CHAPTER 129: CHAPTER 129: DAD, ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO TRADE SOPHIE FOR ANNELISE?

Seraphina Kennedy was stunned, unable to speak for a moment.

Isn’t Sophie’s life a life too?

Whose life isn’t a life?

Isn’t this way of doing things essentially exchanging her life for Annelise Lancaster’s?

"Sophie, we’ll find a way to save you. Once we rescue Annelise, we’ll definitely save you," Seraphina Kennedy pleaded bitterly. "Sophie, Grandma Kennedy knows you’re a kind-hearted child. You can’t be so cruel to your sister Annelise."

"So should Sophie be cruel to herself instead?"

Seraphina Kennedy was once again choked by Sophie’s words.

Sophie looked at Damien Lancaster, "Uncle Lancaster, are you planning to exchange Sophie for Annelise, too?"

Damien Lancaster met Sophie’s clear, innocent eyes. As she looked at him, his eyes were full of guilt.

Damien Lancaster squatted down, "Sophie, uncle won’t let anything happen to you. But uncle needs to take you, only then can we find where Annelise is and rescue her."

Sophie understood now. They had already decided to use her to exchange for Annelise.

Sophie’s heart felt heavy.

Clearly, just last night, she thought the bad daddy in front of her wasn’t so bad.

But today, he’s going to use her to exchange for Annelise.

Sophie lowered her head, seeing the video in Seraphina Kennedy’s phone.

Annelise was crying and shouting, covered in blood.

Sophie was very scared, her eyes red.

Seraphina Kennedy held Sophie, "Sophie, listen, once we exchange for your sister Annelise, the Lancaster Family will compensate you. We won’t let anything happen to you, I promise I’ll save you."

Saying this, Seraphina Kennedy signaled the bodyguard beside her to quickly carry Sophie away.

Sophie suddenly being picked up, struggled desperately, "Let go of me, I don’t want to go, I don’t want to go."

Hearing Sophie’s cries, Damien Lancaster felt a pang of pain in his chest. He quickly stepped forward and took Sophie from the bodyguard’s arms.

Sophie cried until her little face was red, asking with hiccups, "Uncle, does Sophie have to go?"

Damien Lancaster didn’t speak, his cold thin lips pressed into a line.

Damien Lancaster’s attitude made Sophie realize her struggling seemed helpless.

They insisted she must go.

Finally, Sophie was forced to accept this fact.

After a while, Sophie lifted her head, "Okay..."

"Uncle, does this count as Sophie helping uncle?"

Damien Lancaster nodded, "It counts."

"Then uncle, promise Sophie one thing when she returns."

Damien Lancaster looked at Sophie’s tear-stained red eyes, reaching out to wipe her tears, "Okay, when Sophie returns, uncle will promise you anything."

Sophie pushed away Damien Lancaster’s hand and walked resolutely outside with her small body.

Damien Lancaster stood up, his clenched fists trembling slightly.

He secretly vowed that he would definitely bring Sophie back.

...

Sophie goes to school at 7:30, Ivy Summers arrived at 6:50 at the gate of Imperial Bay Villa by car, and called Sophie to come out.

Ivy Summers had told Damien Lancaster that she’ll be the one to send Sophie to school today, and Damien Lancaster agreed.

But Ivy Summers called twice, and no one answered.

The servant inside saw a car parked at the gate and came out to find it was Ivy Summers, dodged her gaze a few times, and spoke, "Miss Summers, you’re here."

"Yes, I’m here to take Sophie to school, as I mentioned to Damien Lancaster before. Why hasn’t Sophie answered? Is this little lazybones still in bed?"

The servant nervously grabbed her palm while speaking to Ivy Summers, "No, Miss Sophie has been up for a while."

"Then why hasn’t she answered my call? If she doesn’t go to school soon, she’ll be late."

Ivy Summers was about to walk in when the servant stopped her, "Miss Summers, Miss Sophie has already gone to school, Mr. Lancaster took her."

"Already gone?" Ivy Summers frowned, "How could Damien Lancaster break his promise? He clearly agreed I’d take Sophie today."

Ivy Summers took out her phone to call Damien Lancaster.

The call rang for over thirty seconds before it was answered. A low male voice came from the other end, "Hello."

"Damien Lancaster, you promised I’d take Sophie today. Why did you send her to school first?"

Damien Lancaster was silent for a long while before Ivy Summers finally heard him say, "You don’t need to come, just go back."

He hung up the phone after speaking.

Ivy Summers didn’t even get a chance to say another word.

Ivy Summers looked at the hung-up call, frowning. What’s wrong with this person?

Since he already sent Sophie to school, Ivy Summers naturally couldn’t go to fetch her back, so she had to get in the car and leave.

At this moment, the sky suddenly turned gray, and after a while, it started to rain.

Summer rains are always stifling, suffocating people with pressure.

...

On the way to rescue Annelise, everyone was very quiet.

Including Sophie, who was about to face danger.

Sophie sat beside Damien Lancaster, neither crying nor making noise, and Damien Lancaster, filled with guilt, couldn’t bear to look at Sophie.

