CHAPTER 5: CHAPTER 5: WOMAN, COME SEE ME

"Your name is Sophie? Why did you draw on my car? Who was with you just now?"

Sophie folded her arms, tilted her head, and pouted, "I’m not going to tell you my name is Sophie, I did it all by myself, there wasn’t anyone else."

Pretty loyal, and a bit silly too.

"Since you won’t reveal your partner, then tell me who your mom is."

"I don’t want to tell you."

"Then I can only take you back with me."

Hearing that she was about to be taken away, Sophie’s big eyes blinked, as if she would start crying any second.

Damien Lancaster put her on the ground.

Sophie held back her tears, and without hesitation, turned around immediately, trying her hardest to run with her tiny legs, waving her little arms.

She kept muttering to herself, "Run run, Sophie run..."

Damien raised an eyebrow, watching the little dumpling, not catching her right away.

It wasn’t until Sophie thought she had escaped successfully that he quickly took two steps to catch her again.

Sophie was lifted into the air, kicking her tiny legs furiously, realizing it was all in vain.

"Keep running."

Sophie tucked her little hands into her sides, angrily drooping her head like an upset little pufferfish.

Damien smirked, surprisingly finding the little girl somewhat cute. He carried her to the car, seeing those ugly words again, "Tell me, why did you write these words?"

Abandoning wife and children.

Doesn’t seem like something a child her age would understand.

Sophie clamped her mouth shut, unwilling to say a word.

"Damien, what’s with this kid?" Rachel Shaw frowned.

"She admitted she did it, but won’t say anything else. Julian Jacobs, call the police."

"Yes, sir, what about the child?"

Damien glanced around, seeing no one nearby. The kid looked about four or five years old, couldn’t just leave her here alone.

Damien opened the car door, placed the little girl inside, "Wait for the police to contact her parents to pick her up."

Sophie instantly felt like the sky was falling.

Mommy was right, daddy would take Sophie away.

Sophie was about to never see mommy again.

Tears rolled down in large drops.

When Damien got into the car, he realized the brave little girl who had taken responsibility alone was now crying.

He wasn’t good with kids and hated when they cried in front of him, but looking at the pitiful little face in front of him, his hard heart softened a bit.

"Why are you crying? I didn’t hit you."

Sophie wiped her eyes with her chubby hands, "Sophie was caught by a bad guy, Sophie will never see mommy again, Sophie... Sophie..."

Really heartbreaking.

The little girl cried until she couldn’t speak anymore.

Damien watched quietly for a while, then said, "I’ll let you go back when your mom contacts me."

"Really?" Sophie instantly stopped crying, her bright eyes shining as she looked at him.

Damien almost suspected she was faking it.

"Yes, but you have to tell me why you drew on my car."

Sophie pursed her lips tight, her big eyes looking at Damien as if saying, ’You won’t get a word out of me.’

Even someone as influential as Damien in the business world couldn’t do anything about a crying little girl.

Watching Sophie get taken away, the two little ones who had fled first panicked.

Leo Summers wanted to run out to save Sophie, but Nathan Summers stopped him, calmly saying, "We look a bit like the bad daddy, rushing out won’t save Sophie, it’ll just cause trouble for mommy."

"Then what about Sophie?"

"Let’s find mommy first."

Leo shivered all over, clenched his little butt, and covered it with his hands, feeling like his bum was about to explode.

The phone rang, it was Ivy Summers calling.

Ivy was almost frantic, unable to find the three of them.

"Oh no, oh no, it’s mommy calling." Leo scratched his head anxiously.

"Answer it." Nathan had already picked up.

Ivy’s voice came through, "Nathan, Leo, where did you go? Is your sister with you?"

"Sophie... Sophie..." Leo anxiously couldn’t speak.

"Mommy, Sophie was taken away by Damien Lancaster..." Nathan calmly explained the situation to Ivy.

After hearing it, Ivy suspected there was something wrong with her ears.

It took a full ten seconds for Ivy to react.

The sky had fallen.

