him.

"Sophie must have been mistaken. He wouldn’t come here."

"But..."

Knock knock——

Two knocks interrupted Sophie.

"Who is it?"

"Zinnia, are you busy? The manager wants you to come immediately. A distinguished guest specifically requested you, and the manager wants you to come quickly."

A distinguished guest?

There are many distinguished guests at their auction house, but not many could make the manager so anxious.

Ivy Summers became a little curious about how distinguished this guest could be.

"I’m not busy, I’ll head over right away."

"But Sophie really saw the bad daddy." Sophie furrowed her little brows, speaking softly, as Ivy Summers looked at her. Sophie blinked her big watery eyes, somewhat disappointedly asking, "Is Mommy going to work again?"

Ivy Summers placed Sophie on the sofa, apologizing, "Darling Sophie, just wait a bit longer, Mommy will be back soon, okay?"

Though she wanted Mommy to accompany her, she knew not to delay Mommy’s work.

Sophie was very understanding.

"Okay, Sophie will wait for Mommy."

Ivy Summers kissed her daughter’s cheek again, giving her some bread, "Sophie, eat some bread. Mom will take you and your brothers for a big meal later, okay?"

"Okay."

Ivy Summers smiled softly, put on her veil, and left.

Sophie, holding onto the bread with both hands, ran to the door, peeking outside.

Mommy is gone again, so boring.

Sophie put down the bread, tapped on her smartwatch, and asked sweetly, "Brothers, where are you? Sophie is coming to find you."

Soon Sophie received a reply, a location plus, "In the underground parking lot."

In the underground parking lot, the two little boys stood in front of a black Maybach.

Nathan Summers crossed his little arms, looking complicated while staring at Leo Summers beside him, "Are you sure this car belongs to the scumbag daddy?"

Leo Summers was busily drawing on the car with a paintbrush.

Mission accomplished.

"No mistake, I saw him get out of this car."

Nathan Summers looked at the childish scrawled words on the car and silently read, "unfaithful bastard."