CHAPTER 72: CHAPTER 72: IVY’S FURY—SLASHING DAMIEN LANCASTER

Ivy Summers pressed her lips tightly together, her eyelashes trembling slightly, and clenched her hand tightly at her side.

Damien Lancaster’s eyes were fixed on her, ready to spot any hint of guilt that might confirm she was hiding the child.

Yet, Ivy Summers raised her hand and looked at him with her beautiful eyes, completely unflustered, "Fine, go in and search."

Ivy Summers felt unsure, but she forced herself to appear calm.

Because she knew that if it came to this, whether she confessed directly and Damien discovered the child, or whether Damien found the child by himself, it would be the same.

The latter offered a gamble; the former offered no hope.

In such a situation, Ivy Summers would definitely choose to gamble.

Ivy Summers forcefully shook off Damien’s hand, "Didn’t you want to go in and look? Go ahead, see if I’ve hidden a child."

Ivy Summers was assertive, but if you looked closely, you could see her entire body trembling slightly.

Damien didn’t change his judgment because of her unflustered attitude.

He strode toward the room.

Ivy Summers clenched her molars, so nervous that all she could hear was her own heartbeat in her ears.

Damien decisively pushed the door open.

The moment he opened the door, Ivy Summers felt her heart was about to leap out of her chest.

She stood there, her legs weak, her feet feeling as though they had taken root.

Because she was truly afraid, so afraid that she couldn’t face Damien discovering the child.

The wait was long, spanning several seconds.

The air remained silent.

Ivy saw him go in, and then there was nothing.

She took a deep breath and mustered her courage to step forward, only to see Damien standing inside, the room unexpectedly tidied up very cleanly.

The previously disheveled blankets were now restored to their original state, neatly laid out, and the sofa that once held Leo and Nathan’s clothes was now containing only Ivy’s clothes, leaving no trace behind.

Upon seeing this scene, Ivy felt both relief and tension, as she glanced at the wardrobe, while Damien also fixed his gaze on it.

The bed in this room had low planks underneath, leaving no room for one to hide, so the only possible hiding place was the single row of wardrobes.

Thus, Ivy confirmed that the children were hiding in the wardrobe.

Damien was already heading toward the wardrobe.

Tonight, he was clearly full of suspicion, unwilling to overlook any possibility.

Just as Ivy had slightly calmed down, her heart jumped back to her throat when Damien reached for the wardrobe, rendering her unable to breathe.

He opened the first wardrobe door.

No one inside.

Damien silently moved on to open the second wardrobe door.

Ivy clenched her palms tightly, waited two seconds, then heard the sound of it closing.

The third, and final one.

Ivy grit her back molars, staring intently, not daring to blink, engulfed by immense panic.

The wardrobe door opened with a "click."

Ivy squeezed her eyes shut.

The air seemed to freeze, the silence around them terrifying.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds...

Ivy waited for a full five seconds and only heard the sound of the wardrobe door closing again.

Ivy opened her eyes to see Damien turning around to look at her with a stern face.

Ivy remained in a state of tension, staring intently at the wardrobe.

Did Damien not find Leo and Nathan?

Apparently not.

Ivy blinked twice forcefully.

Confirmed there was no one in the room.

So where were Leo and Nathan?

Ivy was shocked, but dared not reveal any flaw, swallowing her fear, she looked at Damien and asked, "Did you find what you were looking for? Do you need me to lift the bed too, so you can check if I have hidden the children in some corner?"

Damien’s handsome face was now tinged with a dangerous coldness.

Having not received the answer he wanted, it was easy to see he was somewhat disappointed.

"Ivy Summers, where are the kids?"

This time, Ivy spoke with noticeably more confidence, "I told you, I don’t have kids, no kids, how many more times do you want me to say it."

"Then why are you staying in a family suite? Explain."

Not finding the children was no longer enough to quell Damien’s suspicions.

Staying in a family suite was Ivy’s biggest red flag.

"Because the hotel had no vacant rooms, only this one, so I stayed in this one, is there a problem?"

Ivy looked directly at Damien, speaking with incredible composure, meeting his gaze without flinching, showing no signs of lying.

But in reality, Ivy did lie.

There weren’t many vacant rooms in the hotel, but there were some.

Ivy knew there was a fifty percent chance Damien would check.

And Ivy was betting on the other fifty percent chance.

As expected, Damien still didn’t believe her and made a call to investigate himself.

Ivy’s heart was like a roller coaster that night.

As Damien was on the phone, Ivy nonchalantly glanced out the window.