"You guys... this... Sophie... I..." Ivy was so anxious she couldn’t find the words, finally, she could only ask, "Did he recognize you?"

Nathan: "No."

Luckily.

The sky had only fallen a bit.

Ivy Summers took a deep breath, struggling to stay calm, "You guys come back first, Mommy will figure something out."

"Okay."

Just after hanging up, Ivy Summers received a call from an unknown number.

Ivy Summers had a bad feeling.

Her hand trembled a little as she answered the call.

A cold voice from the other side asked, "Are you the child’s mother?"

"I am."

"Your daughter is with me."

Ivy Summers instantly recognized it was Damien Lancaster’s voice, her heart chilled, "What do you want?"

"The Regent Hotel, come pick her up."

Ivy Summers heard Sophie’s crying from the other end and panicked, "I understand the situation, let’s talk it out. I’ll compensate whatever’s necessary, just don’t hurt my child."

Damien Lancaster furrowed his brows.

The woman’s voice sounded familiar to him.

As he pondered, the little girl beside him cried louder. Her emotions were intense, sometimes crying, then stopping, and after a brief pause, she’d remember something sad and cry again.

Damien Lancaster pinched the bridge of his nose, "I have no interest in harming a child, but you need to come and explain this matter clearly."

He didn’t believe a child would know what abandonment meant; it must have been learned from an adult.

He needed to figure out what was going on.

After speaking, Damien Lancaster hung up the phone.

Listening to Sophie’s cries, Ivy Summers felt her heart breaking and immediately wanted to head to the hotel Damien Lancaster mentioned.

After taking two steps, she stopped.

No.

She had already met Damien Lancaster once at the auction, meeting again would increase the chances of him recognizing her as Ivy Summers.

If he realized she was Ivy Summers, he would immediately know Sophie was his daughter.

Unacceptable.

Absolutely not.

Ivy Summers paced around twice holding her phone, then called her best friend, Ella Morgan.

Half an hour later, Ivy Summers drove to The Regent Hotel with Ella Morgan, Nathan, and Leo.

On the way, Ivy Summers had already explained everything to Ella Morgan.

And Ivy Summers needed Ella Morgan to go and bring Sophie out.

"Ivy, are you sure this will work?"

"I’m sure." Ivy Summers held Ella Morgan’s hand, "Ella, I’m entrusting Sophie to you."

Ella Morgan looked at the worried gaze of Ivy Summers, reassuringly patting her chest, "Don’t worry, I’ll definitely bring Sophie back."

Ella Morgan got out of the car and walked into the hotel with a determined stance.

Ivy Summers could only wait outside with Nathan and Leo, praying everything would go smoothly.

...

"Waaah..." Sophie sat on the sofa, covering her face with her chubby little hands, crying sadly.

Damien Lancaster sat beside her, frowning as he watched.

Julian Jacobs had run to several places and bought a bunch of candy, "Sir."

Damien Lancaster glanced at the pile of candy, "This is your solution?"

Julian Jacobs smirked slightly, "Kids love candy, sir, you should try comforting her."

"Me?"

Well, you brought the little girl back yourself, who else should comfort her?

Damien Lancaster looked at the endlessly crying Sophie, reluctantly stood up, and directly picked her up into his arms.

Sophie was light, and Damien Lancaster could hold her easily with one arm.

Sophie’s little bottom sat on his forearm, looking at his gloomy face with red eyes.

"Haven’t your parents taught you that crying won’t solve anything?"

Sophie sobbed, "Will you let Sophie go if she stops crying?"

"No."

Sophie pouted, and tears streamed down her face.

Watching her pitiful appearance, Damien Lancaster’s hard heart softened a little, and he picked up some candy to coax her, "Want some?"

Sophie glanced.

A lollipop.

Not interested.

Not seeing Mommy couldn’t be soothed by a single lollipop.

Sophie pouted, her tears didn’t stop.

Damien Lancaster raised an eyebrow, "How about two?"

"Three?"

"Let’s negotiate, five!"