Ingrid messaged me at last, feeling completely distraught as she begged me to lend her 800,000 dollars for the surgery.

I had been attending a banquet with my dad at that time and didn't see her message until very much later. However, as soon as I saw it, I immediately transferred the money to her.

Yet, her second message popped up almost at the same time. She sounded absolutely in despair.

"I'll do anything you want as long as you'll lend me the money!"

My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach. Damn it! She was going to think that I only lent her the money because of her second message!

Just as I suspected, she thought that I was trying to buy her with the 800,000 dollars.

There was a horrible thunderstorm in the morning the next day, with rain pelting down from the heavens. Yet, Ingrid suddenly appeared outside my home.

I rushed out at once and grabbed her moments before she lost consciousness and hit the pavement.

"Indy!"

I scooped her up and ran back into the house, but she just wouldn't wake up no matter what I did.

I called a private doctor to look at her. Apparently, she had collapsed from fever and exhaustion.

I cared for her tirelessly, and she later moved in with me. Out of consideration for her dignity, I said nothing about it and also made no demands nor laid a finger on her at all.

Two months later, she suddenly brought up marriage with me.

I felt my heart pounding wildly at that moment after having suppressed my feelings for so long. An overwhelming sense of happiness welled up inside me.

However, I later learned that day that Hank had gone abroad with a rich heiress, and that Ingrid had only told me that she wanted to marry me because she wanted Hank to change his mind and come back to her.

"Oh my god, I can't believe that Hank still refused to stay with me after I told him that I was about to marry someone else!

"I don't think I'm getting back together with him, Carol! I'm going to have to marry Jordan for real! What should I do!"

I accidentally overheard Ingrid's call to her best friend, Carol Lozanom for help, as I stood outside her bedroom room. I heard every word she said.

So, it turned out that she believed it was my fault that she couldn't have a future with Hank.

No matter how nicely I treated her in the eight years after that, or how devoted I was to her, all I received in return was her ever-growing resentment. Things didn't change even after we had our daughter, Gaby Newman.

Fortunately, with my help, she successfully rose to become a leader in her industry.

However, my family then ran into some financial problems and went bankrupt. It was completely dead, just like how my feelings for her were now.

I felt only a sense of endless bitterness and helplessness after staring at her for a long time.

Whatever.

"Let's get divorced, Ingrid. I'll take Gaby. You can have your freedom back."

Ingrid's face turned dark at once. She glared at me like I was a clown.

"Who do you think you are? Who gave you the courage to even bring up divorce with me? Don't you ever let me hear that damned word from your mouth again! And you'll never take our daughter with you! She belongs to me!"

She was the one who refused to reveal Gaby's identity and hid her. Even I had to tell her beforehand every time I wanted to visit my own daughter. And after doing all that, she still had the nerve to say that Gaby belonged to her!

"Now go and make dinner! Hank will be coming over in a while."

She ordered me around as usual. This was a habit she had developed after I used to listen to every word she said in the past. But now, I just felt annoyed.

"Go make it yourself!"

Ingrid immediately slapped me across the face. "What the fuck are you making a fuss about? I've already explained the wedding to you!"

I stared at the woman before me and left in disappointment. I was going to find Gaby myself. Ingrid was now married to someone else, and Gaby would be doomed if she were to continue staying with her.

I had a billion dollars in my possession now. I could give her a good life if she would just come with me.

I reached Gaby's home and saw her tiny body asleep in bed, looking very cute and adorable. Even if I couldn't bear to wake her up, I still had to. I had to take her away with me.

"Gaby, baby, wake up. Daddy's bringing you home."

Gaby woke up. However, she immediately began struggling when she realized that it was me.

She cowered in a corner and exclaimed, "I'm not coming with you! You're useless trash! Mommy said that she'd find a new daddy for me! You're poor and can't earn any money! I want a better daddy who can earn lots and lots of money!"

I was shocked. How could Ingrid have said such things to Gaby!

