Emilia pulled in a long, measured breath.

The dread of being recognized crawled over her skin like a chill, and she had no intention of remaining there even a heartbeat longer. And there was absolutely no chance she would ever consent to setting foot in Zloigas.

"Not everything has a price," she declared, brushing past Daniel before walking away with brisk, determined steps.

He did nothing to halt her, yet his eyes followed her retreating figure the whole time.

A delicate scent lingered around her—not the sort of perfume one would expect, but something strangely familiar, though he couldn't quite recall where he had encountered it before.

There was also an oddly distinctive quality about her that awakened a piercing recollection of Emilia within him.

Emilia had always appeared delicate, yet beneath that softness there had always been an unyielding core.

She had been fiercely independent and unwaveringly resolute.

For example, once she made the decision to walk away, she never reconsidered, granting no one a second opportunity and leaving no room whatsoever for negotiation.

Daniel realized that his thoughts had wandered back to Emilia yet again. His brows drew together. Over the past five years, she had surfaced in his mind again and again, particularly the image of her when she was seven months pregnant, and his thoughts would drift toward their unborn child as well. He would catch himself thinking that if she had not chosen to end the pregnancy back then, their child would now be five years old.

In those days, his feelings for her had not been especially deep, yet divorce had never even entered his mind, and he had quietly looked forward to the arrival of their child. At that realization, a cold edge settled over his demeanor.

"Daniel, Amelia Morgan certainly has quite the temper. Why don't we find someone else for your grandfather? There are plenty of experts who understand antiques," Isabel suggested.

Daniel's expression darkened with a frown. "There may be, but Grandpa specifically wants her. Archie, look into her background. I want every single detail."

"Why would you need to investigate her at all? Are you… interested in her?" Isabel asked with careful hesitation.

Unease gnawed at her; ever since Emilia had disappeared, she had stayed at his side, yet he had never once mentioned marrying her.

Fortunately, naturally aloof and difficult to approach, he had never shown even the faintest interest in any other woman.

But the way he had looked at Amelia earlier ignited a brief, uneasy flicker of alarm in her heart.

"I'm not interested in her. But since Grandpa wants to see her, it's better to make sure we know who she is," Daniel replied coolly.

At that, Isabel relaxed somewhat, convinced that he was only having Amelia investigated because of his grandfather.

She also presumed Amelia was merely some ugly woman concealed behind a veil, someone he could never possibly find appealing.

"Let's head back to the hotel," Daniel said, turning around and striding away.

Emilia returned to her office, pressing a hand against her chest as her heart pounded violently.

Now she realized that Daniel intended to bring her back to evaluate a few antiques. After three years of marriage, she understood better than anyone just how commanding and overbearing he could be.

He would probably come searching for her again. She had allowed him a glimpse of her today, and she couldn't figure out whether recognition had flickered in his eyes or if he would soon begin probing into who she really was.

She couldn't risk him discovering anything about her, least of all the truth about her children.

She seized her phone and dialed a number. The call was answered almost immediately, and a deep, unhurried male voice floated through the receiver. "Sweetheart, what's going on?"

"I need a favor. Someone might start digging into my life. I can't let him uncover anything," Emilia said.

On her own, she had no power to stop Daniel from investigating her past, but the man on the other end of the line certainly did.

"Alright," he said with effortless indifference.

The instant his reply reached her ears, Emilia understood that the matter would be handled.

"This makes the third time," the man remarked abruptly, his tone slow and deliberate.

"What?" Emilia had no clue what he was referring to.

"In the five years we've known each other, I've stepped in for you three times now. So tell me something. When the count reaches five, will you marry me?" the man teased lightly.

Tall and strikingly handsome, he lounged across the sofa with lazy confidence, his bathrobe slipping open to expose a perfectly sculpted set of abs, while a mischievous smile curved along his lips and lent him an air of dangerous allure.

Emilia shivered. Marrying him was the last thing she intended to do. This man was very likely even more terrifying than Daniel.

