Buying My Forever Wife novel Chapter 228

Once inside the master bedroom, he gently placed Stella on the sofa and knelt in front of her.

"Stella, look at me. Who hurt your arm?"

Stella's eyes darted around the room, and she shrank back, trying to hide in his embrace.

Seeing the pure terror radiating from her, Alaric hugged her tight, speaking in the softest tone he could muster.

"Don't be scared. Daddy's got you. No one is ever going to hurt you while I'm here. Now, tell me, who did this?"

Stella finally whispered.

"I can't tell. If I do, Daddy will leave me. Daddy will die."

Alaric's jaw tightened in fury. He cupped her tiny face.

"Who told you that?"

Stella blinked, her gaze disturbingly blank.

"Mommy told me."

Alaric frowned, a cold knot forming in his stomach.

"Which Mommy? Ivy?"

Stella didn't nod, didn't answer, and didn't deny it.

When Alaric tried to press further, Stella suddenly burst into tears.

Sobbing, she buried her face in his neck and whimpered.

"Daddy, please don't leave me! I'm so scared."

Alaric felt as though a blade had been shoved into his chest.

He rocked her gently, his mind racing through what she had just said.

Ivy hadn't even been near Stella for the past two days; there was no way she could have brainwashed the child.

So it was Elena.

Alaric grabbed his phone and dialed Leo's number.

"What did you find out about the incident with Stella at Metropolitan General?"

"Nothing conclusive yet, Boss," Leo replied. "The security cameras were undergoing an upgrade that day, and barely anyone saw her. It's incredibly difficult to pin down the culprit."

"Find a way. Cross-reference every single person on that floor during that timeframe. There has to be a trail."

How dare she touch what was his.

Suppressing the violent urge to rip Elena apart right then and there, he called Leo again, ordering him to deliver a batch of micro-cameras and listening devices.

Later that evening, Leo quietly dropped off the equipment.

Alaric ordered Elena to stay downstairs with Stella while he personally installed the surveillance gear in the nursery.

Elena saw her opportunity with Alaric distracted upstairs.

Wait for Mrs. Gable to vanish into the kitchen, she left Stella playing with blocks and slipped into the dining room, smearing a clear, odorless substance onto Alaric's plate.

It was a potent, illegal aphrodisiac known as Vesper-X.

Completely undetectable upon consumption.

But once it entered the bloodstream, within an hour or two, the victim would be stripped of all rationality, unable to recognize anyone, and reduced to pure, primal instinct.

As long as Alaric took her to bed tonight, the title of Mrs. Foster was guaranteed.

Elena felt utterly triumphant.

Quickly finishing her sabotage just as Mrs. Gable carried the final dish to the table, she hurried back to the living room, playing the role of the devoted caregiver.