the two-faced Adopted Girl Who Melted CEO's Ice-Cold Heart
Chapter 81: Their relationship is one of domination and dependence

Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Their relationship is one of domination and dependence

Delphine woke up from the pain.

The wine cellar was cold and dimly lit. Her entire body was bruised from the freezing air, with wounds all over her body. Just the slightest movement brought heart-wrenching agony.

Before passing out, she thought Stone Leclair would beat her to death. Every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was his ferocious face and the storm of whipping lashes.

As her consciousness lingered on the edge, her memories flashed by like a carousel. She reached out, trying to grasp the man standing backlit in the distance. But he flung away her hand and walked farther and farther.

Tears poured down, soaking through her wounds, stinging them cruelly.

"Miss Delphine, have some water." The old butler turned on the light and looked at the child battered and bruised with a mix of compassion and sorrow. He carefully helped her take a sip of warm water.

Delphine took a small sip but couldn’t bear to drink more. She curled up into a ball, her body trembling uncontrollably from the pain.

"Miss Delphine, you should call the eldest young master. Beg him to let you out and get you a doctor," the old butler sighed.

Madam Carter was already struggling to keep herself afloat; she likely didn’t know Delphine had been beaten this badly. In this house, if anyone still had a shred of humanity and could save this poor child, it would only be the eldest young master.

The old butler had initially planned to call Ignatius Leclair and report the situation, but the call was abruptly cut off midway. Unable to bear it, he left his phone beside her, sighed again, and tiptoed out.

There was only so much a mere butler could do.

Delphine’s senses gradually returned, and only then did she realize she had been locked in the wine cellar. The pain, hunger, and cold, once she regained consciousness, grew increasingly sharp.

She reached for the phone. There were only a handful of contacts stored in it.

She couldn’t call the police. She couldn’t call Jocelyn Yeager either; after all, this whole ordeal had stemmed from Jocelyn. Madam Carter was bedridden as well. The only person she could turn to was Ignatius Leclair.

Delphine dialed Ignatius’s number. The phone rang for a long time before the man picked up.

"What’s the matter?" The voice was deep and characteristically cold.

Her reflexes were slow, and she hesitated for several seconds before answering in a weak, hoarse murmur, barely audible.

Calling him had been an instinctive action — she didn’t know what to say to Ignatius. Whether to plead, lament, or express her grievances, none of these were things Delphine Carter could bring herself to do.

The Leclair Family was like a bottomless abyss. When it came down to it, they were all Leclairs, and only she carried the name Carter.

Between them, there was nothing but a relationship built upon exploitation and dependency.

There had once been a time when she held the most beautiful illusions about this man, felt the purist of joy because of him. But when the facades and betrayals tore apart everything, all that was left was indifference and silence.

"Speak," the man’s voice became even lower, tinged with impatience and restrained anger.

Delphine’s body had already numbed from the pain. Waves of dizziness surged through her, like tides crashing again and again. The phone slipped out of her hand and onto the floor. She closed her eyes, utterly powerless, as a stifled groan of anguish seemed to rise from the depths of her throat.

When she turned eighteen, he had given her the most agonizing rite of passage. She wanted to ask him, after all these years, did he regret it — regret treating the woman named Delphine Carter this way?

But there would be no chance to ask. Delphine forced a bitter smile. After her death, Ignatius Leclair would still remain the elevated heir of the Leclair Family, a scion of noble blood and wealth. His life would always be gilded in brilliance.

He would soon forget about her. The only person in this world who had loved her truly was her grandmother — the one who had held her tiny hand and carried a small bamboo basket on her back.

The phone remained silent. Ignatius Leclair frowned and ordered Maximilian to come in.