Sophie looked out the window, "It’s raining heavily."

"Mommy said there will be a rainbow after the rain."

Damien Lancaster said, "Once the rain stops, you’ll be able to see the rainbow."

Sophie turned back, "Really? But Sophie is going to be exchanged for Annelise and will be locked in a small room. Sophie won’t be able to see."

Damien Lancaster’s eyes brimmed with even more guilt.

Looking at Damien Lancaster for a while, perhaps fearing there might never be another chance, Sophie suddenly said:

"Uncle, Sophie hasn’t had a dad since she was really, really little. Can I call you Dad?"

Damien Lancaster’s throat caught, an indescribable emotion surged forth. He nodded, "Sure."

"Dad, are you really going to exchange Sophie for Annelise?"

This call of "Dad" stunned Damien Lancaster, echoing in his heart. He felt this "Dad" was the most pleasant sound in the world.

Suddenly, Damien Lancaster couldn’t bear it anymore.

He didn’t want to do it.

But to save Annelise Lancaster, he had to do it.

It felt like a century had passed before Damien Lancaster slowly said, "If Sophie doesn’t go, Annelise will die."

"Sophie understands."

Sophie said no more and asked Julian Jacobs for paper and pen.

Damien Lancaster asked, "What are you going to write?"

Sophie carefully wrote, folded the note, and placed it in Damien Lancaster’s palm.

When Damien Lancaster was about to open it, Sophie stopped him, "Open it when Sophie comes back, or if Sophie doesn’t come back, then open it."

Damien Lancaster clenched the note, never had a piece of paper felt so heavy.

"Uncle has to keep his promise."

"Alright."

"Don’t worry, Sophie, Uncle will definitely bring you back."

Sophie no longer paid attention to Damien Lancaster and lowered her head.

I would have liked to call Mommy.

What a pity, left in a hurry this morning, my watch is still in the room.

...

The kidnappers sent Damien Lancaster a message with a designated location.

Two hours later, they arrived at a very remote and empty place, with no obstructions, no place to hide, and no one in sight.

Soon, a call came in, still using a voice changer.

"Mr. Lancaster is very trustworthy, we like dealing with people who keep their word. Put the child and the money down, leave, and once you disappear from our sight, I will naturally tell you the other child’s location."

"Why should I trust you?"

"Mr. Lancaster, what we want is money and a hostage. Killing one more person to anger you does us no good."

Damien Lancaster glanced at Julian Jacobs.

Julian Jacobs took Sophie out of the car and handed Sophie a card.

The card didn’t have a password, and the amount in it wasn’t one billion, but ten billion.

Damien Lancaster said in a deep voice, "I know what you want. Money, I’ll give you ten billion, and I’ll prepare a helicopter for you to leave Aethelgard, provided you ensure the child is unharmed."

"Ten billion, President Lancaster is indeed generous."

Ten billion was enough to fill the appetites of these people.

Damien Lancaster understood that even if someone was behind them, employing them, the money he gave them far exceeded what that person offered tenfold or more.

If these people were smart, they should know taking the money and scramming is better than angering him with a murder.

This way they wouldn’t dare harm Sophie, and he would have time to save Annelise Lancaster.

"Mr. Lancaster, aren’t you afraid we’ll become greedy?"

"Isn’t living well better?"

After a second of silence, even through the phone, they felt the pressure of Damien Lancaster’s words.

He chuckled twice, "Understood, understood, Mr. Lancaster is generous, we’re not fools. Rest assured, once we leave, we’ll ensure this child is safe and sound."

"Remember what you said. If anything happens to her, you might get the money, but you’ll never spend it."

Damien Lancaster hung up the phone, looking at Sophie standing alone below, he closed his eyes, "Go."

The driver immediately drove away.

Damien Lancaster couldn’t help but look back at Sophie.

Although everything was planned, he was still anxious and restless.

Still clutching the note Sophie gave him before leaving, Damien Lancaster very much wanted to open it to see what was written.

But the next moment, he restrained himself.

Sophie asked him to wait until she returned to open it.

So he would wait until she returned to open it.

Damien Lancaster put the note in the breast pocket of his suit, close to his heart, the closest place to his heart.

...

Ivy Summers’ right eyelid kept twitching today, making her somewhat distracted, and she almost broke a million-dollar celadon vase, which was unusual for her.

Joy Quinn thought she was unwell and suggested she take a break.

Ivy Summers went outside to get some fresh air.

Checking the time, nine o’clock, half an hour ago she tried calling Sophie, but Sophie still didn’t answer.

Ivy Summers assumed Sophie was in class, so not answering was normal, and she didn’t call again.

But now, feeling uneasy, she tried calling again.

Still no answer.

Ivy Summers directly called the teacher.

The teacher didn’t answer either, probably in class.

A moment later, the teacher called back, "Hello, Miss Sophie’s Mom, what’s the matter?"

"Hello, Teacher, could you please call Sophie? I called her watch, but she didn’t pick up... What? Someone asked for leave for Sophie, and she didn’t come to school?"