Chapter 5

Chloe Lin POV

I frowned. "You're saying Dotty pushed your daughter? Do you have any proof?"

Yvonne pulled her sobbing daughter forward. "Niu Niu, tell everyone who pushed you into the water just now."

The little girl cast a timid glance around the circle of adults before pointing a trembling finger straight at Dotty in my arms.

"It was her... She pushed me..."

Gasps of shock rippled through the guests. Every pair of eyes turned toward Dotty and me, followed by an immediate wave of murmurs and whispers.

I looked down at my daughter, asking in a gentle, reassuring tone, "Dotty, tell Mommy, did you push her?"

Dotty shook her head frantically. "It wasn't me! I didn't push her! She fell in by herself. I tried to grab her, but I couldn't reach..."

"Okay, I believe you." I patted her back softly, soothing her shivering little body.

Yvonne's face darkened with indignation. "Chloe Lin, what are you implying? If your daughter didn't push her, are you saying my daughter is framing her? Niu Niu is only four years old! Would a child that young lie and frame someone?"

I raised my chin, my gaze locking onto Yvonne's face with icy resolve. "If your daughter is too young to know how to frame someone, is mine old enough to lie?"

With that, I turned away, ignoring Yvonne entirely as I held Dotty close to leave.

"Stop!" Yvonne lunged forward, grabbing my arm with fierce grip. "We're settling this right here, right now, or you're not going anywhere!"

Almost on pure instinct, I jerked my arm back to shake her off.

With a startled shriek, Yvonne lost her footing, stumbled backward, and tumbled into the pond.

Water erupted into the air.

The entire garden fell dead silent.

"Yvonne!"

Lucas's expression contorted in sheer horror. Without a second's hesitation, he plunged into the pond.

Water splashed violently once more. He swam toward Yvonne with frantic strokes, scooping her into his arms and supporting her waist as he paddled toward the edge.

I froze on the spot, utterly dumbfounded.

I barely used any force at all—how could she have fallen in?

The guests along the bank hurried forward to pull them both out of the water.

Lucas was soaked to the bone, his dark hair plastered against his forehead, water dripping relentlessly from his jaw.

Yet he paid no mind to himself. His immediate priority was to inspect Yvonne in his arms, his voice laced with desperate worry and heartache. "Yvonne, are you alright? Did you swallow any water?"

Yvonne clung to his chest, her face deathly pale, her entire body shaking. "I'm okay... Lucas, don't worry..."

Lucas tightened his grip, pulling her even closer to shield her from the cold.

Standing just steps away, watching him look so panicked and tender over her, my heart felt as though it were being devoured alive by thousands of biting ants.

He had dived in so fast. It was as instinctive as breathing.

"Chloe Lin!" Lucas snapped his head up, his gaze cutting into me like a blade, barely masking the fury simmering beneath. "What the hell is wrong with you? Yvonne was only standing up for her daughter! Why would you push her into the pond?"

My lips parted, my throat dry and raspy. "I didn't use force. She fell in on her own—"

"She fell in on her own?" Disappointment dripped from Lucas's voice. "Everyone here saw you shove her away with their own eyes before she fell! Chloe, when did you become so vicious?"

My heart felt as if it were being sawed by a dull blade, the pain choking the air out of my lungs.

At that moment, Victoria Foster stepped out from the crowd and chimed in disdainfully, "What did you expect? With a mother like Chloe Lin, how could the daughter turn out any better? Learning to harm others and lie without owning up to it at such a young age—who knows what kind of monster she'll grow up to be!"

The looks the surrounding guests threw at Dotty and me turned bizarre, thick with open condescension and contempt.

With red-rimmed eyes, Yvonne whimpered, "Lucas, whatever humiliation I suffer doesn't matter. But as a mother, I cannot let my daughter be wronged! If we let this slide, won't everyone bully us just because Niu Niu doesn't have a father?"

Hearing her words, Lucas looked back at me, his tone brooking no argument. "Chloe, make Dotty apologize. Once she apologizes, we'll let this go."

"My daughter already said she didn't push her." I pulled Dotty behind me, my eyes turning dead and frigid. "Why should she apologize for something she didn't do?"

Lucas's patience had clearly run out. He turned toward the nearby bodyguards and barked, "What are you standing there for?"

Two burly bodyguards in black suits stepped forward at once.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

Panic seized me, and I instinctively pulled Dotty into a tight embrace.

One bodyguard seized my arms, yanking me aside, while the other bent down to grab Dotty.

Dotty shrieked in sheer terror, thrashing violently. Her face was paper-white, tears pouring down her cheeks like broken pearls.

"Let go of my daughter! Get your hands off her!"

I fought like a madwoman, but the bodyguard held me in an iron grip, leaving me completely powerless.

The other man dragged Dotty over, standing her directly in front of Yvonne and her daughter. Her tiny body trembled violently as she sobbed in despair, "Mommy, save me! Mommy!"