Half an hour later, at the Carters', a black car appeared and pulled up in front of the entrance. 

A bodyguard pushed the door open, revealing Odell who stepped out of the car with Isabel in his arms. 

The child’s eyes and nose were glowing red, and her cheeks were puffed up like a ball. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and turned to look away from Odell. 

She remained in that position the entire time, so all Odell saw was the back of her head. 

Odell only frowned wordlessly and carried her firmly in his arms as he strode past the entrance. 

Soon, they arrived at Liam's room. 

Liam was sitting on the bed holding his phone in an absent state of mind. 

When he saw Odell carrying Isabel in, his dull, lifeless eyes suddenly turned vibrant again.

Madam Carter who was accompanying him was similarly stunned. “Isabel?” 

Odell put the little girl down. Immediately, Isabel raise

At Sylvia’s residence, after Isabel had been taken away, Sylvia had just been sitting in a chair and zoning out. 

She formulated countless plans to take Isabel back, but none of them were viable. 

It was not so much about her lack of strength, but Odell was just that much more powerful. 

Ever since his victory over his stepmother a few years ago, he had taken full control of the Carter Corporation and had since expanded its influence rapidly. In recent years, the corporation had surpassed all other competitors and cemented its place as the kingpin in Westchester City. 

He was as powerful as they came. 

It was clear that confronting him head-on would not work, but underhanded methods were not viable either. 

It was already past ten at night by the time she composed herself. 

Knowing her daughter’s temper, she figured Isabel was still awake by this time. 

Since Isabel did not get to bring her phone, Sylvia used hers to call Liam. 

The call was answered within several rings. 

Isabel’s crisp voice immediately followed, "Mommy, I’m with brother now. Don't worry about me. We just ate some cake which was pretty good.” 

Her voice was relatively cheerful, and she did not sound like she was ill-treated. 

Sylvia breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Has your brother eaten?" 

“Yup, he finished a big bowl of porridge." 

Sylvia smiled. "That's good." 

Isabel returned the question, "Mommy, have you eaten yet?" 

"I did. I ate with Aunt Tonya,” Sylvia answered without skipping a beat.

“Hmm.” Isabel hummed, then suddenly declared boldly, "Mommy, don’t be sad. I will make sure the stinky uncle gets what’s coming to him!”

Sylvia was just about to say something when she heard Isabel crying out, “Hey, you jerk, give me my phone…” 

Her voice grew faint, and soon it was evident that her phone had just been snatched away. 

Then, Sylvia heard Odell's severe voice, “For Isabel’s sake, I’ll let what happened back then slide. You’d do well to watch yourself from here on and not cause any trouble if you know what’s good for you.” 

Sylvia felt something burning in her chest. She was about to retort but sensibly stayed quiet. She could not play rough with him. 

On the other end of the phone, Odell was infuriated by the lack of response and hissed into the phone, "Did you hear what I said?" 

Sylvia took a breath and replied, "I did.” 

“Do you understand?” he asked again. 

Sylvia clenched her hands and swallowed her rage, then she answered curtly, “I do.” 

Odell frowned and hung up the phone. 

Sylvia put away Isabel's phone, then she got up and went to the kitchen to prepare something to eat. She was no match for Odell yet, and she knew getting angry would not solve the problem. 

For now, she had to bide her time and think of something else. 

...... 

Meanwhile, at the Carters', Isabel jumped on Odell the moment her phone was taken away. She clung to him like a monkey and stubbornly grabbed at her phone. 

Before she could grab it, Odell hung up the phone and shoved it into his pocket. 

He flung Isabel off his body like a plush toy, then put her in bed with Liam. 

Isabel immediately tried to pull herself up again the moment she was seated. 

Odell pressed her back onto the bed with her palms over her head as he barked an order, "Go to bed now. Otherwise, don’t even think about calling your mother again in the future." 

Isabel was clearly upset with this treatment. Her lips were crooked into a defiant frown. Despite her indignation, she had no choice but to bow in the face of evil. 

Something in Odell’s eyes changed. It suddenly occurred to him that Sylvia had probably worn the same expression during the call just now. 

Odell bit the inside of his lip. After releasing Isabel, he turned to Liam. "Go to bed early. I’ll give you your phone tomorrow morning." 

Liam remained disinterested and ignored him. 

Odell turned off the lights for them and walked out. 

After the door was closed, the room was pitch-black. 

Isabel shrunk considerably and whimpered, “Brother, I’m scared of the dark.” 

Liam put his arm around her shoulders and patted her head gently. "Don't be afraid. I will protect you since Mommy isn't here.” 

The two bodyguards were already approaching her. 

Aunt Tonya rushed forward while beckoning to Sylvia. “Sylvia, take Isabel and get out of here!” 

After that, she threw her weight into the two approaching bodyguards. 

Since they were more or less acquainted by now, the bodyguards were reluctant to use extreme force on Aunt Tonya, thus she successfully bought them some time. 

Sylvia immediately took Isabel and tried to go around them, heading for the exit. 

However, she had only taken two steps when she ran into Odell who was standing right by the exit. His large figure nearly cut off the entire path of retreat. 

Sylvia hesitated briefly, then she leaned into him with her elbow. 

Unfortunately, Odell stood his ground like a brick wall, completely unfazed despite Sylvia throwing her entire weight into him. 

Not only did she fail to shove him away, but she was also the one driven ba

Half an hour later, at the Carters', a black car appeared and pulled up in front of the entrance. 

A bodyguard pushed the door open, revealing Odell who stepped out of the car with Isabel in his arms. 

The child’s eyes and nose were glowing red, and her cheeks were puffed up like a ball. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and turned to look away from Odell. 

She remained in that position the entire time, so all Odell saw was the back of her head. 

Odell only frowned wordlessly and carried her firmly in his arms as he strode past the entrance. 

Soon, they arrived at Liam's room. 

Liam was sitting on the bed holding his phone in an absent state of mind. 

When he saw Odell carrying Isabel in, his dull, lifeless eyes suddenly turned vibrant again.

Madam Carter who was accompanying him was similarly stunned. “Isabel?” 

Odell put the little girl down. Immediately, Isabel raised her foot and proceeded to deliberately stomp on his shoe mercilessly. 

Odell hardly reacted at al

Chapter 20