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."