"That will never happen. You help me, and I earn money for you. That makes us even," she replied briskly.

"I'd prefer you manage my fortune instead of simply making it grow," the man said.

"Then go find yourself a gentle, virtuous wife to handle your fortune. I'd probably run off with every last cent," she shot back.

"Heartless woman," the man teased.

Emilia hung up, sent her manager a message requesting two days off, inhaled slowly to steady herself, and pushed open the door to her office. "Olivia, I'm done. Let's go… Olivia?"

Her eyes scanned the room, yet Olivia was nowhere to be found.

Elsewhere, inside the underground parking garage, two tiny figures peeked cautiously from behind a wall. With a quiet sigh, Leo flipped open his laptop to clean up the mess Asher had created.

Asher had covered Daniel's car in scribbles. Eventually, Daniel would check the surveillance footage, and if they were identified, the consequences would be severe.

After breaking into the surveillance system and deleting the recording, Leo finally felt a measure of relief.

A short distance away, Asher stood beside Olivia, eagerly waiting to see Daniel's expression when he discovered what had been done.

"Who did this?!" someone exclaimed.

A group of people approached them, with Daniel leading the way.

Archie's face went rigid with shock as he stared at the enormous words scrawled across the car, and he read them aloud without thinking, "This hartless man abandind his wife and kids. Uh… Mr. Wright…"

A horrified expression spread across his face as he looked toward Daniel.

He simply couldn't imagine who would be bold—or foolish—enough to pull off something like that. He was absolutely certain the culprit had to be completely out of their mind.

"Who on earth did this? They must be completely out of their minds," Isabel muttered, her brows knitting together in irritation.

The moment Daniel noticed the scrawled message, a shadow fell across his face. The badly spelled words made it painfully obvious to him that a kid had been responsible.

"Sir, I'll go pull up the surveillance footage right away," Archie said promptly.

Out of nowhere, a soft ripple of giggling drifted through the air.

Daniel's hearing was unusually keen. His gaze lifted, and he turned toward where the sound had come from. A split second later, he caught sight of two tiny figures peering cautiously from behind the wall.

Asher reacted first. "They've spotted us. Olivia, run!"

"Huh? What?!" Caught off guard, Olivia jerked in place. By the time she whirled around, her brothers were already sprinting far ahead of her.

"Hey, wait for me!" Flustered, Olivia hurried after them, but the hem of her dress snagged on something. After barely taking a single step, she stumbled and crashed face-first onto the floor.

By then, Daniel had already caught up to her. There was no chance of escape anymore. Lying flat on the floor, Olivia quickly covered her eyes with both hands, secretly hoping they wouldn't notice her there.

Without saying a word, Daniel strode over. He paused briefly while looking down at her, then bent and pulled her upright by the arm.

Even then, she kept her eyes tightly shut and her hands firmly pressed over her face, as if that alone could somehow keep him from recognizing her.

"I can already see you. Stop covering your face," Daniel said coolly.

Convinced she had hidden herself flawlessly, Olivia slowly opened her eyes, confusion flickering across them.

She couldn't understand how she had been discovered, because whenever she played hide-and-seek with her brothers, she was always the one who managed to hide the best.

Gradually, she lowered her hands. Dangling awkwardly in the air, she wriggled her small arms and legs, but she couldn't break free.

She gazed up at Daniel with wide, round eyes. It was the very first time she had seen her father from such a close distance. After blinking a few times, she realized her brothers really did look a lot like him.

She felt secretly glad that she had inherited her mom's looks instead of her awful father's.

With that thought, she instinctively lifted her chin and made a face.

Daniel observed her silently and could tell from the expression on her face that her little mind was racing with thoughts.

"Who are your parents, and why did you scribble all over my car?" There wasn't the slightest hint of warmth in his tone.

But Olivia wasn't afraid of him in the least. Instead, she pressed her lips together even more stubbornly.

