Chapter 10 Claire's Dad - Christopher Bennett's POV The first time I saw Vivian . [ ] She had a boyfriend , and it was at a business gala . [ ] She was a planner for a partner company . I fell for her at first sight . She was beautiful . [ ] In a pale blue - green gown , like a wisp of smoke floating over river waves . [ ] But she refused me . I used business as an excuse . [ ] To take by force what I wanted . The night she bloomed beneath me , I suddenly felt that Bennett Corporation was nothing To keep her obediently by my side , I destroyed her fiancé's company . ] Detention , imprisonment - I used every means . ] To prevent her escape , I even had custom chains made for her delicate wrists. ] The triplets were conceived during that time . ] But the triplets looked too much like me , and she didn't like that . She even fell into depression for a while . Later , we had a daughter . ] But when our daughter was three , Vivian's condition was still poor . [ ] Until my daughter told me that Mommy wanted to go out . ] I thought this was another scheme of Vivian's to escape . ] After all , she'd tried to flee countless times over seven years . [ ] Vivian loved our daughter more than life itself . This made me lower my guard . Until that day , she left the country with her fiance's help . I lost my y mind with Claire 1 for the first time . If she hadn't been useless , why would Vivian have left ? My reach couldn't extend abroad . ] So I tried to expand the business internationally , staying busy beyond measure . ] Claire kept not coming home on time . ] That day all three brothers came home , but she hadn't returned for a long time . I sent everyone to find her . [ ] We didn't find her until the next day - I didn't sleep all night . [ ] It disrupted the next day's plans . I was both angry and anxious . ] ] I couldn't bear to think about how Vivian would collapse if she knew her daughter had gone missing . Only when Claire appeared did I breathe easy . ] I remembered how last time I'd locked her up for half a day and she'd cried until she fainted . ] This time I used the ruler , though not with much force . She cried with tears all over her face . ] I steeled my heart , because this month she'd already failed to come home on time three times . I hit her once more . [] Claire immediately burst into tears . ] Claire had been a crybaby since childhood - only Vivian could comfort her . Once she started crying , she couldn't stop . as busy then and had no mind to care ] But I was busy The next night when I came home , I saw her push open the door , her fuzzy little head peeking out . Very cute , but she was barefoot on the floor . Vivian also liked to go barefoot , which made me even angrier . [ ] But thinking of yesterday , I couldn't help trying to comfort her Until later , they said she'd stolen another child's silver locket . ] I couldn't believe Vivian's child would do such a thing . But Katie's father was a hero . And children don't lie . So I believed others . Seeing Claire's stubborn refusal to admit it , I slapped her . [ ] In the end she still wouldn't confess , so I could only buy the item . But I forgot that children don't lie , but adults teach them to . After investigating . I learned the truth . The grandmother had deliberately taught the child to say that , just to swindle money . I also called Vivian to ask . She said when she left , she'd given the child a silver locket - her mother's keepsake . I was such a fool That thing was obviously an old item - how much could it be worth ? Who would steal it ? And it wasn't like Claire hadn't seen nice things . ] I went home wanting to apologize to Claire . But it was too late . ] Claire wasn't in her room and hadn't gone to school . ] ] I sent everyone to find her , and finally found her in the basement . The child was burning with fever , consciousness blurred , still calling for Mommy . ] The doctor said if we'd been an hour later , the child would have been gone . Standing outside the ER , my whole body went weak . ] I didn't dare think how Vivian would hate me if she was gone . I kept watch for seven days before she finally woke up . But she didn't like my touch and wouldn't speak anymore . ] ] She used to love clinging to me and calling me Daddy , but after waking up , her eyes only held strangeness when she looked at me . ] ] The doctor's report said the child had psychological trauma || Neurological damage causing inability to speak due to stimulus - when she might speak again was uncertain . ] I tried being a good father . But it seemed too late . Every time she look looked at me , the fear in her eyes seemed to hollow out my heart I didn't understand then . Later the teacher showed me the kindergarten surveillance footage . Only then did I learn of the three boys ' cruelty - they had actually bullied their own little sister . So that fear wasn't just of me . [ ] It was also of her own brothers . [ ] But the old Claire could never come back . As long as she lived with me , she couldn't eat . [ ] Couldn't sleep well either . [ ] Even when she slept , she had nightmares . [ ] My daughter was the last card to bring Vivian back . But the former little crybaby now neither cried nor smiled . [ ] She ate then vomited , and never said she was hungry . Getting thinner and paler . As if a strong wind could blow her away . ] I repeatedly confirmed what the doctor said . That night , I finally decided to send her back to Vivian . [ ] If it had been before , seeing Vivian at the airport , I would definitely find ways to drag her back to the villa . But seeing her mother , my little honey let out a piercing cry . ] ] This was the first sound she'd made in the month since falling ill , accusing her mother of not wanting her . || ] I couldn't bear to watch the my love and our daughter die in my prison . [ ] I could only remain alone . Claire . It's all Daddy's fault . Now , you have a mother who loves you- You'll be lively and cheerful for the rest of your life . ]