I had worked so hard for Ingrid and this family for so many years, and yet, this was how she talked about me with Gaby?

"Gaby, come with me first, okay? Daddy will explain later."

I tried to hug her, but she desperately pulled away, refusing to let me hold her. She kept repeating, "I don't want a useless daddy! I want a daddy who can earn lots of money! I want a better daddy who will always take me out and live a good life with Mommy!

"I don't want you! You're a bad daddy! You're useless!"

My heart ached like it was being torn apart. Ingrid had really gone too far this time!

I tried to forcefully take Gaby with me, but she struggled so violently that I didn't dare to grab her anymore in case I hurt her.

"I don't want a useless daddy like you! You killed my little brother! It's all your fault I don't have a little brother!"

I froze.

What did she mean I killed her younger brother?

What kind of nonsense had Ingrid been feeding her? How could she twist the truth and ruin my relationship with Gaby like that!

Why did she even tell Gaby that she had had a miscarriage? What was the point of telling our daughter such news?

Ingrid had gotten pregnant three months ago. In fact, we were only expecting because she got drunk one night and thought I was Hank for the entire night we made love.

Still, I eagerly awaited the baby's arrival, but she suddenly miscarried last month.

She said that it happened during a company team-building activity when she accidentally slipped and fell while hiking, leading to the miscarriage.

When I tried to offer her words of comfort and concern, she brushed me off in annoyance instead.

"If the baby's gone, then it's gone. We can always have another one. Stop bothering me, for goodness sake!"

She spoke so casually as though the miscarriage was just as big of a deal as the weather.

I didn't know what else to say and just shut up. I even purposely told Ingrid beforehand not to bring this up with Gaby because she was still too young to understand life and death. We shouldn't be talking about these things to her.

And yet, Ingrid had done the exact opposite. She'd even exaggerated the story to get on my nerves.

"Gaby, there are some things that you don't understand yet. Daddy will explain everything to you when you're older. Just come with Daddy now—"

Before I could finish, Ingrid suddenly barged in from behind me.

"Jordan Newman! Who gave you permission to see Gaby on your own without consulting me? Who said that you could!"

Ingrid's words were simply ridiculous. Why did I still need to ask for permission to see my own daughter?

If I had never come to see Gaby today, I would probably never have ever known how much she'd been slandering me in front of Gaby this whole time!

My anger was about to burst, but I didn't want to scare Gaby.

"Put Gaby to bed. I'll be waiting for you outside. We need to talk."

I then smiled at Gaby and bid goodbye to her, even though her tiny face was filled with nothing but disgust and hatred.

I stood outside the room. When Ingrid came out after tucking Gaby back to bed, I confronted her at once.

"What right did you have to tell Gaby all those lies? How could you slander me and accuse me of such things to drive a wedge between us!"

Ingrid didn't look like she cared. She just glared at me frustratedly and said, "I gave birth to her. I can say whatever the hell I want to her. You can't do anything about it!"

"She's our daughter! How could I not do anything about it! This is a matter between adults. We can settle scores ourselves. What's the point of bringing a child into this?"

It didn't matter how much I tried to argue with Ingrid. She still remained indifferent throughout.

This was how she always was. She clearly didn't care about Gaby, yet she still refused to hand over Gaby's custody to me and tried to control her instead!

"Don't you ever dare come back to visit her on your own again. Otherwise, you'll never see her again for the rest of your life!

"And it's Mom's birthday this weekend. You'd better show up!"

With that, she shoved me into a cab and left.

The cab driver asked me where I was going, and I just mentioned a random hotel's name.

On the way, I suddenly received a call from the hospital.

"Hello? Is this Ms. Ingrid Steele's husband? Her miscarriage test report just came in. Please come to the hospital to pick them up."

I was puzzled as to why she went to get the test. Didn't she already know why she miscarried in the first place?

So, I asked the cab driver to turn around and head toward the hospital instead. In the meantime, I also called to inquire about divorce arrangements.