Her mom had warned her never to talk to bad people, and her dad was definitely a bad person—the sort who would snatch her away and keep her far from her mom—so she refused to say a word to him.

"If you refuse to speak, I'll turn you over to the police, and they'll track down your father," Daniel said.

Olivia blinked.

She thought Daniel was unbelievably foolish, because he himself was her father.

Daniel had assumed that a child her age would be terrified of the police, but she didn't look even slightly frightened.

"When a child causes trouble, it's the parents who end up paying for it. I'm going to put your father behind the bars," he added.

Olivia actually found that idea rather appealing and even hoped he would.

When Daniel noticed that she still didn't react, he changed his approach and said, "Then I'll go after your mother."

"Why would you want to catch my mommy? Go catch my father instead! Not my mommy!" Olivia shouted, planting her hands on her hips and puffing out her cheeks angrily.

Daniel let out a brief, humorless chuckle.

Watching how completely different her reactions were when it came to her parents, he concluded that her father must be doing a truly terrible job.

Daniel narrowed his eyes and asked, "So, what's your name? Why on earth did you scribble something like that all over my car? And who was the person standing with you a moment ago?"

Olivia folded her arms across her chest, tipped her chin upward, and stuck out her lower lip in a stubborn pout. "I will never tell you that my name is Olivia! I did everything myself. Nobody else was there!"

Her fierce loyalty was oddly impressive, though it came with a touch of childish foolishness.

"Since you refuse to tell me who helped you, then at least tell me your mother's name," Daniel said.

"Not happening!" Olivia shot back with a scoff.

"Then it seems I have no alternative but to take you back with me," Daniel replied in an even, composed tone.

Olivia's wide eyes shimmered with tears that threatened to spill over the moment she heard she might be taken away.

Daniel gently lowered her to the concrete floor.

In an instant, Olivia swiped the moisture from her cheeks, spun around without a second thought, and bolted forward as fast as her little legs could carry her, her arms pumping with fierce determination.

Under her breath, she murmured, "Run, Olivia, run faster…"

Daniel lifted an eyebrow, calmly watching her dash off instead of chasing her right away.

Only when she believed she had successfully escaped did he take a few long strides forward, catch up to her, and scoop her back up again.

Dangling helplessly in midair, Olivia kicked her legs wildly before realizing that struggling was completely pointless.

"Go on then, keep running," Daniel said with a teasing edge.

Olivia crossed her arms over her chest, puffed out her cheeks, and lowered her head, looking exactly like a tiny, irritated pufferfish.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Daniel's mouth. To his surprise, he found her somewhat adorable. He led her over to his car and gestured toward the words scrawled across it. "Why did you write this?"

Olivia pressed her lips together tightly, refusing to utter a single word.

"Daniel, what exactly is going on with this child?" Isabel asked, her brows knitting together in confusion.

"She admitted she did it, but she refuses to say anything else. Archie, call the police," Daniel instructed.

"Got it. But what are we supposed to do with the little girl?" Archie asked.

Daniel glanced around the area. Not a single person was nearby. There was no way he could simply leave a little girl standing here alone.

He opened the car door and placed Olivia inside. "We'll wait for the police to get in touch with her parents. They can come and take her home."

Olivia felt like her whole world just fell apart.

She remembered what her mother had said about her father—that he would really take her away. The thought that she might never see her mom again made her break down in tears.

The moment Daniel climbed into the car, he noticed that the bold little girl who had bravely taken all the blame moments earlier was now crying. He had never been good with children and absolutely hated it when they cried in front of him. But seeing her sob so miserably caused even his usually hardened heart to soften, if only slightly.

"Why are you crying?" he asked, his voice noticeably softer.

Olivia scrubbed at her eyes with both hands. "A bad man caught me! I'll never see Mommy again. I…"

Her little heart was completely shattered. She sobbed so fiercely that the words refused to come out.

Daniel watched her in silence for a moment before saying, "Once your mother contacts me, I'll let you go back home."

