Buying My Forever Wife novel Chapter 276

She suspected her ear or head might actually be injured; she would need to get it checked out at the hospital tomorrow.

But in front of the child, she pretended everything was fine.

"I'm alright. As long as you're safe, that's all that matters."

Stella wasn't having it. Taking Ivy's hand, she marched over to her father, her little face red with anger.

"Daddy, those people hurt Mommy! Look, they made her face all puffy! You have to go get revenge for her!"

Alaric's gaze fell heavily onto Ivy.

Seeing the undeniable mark of the slap, his chest tightened with genuine concern, and a part of him desperately wanted to comfort her.

But his stubborn pride got the better of him. Keeping his handsome face rigidly composed, he stood up without offering a single word of sympathy.

"Stay here and take good care of Stella. I won't be coming back tonight."

With that cold dismissal, he strode out the door.

Ivy didn't even have a chance to respond before he was brushing past her.

She assumed he was still furious with her for failing to protect Stella.

But his family had ambushed her. They had him completely outnumbered, giving her absolutely zero chance to fight back.

Still, seeing that Stella was unharmed was enough to put her at ease.

What Ivy didn't know was that Alaric was indeed furious.

Just not at her.

His blood was boiling at the thought of whoever had dared to lay a hand on her face.

He didn't even need to ask who was responsible. He drove straight back to Foster Manor to personally deal with Madeline.

The next morning, a staggering $1,000,000 compensation miraculously appeared in Ivy's bank account.

She stared at the transfer notification, counting the zeros over and over until she was certain it was real.

She had no idea where the money came from.

Just as she was trying to puzzle it out, her phone rang. It was Alaric.

Ivy quickly answered.

His commanding voice echoed through the speaker. "Take that money and go get checked out at the hospital. If there's any permanent damage, I'll force her to double the payout."

He had already stripped his sister and brother-in-law of their status and exiled them from Capital City.

Uncomfortable, she finally asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Ethan didn't hesitate. "The man you married... it isn't my uncle, is it?"

Ivy's heart skipped a beat. Her face froze, and her eyes darted away in panic.

A second later, she scrambled to deny it.

"What... what are you talking about? How could someone like me ever marry your uncle?"

She had no idea why he was suddenly asking this.

Had he found something out?

Ivy's palms grew sweaty.

Ethan stared at her intently, his expression dead serious.

"I heard from my family that my uncle kicked Madeline out of the Foster family and exiled her from Capital City entirely because of you."

"And every single time you've had an issue with Summer Vance, my uncle has been the one to fix it."

"You told me you were married, but no one has ever met your husband. Since my uncle keeps sweeping in to save you, it's pretty hard not to wonder if the mysterious hospital executive you married is actually him."