Originally, I hadn't planned to go back to the Steele family manor that weekend. However, I changed my mind after looking at the test report.

The Steele family had always been prude and snobbish. Back when my family hadn't gone bankrupt, they had fawned all over me and tried to curry favor with me at every turn.

My family helped them raise an empire, but we soon ran into some issues and went bankrupt unexpectedly overnight.

They changed their attitude toward us in an instant. They became extremely condescending toward me and always looked down on me, wanting nothing more than to get rid of me and trample me into the dirt.

But now, I held the hospital test report in my hands and decided that I really needed to pay them a visit after all.

…

I arrived at Steele Manor that weekend as agreed, but I was immediately met with their undisguised disgust and disdain.

"You're finally here! Hurry up and go take the trash out! Everyone's too busy in the house!"

"How could you come so late in the day? Did you really think you were only here to eat?"

In the past, I would've gone to great lengths to please Ingrid's family just to make her happy. I never used to complain, even though they treated me like their house help, ordering me around and treating me however they pleased.

That was also the main reason why her entire family looked down on me. Even their maids and butlers looked down on me.

I ignored them all and walked in, seeing Ingrid and Hank fawning over her mother, Rose Brady, who was seated in the main seat. They were chatting animatedly.

"Mom, I've taken care of Eugene's enrollment at the elite private elementary school. I'll be stopping by to pick him up in a few days!"

Eugene Steele was Ingrid's nephew.

Rose beamed, and the other relatives around her immediately began flattering and praising Hank.

"As expected from someone who just returned from overseas! You're truly capable after all, Hank!"

"Yeah! So many people don't even have the chance to look at the gates of that elite school, and you managed to get Eugene in just like that!"

"Exactly! This is how our family's son-in-law should be, unlike that good-for-nothing Jor—"

My sudden appearance made them all shut up right at that moment, and the atmosphere turned icy and hostile immediately.

I wasn't going to tolerate their attitude anymore either and just mocked them openly.

"I'm nothing like you all. None of you were willing to help with a single penny when Mom was on her deathbed. But now that Ingrid is rich, you've all forgotten about it and just shamelessly come to leech on her instead.

"You're all really something. Ingrid's the successful one, but you all make it out as though everyone in the family is equally as such."

The room went deathly silent.

Rose's face darkened as she glared intently at me. "So what if you're good at talking? You're all talk and no action anyway. Eight years, and I never even got a single grandchild from you! You're such a huge embarrassment to the family. Get out of my sight!"

Rose was incredibly sexist, and she refused to acknowledge Gaby as her grandchild at all. In her eyes, Ingrid and I were as good as barren.

Ingrid's face fell at once. I could see the guilt in her eyes as she hurried over to my side and whispered, "You heard her. Get out! Stop looking for trouble!"

Everyone seemed eager to watch me make a joke of myself and slink away in silence like I always had before. Yet, I did the exact opposite and ignored Ingrid, continuing to speak.

"To tell you the truth, Mom, Ingrid was actually pregnant again a few months ago, but she miscarried."

Rose jumped to her feet at once, glancing first at me, then at Ingrid, then back at me. Her eyes were so sharp that they felt like they could cut through us.

"Explain! What do you mean she had a miscarriage?"

There was an expression of indifference on my face as I stared at Ingrid defiantly. She didn't dare to speak and only gripped the hem of her shirt, twisting it into a mess.

If she wasn't going to explain things, then I would do the talking for her.

"Your daughter said that she miscarried because of a company team-building event. However, the test report that the hospital gave me told me a different story altogether."

I handed the report over to Rose, who looked through the report again and again.

I continued, "The miscarriage was due to overly vigorous sexual activity. The baby might not have been fully formed yet, but who knows? It could have been a baby boy."

Rose gritted her teeth so hard that she nearly crushed them to bits. Meanwhile, Ingrid trembled like a leaf next to her.

"Also, look at the date of the miscarriage, Mom. You weren't feeling well that day, and I was here with you the entire day, remember? I never went back home at all that night."