"Really?" Olivia's crying stopped at once as she lifted her tear-streaked face and stared at him with bright, watery eyes.

For a second, Daniel even wondered if the whole crying fit had been an act.

"Yes. But first you have to tell me why you wrote those things on my car," he added suddenly.

Olivia pressed her lips into a tight line and gazed at him with wide, stubborn eyes, her expression making it clear that she had already decided she would not reveal a single thing.

Daniel, a formidable businessman who could handle ruthless competitors, found himself completely helpless when faced with this tearful little girl.

Watching Olivia being taken away left Leo and Asher in a state of panic.

Asher wanted to dash out and save her, but Leo quickly grabbed him and held him back. In a steady voice, he said, "We look a bit like Dad. If we show ourselves now, we won't rescue Olivia. We'll only make things harder for Mommy."

"Then what about Olivia?" Asher asked anxiously.

"Let's find Mommy first," Leo replied, still perfectly calm.

Asher trembled all over, clenching his backside tightly and covering it with both hands, already worried that their mom would spank him.

Just then, Asher's smartwatch began to ring. Emilia was calling.

She had already been frantic when she realized the children were nowhere to be found.

"Oh no. It's Mommy!" Asher scratched his head anxiously.

"Answer it," Leo said, already accepting the call.

Emilia's voice came through the watch, tight with worry. "Leo, Asher, where are you? Where's your sister? Isn't she with you?"

"Olivia… Um…" Asher stuttered, far too nervous to form a proper sentence.

"Mommy, Olivia was taken by Daniel Wright," Leo explained calmly, even though the situation was urgent.

When Emilia heard that, she could hardly believe it. She remained silent for a full ten seconds before the meaning of his words finally sank in. It felt as if the world around her was collapsing.

"You… Olivia… Oh God…" she stammered, panic choking her words. At last, she managed to ask, "Did he recognize you?"

Leo replied, "No."

A small wave of relief washed over Emilia as she realized that, at least, the situation hadn't turned into a complete disaster.

She drew in a deep breath, forcing herself to remain steady. "Come back here. I'll figure something out."

"Okay," Leo and Asher replied.

Just after the call ended, Emilia's phone rang again, this time from an unfamiliar number.

An uneasy feeling crept into her chest.

Her hand trembled slightly as she answered.

A man's deep, icy voice came through the line. "Are you Olivia's mother?"

"I am," Emilia replied, her voice tight with tension.

"Your daughter is with me."

Emilia recognized Daniel's voice at once, and a cold shiver ran down her spine. "What do you want?"

"I'm at the Horizon Hotel with her. Come and take her home," Daniel said.

In the background, Olivia's sobs echoed faintly, and Emilia's heart lurched in panic. "I already know what happened. Let's discuss this calmly. I'll pay any compensation required. Please don't hurt my child."

Daniel's brows drew together in a frown. The woman's voice on the other end sounded strangely familiar.

Just then, Olivia, who was beside him, began crying even harder. She was extremely emotional; she would cry, quiet down briefly, and then start sobbing again the moment another sad thought crossed her mind.

Daniel pressed a hand to his forehead. "I have no intention of harming a child. But you need to come here and explain this situation."

He didn't believe a little girl would write those words on his car for no reason. He wanted to uncover the truth behind it.

After saying that, he hung up the phone.

Hearing Olivia cry almost shattered Emilia's heart. She wanted nothing more than to rush straight to the hotel.

But after taking a few hurried steps, she abruptly stopped. She couldn't face Daniel looking the way she did now.

They had already crossed paths once at the auction house. If they met again so soon, he might realize that she was Emilia.

If he discovered her identity, he would immediately learn that Olivia was his daughter.

She absolutely couldn't allow that to happen.

She paced anxiously back and forth before calling Madison.

Half an hour later, Emilia drove to the Horizon Hotel with Madison, Leo, and Asher.

During the drive, she had already explained the entire situation to Madison.

Now she needed Madison to go inside and bring Olivia out.

