Chapter 8

After the family meeting ended, Vivienne suddenly remembered something. She looked down at Ivy. "Oh right, Ivy. That girl who caused trouble for you today, what do you plan to do about her? If you want, Mommy can..."

She didn't finish the sentence, but the killing intent in her eyes flashed and vanished in an instant.

Ivy shook her head.

"Mommy, I don't want anything more to do with her."

Ivy curled under the blanket, her voice soft but her tone unusually firm.

That was the Shaw family's adopted daughter. The shadow of her previous life. The nightmare she had spent an entire lifetime unable to escape.

But this life was different.

This life, she had her own family. Her own parents and brother.

Chloe Shaw was nothing more than an irrelevant person to her now.

"She shouldn't come to bully me and my brother. I won't go looking for trouble either."

Ivy blinked her emerald eyes and spoke seriously. "Live and let live."

Vivienne looked at her daughter's determined gaze, and another wave of wild joy surged through her heart.

Her daughter was not only brave but also magnanimous.

Truly an angel.

"Alright. Whatever Ivy says."

Vivienne bent down and pressed a kiss to Ivy's forehead, then grabbed Vincent by the collar and dragged him out of the room.

The next day, Ivy didn't go to preschool.

Vivienne called in sick, claiming the child was unwell, and kept Ivy home to recover.

Ivy slept the entire morning in bed.

At three in the afternoon, when Vivienne came upstairs to check on her, she found Ivy already sitting up, leaning against the windowsill and looking outside.

"Ivy, why aren't you lying down to rest a bit longer?"

"Mommy, I'm better now."

Ivy turned around, her energy clearly much improved from yesterday.

Vivienne walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, examining Ivy from head to toe.

She really had recovered quite a bit.

The child's constitution was better than she'd expected.

"You've been lying down all day. Are you bored?"

Ivy nodded, then quickly shook her head. "Not bored, not bored. Home is very comfortable."

Vivienne watched that small face, clearly wanting to go out but afraid of being a burden to the adults, and her heart felt both sour and sweet.

Too cute. Too well-behaved. Too silly.

A child this silly, let out alone, would absolutely get kidnapped.

"How about Mommy takes you out for a walk? Some fresh air would be good for your recovery."

Ivy's eyes lit up instantly. "Really?"

"Of course."

Vivienne reached out and tapped her little nose. "Mommy will call Daddy and your brother. The whole family will go out together."

The park wasn't far from their home, about a fifteen-minute walk.

Vincent was still in his perpetually half-asleep state, wearing his fedora and walking on the outermost side, shielding Vivienne and Ivy on the inner sidewalk.

Silas lagged two steps behind. He still fiddled with that gear component. He walked.

Ivy was in Vivienne's arms, her little legs swinging back and forth, eyes curiously darting everywhere.

This was the first time since her rebirth that she had gone for a walk with the entire family.

Ivy took a deep breath, burying her face in the hollow of Vivienne's neck.

"Mommy, I'm so happy."

Vivienne's steps paused for a moment. She held Ivy a little tighter, her chin resting gently on top of her head.

"Mommy is too."

Vincent walking beside them tilted his head slightly, the corner of his mouth beneath the brim of his hat curving almost imperceptibly.

Just then, Vincent's brow furrowed slightly.

His peripheral vision caught a figure approaching from the side, footsteps unsteady, reeking of alcohol and stale sweat.

A homeless man.

Hair matted like a bird's nest. Face so dirty his original skin color was indistinguishable. Wearing several layers of tattered clothes.

Swaying. He walked.

The homeless man's target was the wallet clipped to Vincent's waist.

He thought no one had noticed.

But he was wrong.

In this family, everyone except Ivy had noticed.

When the homeless man's hand was half a meter from the wallet, Vincent moved.

His right hand shot out at a speed nearly invisible to the naked eye, five fingers precisely wrapping around the man's throat, thumb pressing against the larynx, the other four fingers digging deep into the carotid arteries on either side.

A squeeze.

The homeless man's eyes went wide, mouth gaping but unable to produce any sound, his face shifting from pale to purple in less than two seconds.

His hands clawed desperately at Vincent's fingers, but that lean hand was cast from iron, unmoving.

Vincent felt very calm. Almost pleasant.

It had been a while since he'd encountered prey stupid enough to deliver itself to his door. Brainless targets who threw themselves at you were the easiest to handle, and the most satisfying.

Vivienne's eyelid twitched.

She quickly glanced at Ivy in her arms, then shot Vincent a fierce glare.

Our daughter is watching. Have you lost your mind?

Vincent's hand stiffened.

He slowly released his fingers, stepping back half a pace, pulling his hat lower to shadow most of his face.

The homeless man collapsed like a puddle of mud, hands clutching his throat, coughing violently, tears and snot smeared across his face.

Ivy stared blankly at Vincent choking the homeless man.

The air went quiet for two seconds.

Vivienne's brain spun at full speed, preparing to fabricate a reasonable explanation to cover up what had just happened.

But before she could speak, Ivy in her arms made a sound.

"Wow!"

Ivy's eyes were round as saucers, her expression not one of terror but pure admiration.

She turned to Vivienne, her emerald eyes sparkling.

"Daddy is so amazing!"

Vivienne's expression froze.

"Ivy... what did you say?"

"I said Daddy is so amazing." Ivy waved her small hands, so excited she nearly bounced off Vivienne's lap. "That uncle must have been choking on something, and Daddy helped him cough it right up!"

Ivy turned to look at the homeless man still crouched and coughing, nodding seriously. "His face even turned purple. He must have been holding it in for a long time. Daddy is so kind, helping people even when he's just walking down the street."

Those movements might have looked a bit rough. Daddy was a truck driver. He constantly loaded and unloaded cargo. Naturally his hands were strong.

Being strong wasn't Daddy's fault. Daddy had already tried to control himself. After all, that uncle's neck wasn't even broken, was he? Daddy definitely held back.

Vivienne blinked.

Then she understood too.

Ivy was right.

Vincent was saving someone.

What else? Could Vincent have been committing assault in broad daylight, nearly strangling an innocent passerby to death?

Impossible.

They were a normal family. Normal fathers didn't do that kind of thing.

If Ivy said it was saving someone, then it was saving someone.

Vivienne's gentle smile returned, and she nodded. "That's right, Ivy. What excellent observation. Daddy was indeed saving someone."

Vincent lifted his gaze slightly from beneath the brim of his hat, his sapphire eyes flashing with an indescribable complexity.

Ivy tugged at Vivienne's sleeve. "I want Daddy to help me too."

"...Help you with what?"

"My throat is a little itchy too." Ivy opened her mouth wide.

The corner of Vincent's mouth twitched.