This is the tenth floor, Nathan and Leo couldn’t have climbed out the window.

And the bathroom door was open, but there was no one inside.

Ivy Summers couldn’t figure out where they were hiding.

Could they really just vanish into thin air?

After Damien Lancaster finished his call, he saw Ivy Summers just standing there, lifting her eyes to look at him.

Damien Lancaster pressed his lips tightly, without speaking.

Is this it? Got lucky this time?

Ivy Summers mustered up the courage to ask him, "How about it? I didn’t lie to you, did I."

After asking, Ivy Summers stared intently into his eyes, as if trying to discover something in their dark depths.

Damien Lancaster took a step closer to Ivy Summers.

Ivy Summers’s heart tightened.

Did he find out I was lying?

Seeing his aggressive demeanor, Ivy Summers instinctively had the urge to run.

But after just a couple of steps, Damien Lancaster’s strong arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her back and tossing her directly onto the soft bed.

Ivy Summers’s face turned pale as she struggled to get up, and the man leaned down over her, "Actually, there’s another way to find out more quickly if you’ve ever had children."

Damien Lancaster’s large hand grasped the belt of her robe.

Ivy Summers’s mind froze momentarily at his sudden move, but quickly, she realized what method he meant.

This lunatic.

Pervert.

Bastard.

She shoved at his chest with all her strength, "Damien Lancaster, you bastard, let me go."

As she propped herself up to escape, she was effortlessly pushed back onto the bed, "What are you running for? Afraid of being found out, scared to let me check?"

"What... what do you want me to say to make you believe me?"

"Ivy Summers, you lie way too much, every day you’ve been back you’ve been lying, I can’t trust anything you say anymore."

"Get off me."

Ivy Summers tried to kick and push Damien Lancaster, but ended up being pinned even tighter.

Her strength was no match for his, her wrists were gripped tightly and pinned above her head.

This position made Ivy Summers feel extremely insecure.

The next second, Ivy Summers felt Damien Lancaster’s large hand slide into her robe, brushing across the skin of her abdomen.

Damien Lancaster was searching, he was looking for evidence that she’d had a child.

If Ivy Summers had a cesarean, there would definitely be a scar on her abdomen.

But obviously, he found nothing, because Ivy Summers had given birth to Maisie naturally.

Seizing the moment he was checking, Ivy Summers vigorously freed herself from his grasp and slapped him across the face, "Pervert, let me go."

"Is your examination enough? Did you find the answer you wanted?"

"Childbirth is not only through cesarean, there are natural births too."

He still wanted to check.

A cold, chilling glare appeared in Ivy Summers’s eyes.

"What more do you want?"

"I heard that down there is different for women who have had children and those who haven’t."

Upon hearing this, Ivy Summers’s breath hitched, and immense anger erupted from her eyes.

"You dare to touch me, try it."

"Hmm, let’s try."

Ivy Summers struggled to distance herself from Damien Lancaster, but was again pulled back by him, his powerful arm easily subduing her with one hand.

At this moment, her robe was completely loosened, and the spring scenery beneath it was fully exposed and taken in by him.

All Ivy Summers felt was boundless humiliation, how could he treat her like this?

Was she just a plaything in his hands?

He decided to inspect whenever he wanted?

Ivy Summers absolutely refused to let him touch her, and her hand came across her bag left aside, because of past dangers, Ivy Summers often carried defensive weapons in her bag.

Like a folding knife.

Ivy Summers pulled out the knife and held it against Damien Lancaster’s neck, her gaze fierce and voice trembling with danger, "Try touching me again and see what happens!"

Damien Lancaster’s eyes were shrouded in gloom, he lowered his gaze to look at her, "You want to kill me?"

"You touched me first, Damien Lancaster, you’re asking for it."

At that moment, Ivy Summers was like a provoked porcupine, wounding anyone who came near.

"Do you dare?"

Damien Lancaster ignored the knife, his deep-set eyes continuously fixed on her.

He felt more disdain than anything else for Ivy Summers’s threat.

He absolutely didn’t believe Ivy Summers had it in her to do it.

Sure enough, in the moment he leaned forward, Ivy Summers instinctively withdrew her hand slightly.

Damien Lancaster looked at her calmly.

Ivy Summers realized she wasn’t ruthless enough.

How could she not be ruthless?

After how Damien Lancaster treated her, how could she still show mercy?

Thinking this, she bit her lip and pressed the dagger forward, the sharp blade easily leaving a trail of blood on his skin.