"Are you sure this will work?" Madison asked.

"I am," Emilia said, clasping Madison's hand tightly. "I'm relying on you to bring Olivia back."

Noticing the anxiety clouding Emilia's eyes, Madison gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry. I'll bring her back."

Madison stepped out of the car and strode into the hotel, carrying herself with the firm resolve of someone prepared to face whatever lay ahead.

Emilia remained outside with Leo and Asher, silently hoping that everything would unfold without trouble.

......

Meanwhile, Olivia sat on the sofa in the hotel suite, covering her face with both hands while crying loudly, her head thrown back.

Daniel sat nearby, watching her with a deep frown etched across his face.

Archie rushed back after searching several places, returning with a large pile of candy in his arms.

Daniel glanced at the heap of sweets. "This is your idea of a solution?"

Archie shrugged lightly. "Kids like candy. Maybe you should try comforting her."

"Me?" Daniel asked, clearly incredulous.

Archie believed the responsibility belonged to Daniel, since he had been the one to bring the little girl here.

Daniel let out a weary sigh, rose from his seat, walked over, and then lifted Olivia straight into his arms.

She was so light that holding her with one arm alone was effortless.

Balanced on his forearm, Olivia lifted her tear-reddened eyes toward him, her small face shadowed with gloom.

"Didn't your parents ever teach you that crying won't solve anything?" Daniel said.

Olivia continued sobbing, unable to stop. "If I stop crying, will you let me go right away?"

"No," Daniel replied bluntly.

Olivia pressed her lips together, but the tears kept slipping down without pause.

Seeing her like that made Daniel's heart soften. He picked up a piece of candy and held it out to her. "Do you want one?"

Olivia glanced at it. It was a lollipop, She told herself firmly that she didn't want it. Her heart hurt because she couldn't see her mother, and no lollipop in the world could mend that.

She stayed silent, tears still rolling down her cheeks.

Daniel lifted an eyebrow. "What about two?"

Olivia kept crying. He tried again. "Three?"

She still didn't respond. At last, he said, "Let's negotiate. Five."

At last, Daniel spoke, his voice heavy with tired surrender. "Fine. Take them. They belong to you now."

Olivia's tears ceased instantly, and she stretched both hands toward him, plainly asking him to pass over every piece of candy.

......

Madison had already been guided upstairs by a hotel staff member arranged by Daniel, and when she reached the door to the suite, a faint ripple of anxiety still stirred in her chest.

After all, the person she was about to face was Daniel.

The staff member pressed the doorbell, the door swung open, and he courteously gestured for Madison to enter.

She drew a steady breath, quietly reminding herself to be fearless, and walked into the suite.

Archie led her closer to where Daniel was seated.

Daniel lifted his eyes and fixed his gaze directly on Madison.

Uneasy, she scanned the room for Olivia, terrified the little girl might be distressed under Daniel's watch.

Instead, she spotted her lounging comfortably on the sofa, cheerfully enjoying several lollipops in different flavors.

She froze in astonishment. Emilia was practically falling apart outside, yet Olivia was inside here, perfectly content and savoring candy.

Shoving the thought aside, Madison quickly stepped forward. "Olivia, Mommy's here."

Olivia raised her head. The instant she saw Madison, she nearly called out "Aunt Madison", but Madison immediately shot her a meaningful glance.

Olivia blinked. Though she had no clue why Madison was pretending to be her mother, she caught the hint at once and played along. "Mommy, you're finally here."

Madison immediately pulled her into her arms.

Daniel observed them quietly. "You're her mother?"

Beneath the sharp weight of his stare, Madison felt her pulse hammering with nervous tension.

Making herself stay calm, she replied, "Yes. I already know what happened. Any damages caused will be completely paid for."

Daniel's eyes narrowed, as if he were attempting to see straight through her.

"You're not the one who spoke to me on the phone," he said.

Madison steeled herself, determined to persuade him and keep her identity from unraveling. "Sir, I was the one who answered your call. Are you implying that I'm not her mother?"

