Ivy was yanked back and forth by the collar, but her response was eerily calm. âLook at yourself. Youâre acting like a madwoman. Whereâs the poise of the former Dunhill heiress? No matter how much you push us, he will only ever love me, and I bet that reality is driving you insane.â
Ivy had hit the nail on the head, pinpointing the very thing that mattered most to Clara.
Clara couldnât fathom it-why on earth would Balfour fall for penniless Ivy? What did he see in her?
She thought that once Ivy was cast out of the Dunhill family, her life would spiral downwards, and Clara would finally breathe easy after years of pent-up frustration.
But she never anticipated that Ivy would turn to Balfour and, worse, that he would genuinely fall for her!
âYouâre not suggesting Iâm jealous of you, are you? What would I be jealous of? That even your own mother doesnât love you?
With no fatherâs affection and no motherâs care, youâre no better off than an orphan. Do you actually believe Balfour loves you? Heâs just infatuated with your looks for now. Once your beauty fades, heâll be gone without a backward glance.
You think youâre something special to him? The entertainment industry is teeming with gorgeous actresses. Donât flatter yourself!â
Clara burst into laughter. âYou poor soul, begging for love, and in the end, youâll never receive it. Iâll send Balfour a picture of you right now. I want to see if heâs going to react the way I say he will or if he truly loves you as you believe.â
Ivy swallowed hard, her throat tight.
Once Balfour received this message, he would surely know where she was.
At Balfourâs end, the atmosphere was icy.
Had he known Clara hadnât let go of her vengeful spirit against Ivy, he would never have left her alone in the hospital. Damn it.
Why is it always after disaster strikes that one regrets?
âCan we track where theyâve gone?â Balfour asked, staring at the vehicle license plate on the screen.
âItâs a fake plate. They vanished after leaving the city.â
Quinton and his team of techies were racing against the clock to gather information, their hearts lodged in their throats.
The boss was already on the brink of a breakdown without knowing Ivyâs condition. If something truly happened to herâ¦
Meanwhile, Balfour had submitted all relevant information to the police, who were working tirelessly on the case.
But since Ivy hadnât been missing for a full twenty-four hours, they couldnât officially open an investigation.
With a âdingâ, a new message popped up. Balfour glanced at it irritably, but that glance nearly made him lose his composure.
There was Ivy in the photo, bound hand and foot, unable to move, with two glaring slap marks on her face and blood trickling from-the corner of her mouth, a clear testament to the ordeal she had just endured.
The sender hadnât bothered to conceal their identity. With a taunting tone, she asked: [Do you still fove Ivy like this?]
Balfourâs grip on his phone tightened, but after a deep breath, he forwarded the photo to Quinton for location tracing.
âHurry.â
The team gasped upon seeing the photo. Who could be so cruel to Ivy?
Why so heartless?
[What do you want? Money or something else?]
Balfour typed out this message and sent it to Clara.
At the same time, the team was frantically trying to analyze the surroundings captured in the photo.