"The child you left behind all those years ago is long gone. She didn't even have a proper name, so your parents sent her to an orphanage," I said.

"That's enough!" Jody snapped, cutting me off.

She continued, "Back then, Henry and I left our child with you while we traveled around the world. I know you're still angry about that, but Henry is her biological father. Give the kid back to him!"

Once her words fell, she shoved me aside and snatched Natalie out of my arms.

Natalie frantically struggled against her hold. Her face turned bright red as she screamed, "Let me go, you bad lady!"

Jody, however, turned a deaf ear to her cries and immediately handed her over to Henry.

Henry handled Natalie roughly and left several red marks on her arm. Despite that, he acted as if he hadn't noticed and continued to grip her arm tightly.

"I'm your actual daddy, sweetie," he told her.

I felt my chest tighten. While Jody blocked me from reaching Henry, I could only watch helplessly as Natalie screamed and struggled to break free.

Leaning close to me, Jody asked in a cocky and smug voice, "Did you miss me, Dami?"

Miss her? I wanted nothing more than for her to disappear right this second.

"Move out of the way, or I'm calling the police!" I demanded.

At that moment, Natalie suddenly lowered her head and bit down on Henry's wrist. When he cried out in pain and loosened his grip, she immediately rushed back to me.

Standing between me and Jody, she stretched out her arms and said, "Stop picking on my daddy, you bad lady!"

Clutching his wrist, Henry sounded about to cry.

"I know Damian is still mad about our relationship, Jody, but the kid is innocent. He must've taught her to reject her biological parents. Otherwise, there's no way she'd treat us this way," he said.

Upon hearing his words, Jody grew furious. She marched forward and grabbed Natalie before lifting her off the ground by her collar.

"You ungrateful little brat!" she spat. "How dare you hurt your own father? I'm going to teach you a lesson!"

Natalie's face paled as she dangled in midair. She kicked and flailed around desperately while crying in fear.

I was mortified. Natalie's clothes were custom-made from silk. It couldn't withstand that kind of rough handling at all.

"Put the child down, Jody! We can talk this out," I urged.

More and more travelers began to gather around us.

The crowd whispered among themselves, but I could barely register what they were saying. All of my attention was fixed on Natalie's collar, which looked like it could tear apart at any moment.

All of a sudden, Henry dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms tightly around my legs.

"If you're upset at me, you should've just hit me or berated me. How could you deliberately turn my daughter against me?

"It's one thing to stop her from acknowledging me as her father. I can't believe you taught her to hate her mother too. Jody has never stopped thinking about you and Natalie…"

Jody turned toward me and flashed me a disappointed and angry look.

"Dami, I entrusted my child to you because I believed you'd take good care of her. I can't believe you taught her to reject her biological parents! How can you be so evil?" she spat.

She continued, "Now that Henry and I are back, this kid should come with us. From now on, you should stay out of her business."

I found her words utterly ridiculous.

Back then, she abandoned a child with congenital heart disease and eloped overseas with Henry without so much as an explanation. If Ivy hadn't stepped up and chosen to marry me, I would've become a laughingstock.

Not even Jody's biological parents were willing to raise her illegitimate child. So, what made her think that I would do it?

As Jody still held Natalie, terrified she might hurt my daughter, I had no choice but to suppress my panic and do my best to keep Jody calm.

"Put the child down. We can talk this out," I urged again.

Taking that as a sign that I had given in, Jody used Natalie to force me into her car. When I remained silent throughout the entire drive, she simply continued to talk to me.

"I understand how you feel. After all, you've raised her for five years. It's only natural that you'd find it difficult to part with her," she said. "However, this child has already been led astray. Why don't we just have another one? This time, I'll raise the child myself."

I barely heard a word she said. My eyes stayed fixed on Natalie. She was lying in Jody's arms, and her face was pale from fear.

Henry was sitting next to Jody. Upon hearing what she had just said, his expression darkened, and a hint of malice flashed across his eyes.

When we arrived at Jody's house, I reached for Natalie as soon as the car came to a stop. But to my dismay, Henry took her away before I could grab her.

I was just about to go after him when Jody stepped in front of me.

"I came back to take over Simmons Corporation," she announced. "Over the next few days, if you behave yourself and stop spreading lies about Aunt Ivy, I'll give you a proper wedding and make you my husband again. What do you say?"

I was disgusted, but I also felt slightly confused.

"Doesn't Simmons Corporation belong to your aunt? What does the ownership of the company have to do with you?" I asked.

Jody scoffed. "Aunt Ivy doesn't have any children. As her only niece, I'm the closest she has to an heir. Simmons Corporation will be mine sooner or later," she said matter-of-factly.