Daniel gave no response. He simply kept watching her, the unspoken pressure in the room growing heavier.

"If you doubt me," she said calmly, "you can call that number again right now and verify it."

Olivia looped her arms around Madison's neck and asked, "Mommy, can we go now?"

"Just wait a little, dear. I need to finish handling this with him first, and then we'll leave," Madison replied.

There was hardly any reason for Daniel to challenge Madison's claim, especially since Olivia had addressed her as "Mommy".

Yet Daniel was not a man who could be fooled so easily. "Then tell me why your daughter scrawled those words on my car, accusing me of being a heartless man who abandoned his wife and children! Do we even know each other?"

In truth, Madison and Daniel had encountered one another several times before, though that had been six or seven years ago, and naturally he didn't recognize her now.

"I'm sorry. She mistook your car for someone else's," Madison said.

"Mistook my car for someone else's?" Daniel repeated skeptically.

"Yes," she answered, drawing a slow breath as she forced tears to gather in her eyes. "Actually, her father betrayed me. When my mother passed away, he was busy celebrating his mistress's birthday instead. After I found out, I left him and took our children with me. Today, you were dressed very much the way he usually dresses, so my daughter confused you with that bastard."

Daniel's eyebrows knitted into a tight frown. It suddenly struck him that her account bore an unsettling resemblance to an incident from years ago, the time Emilia's mother had passed away while he himself had been busy celebrating Isabel's birthday.

For a brief, passing moment, the thought flickered through his mind that Madison might know something and was quietly making a mockery of him.

Yet almost immediately, he reminded himself that he had never kept a mistress. Nor did he possess the faintest recollection of the woman standing in front of him.

With that in mind, he reasoned that she couldn't possibly be taunting him and that he was merely letting his thoughts run wild.

Madison's explanation sounded plausible enough that Daniel found no obvious fault he could point to.

Even so, whenever his gaze drifted toward Olivia, an odd and persistent sense of familiarity stirred somewhere deep within him.

A faint irritation began to simmer in his chest, and just as he opened his mouth to press the matter further, Archie walked in holding a file that contained someone's profile. "We've located the information on the person you asked us to look into."

It was Amelia's profile.

"Sir, are you done with your questions? I still have things I need to take care of. I'll pay for the damages. Please allow us to leave," Madison said.

Daniel offered no additional response. Taking the file from Archie, he said in a firm tone, "Take care of this situation immediately."

"Yes, sir," Archie answered.

Daniel then carried the file with him into the study.

Outside the hotel, Emilia sat in the car on the verge of panic, because more than twenty minutes had already passed and Madison still had not brought Olivia out.

She knew Daniel was far from an easy man to handle and feared Madison might struggle to deal with him.

"Leo, Asher, can either of you tell what's going on inside?" she asked.

Her sons were constantly tinkering with computers, and Leo in particular had a knack for breaking into surveillance systems.

Leo was already focused on his laptop. Since there were no cameras inside the hotel rooms, they had no way of seeing what was happening in there.

However, he managed to tap into the surveillance feed from the hallway.

He brought up the hotel footage and said, "Aunt Madison went into the room and hasn't come out yet."

Emilia's unease grew even heavier.

A moment later, Madison hurried out of a suite with Olivia cradled in her arms.

"Mom, it's them," Asher said.

The moment Emilia caught sight of Olivia, a powerful sense of relief swept over her.

She pushed the car door open, and Madison quickly slipped inside with the child.

"My dear," Emilia said as she instantly gathered the girl into her arms.

"Mommy." Olivia immediately tucked herself against Emilia's embrace.

Madison released a long breath. "That was way too close."

"What happened?" Emilia asked with worry etched in her voice.

"Just start driving. I'll explain everything on the way," Madison said.

"Alright," Emilia replied.

She settled Olivia in the back seat and started the car.

Inside the hotel, Daniel gazed at the file resting in his hands.