She added, "Besides, she's overseas on a business trip right now. As long as I can get my parents and a few shareholders on board, I'll be able to take over the company."

All of a sudden, I recalled what Ivy had told me. Before leaving on her trip, she mentioned she had some internal issues to deal with.

At that time, I found that strange. Under her leadership, Simmons Corporation had always operated smoothly. What kind of internal problem could require her personal attention?

As it turned out, that so-called "problem" was none other than the arrogant, brainless so-called heiress who was currently standing before me.

Just then, Natalie's heart-wrenching cries suddenly rang out from inside the house. My heart sank. Forgetting all about Jody, I hastily stumbled inside the house to check on my daughter.

In the dining room, Henry was trying to force a spoonful of steaming-hot oatmeal into Natalie's mouth. When she refused to eat it, he pinched her arm.

By the time I had rushed in, her arm was already covered in several red rashes.

"Stop!" I barked.

I rushed over and pulled Natalie into my arms. Her skin felt hot to the touch. When I pulled her collar back, I discovered that her back was covered in rashes.

"Who told you to feed her oatmeal?" I barked. "She's allergic to oats!"

Sobbing, Natalie buried herself in my arms. Her face was flushed. "Daddy… It hurts…" she cried.

I picked her up and immediately tried to head outside. However, Henry stepped toward the door to block me from exiting the room.

"Where do you think you're taking my daughter?" he demanded. "Jody and I don't have an oat allergy. So how could our daughter possibly be allergic? Did you feed her something she shouldn't have eaten today?"

Natalie squirmed around in pain, and her breathing became increasingly labored.

Panicking, I yelled in a trembling voice, "Get out of the way! Natalie needs to go to the hospital right now!"

Henry stretched out his arms to block my way.

Holding back tears, he croaked, "Damian, I've tolerated your behavior and continued treating you with respect because you've looked after my child for the past five years. However, I never imagined that you would deliberately lead her astray and ruin her life like this."

He added, "You taught her to hate her own parents and even fed her food she's allergic to. What exactly are you trying to do?"

At that moment, Jody hurried into the room. She had overheard everything Henry had just said.

With an icy look on her face, she snapped, "Didn't I just tell you to stop causing trouble, Damian? Taking over Simmons Corporation is incredibly important to me. I don't have time to deal with your childish outbursts."

Suddenly, Natalie started coughing violently, and her tiny body began to convulse uncontrollably.

Unable to hold back any longer, I roared, "Ivy Simmons is my wife and the mother of my child! If you continue to stop me from taking Natalie to the hospital, she won't let you get away with this!"

"Damian, we can ignore your lies, but you really shouldn't go around telling other people the same things," Henry said in a timid voice.

"Jody has put a lot of effort into preparing to take over the company," he added. "If Ivy finds out that you're using her name to deceive people, she might take her anger out on Jody…"

Jody's expression darkened even further. Stepping forward to block my way, she spat, "It seems like I've been too lenient with you. If I don't teach you a lesson now, you'll just continue to spout nonsense."

She yanked Natalie out of my arms and roughly shoved her toward Henry. "You take the child."

All of a sudden, a dull thud echoed across the room.

Natalie slammed into the corner of the coffee table before she slid limply onto the floor.

"Natalie!" I screamed before lunging toward her.

To my dismay, Henry pulled her into his arms before I could reach her. Then, he turned her face away from me so I couldn't check on her.

Leaning close to my ear, he whispered, "I've known that she wasn't my daughter from the start, Damian."

Ignoring the horror on my face, he looked up at Jody, who was trying to pull me away, and said, "You should talk things out with Damian, Jody. I'll take care of the kid."

A chill ran down my spine. Everything suddenly made sense.

Henry had shown Natalie no compassion from the very beginning because he had already known the truth.

Natalie's face had already started to turn blue. Yet when she saw that I was being restrained, she croaked, "Bad lady… Let go of my daddy…"

Natalie's words only infuriated Jody further. Jody stood up and kicked her hard.

"You ungrateful brat. Who are you calling a bad lady? I'm your biological mother!" she snarled.

Natalie rolled across the floor several times. Then, after coughing up a mouthful of blood, she stopped moving entirely.

However, Jody wasn't satisfied. When she tried to kick Natalie again, I lunged forward and wrapped my arms around her leg.

"Please… Please don't kick her anymore," I pleaded.

She kicked me away impatiently. "Get lost! She needs to be taught a lesson today! I'm going to make sure she knows who her real mother is!"

Just as her foot was about to come down on Natalie's body, the front door burst open with a deafening bang, and an icy voice rang out from the outside.

"I am her mother!"