Chapter 70
Lara fell hard to the ground, and as soon as she heard Blanche’s words, she burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably.
It was just like back at the orphanage-everyone started whispering, their voices full of judgment.
“Why does this child keep calling her ‘Mom’?”
“Mrs. Simmons only has one son, doesn’t she?”
“Even if she’s confused, that’s no reason to push someone’s child.”
“Absolutely disgraceful.”
Someone helped Lara to her feet, brushing the dust off her clothes with a show of sympathy.
The headmistress stepped forward. “Mrs. Simmons, you can’t just come to the preschool and insist on expelling a child without good reason. That’s not how things are done.”
Blanche took Tia’s hand and lifted her chin for everyone to see. “Look at the scratch marks on my niece’s face. This girl did that.”
“I haven’t even started questioning your staff about their part in this, and now you’re lecturing me?”
“Headmistress, how can you allow a child like this to act out in your school?”
The headmistress hesitated. She remembered hearing from the preschool teacher about a fight, but it had seemed resolved quickly. “We’ll investigate this matter thoroughly, but expelling a child before looking into it seems extreme.”
“Oh, easy for you to say, since your own child isn’t the one who got hurt,” Hedwig snapped, raising her voice. “This little brat mocked my daughter
on top of it all. If she’s already this cruel at her age, how am I supposed to
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trust this school with my child?”
“We can get to the bottom of it right now. Let’s check the security footage,” Blanche said coldly, bristling at the other parents who were now glaring at her from their moral high ground. “If you want to transfer her to another class, fine. We’ll accept that.”
The mention of Lara’s behavior made the other parents anxious. No one wanted Lara moved into their child’s class, so they quickly chimed in, “Let’s check the cameras. That way, no child is wrongly blamed or unfairly treated.”
“If her behavior really is this bad, she should be expelled.”
The housekeeper who’d brought Lara that morning overheard all of this. She slipped out of the building and hurriedly called Jeannette, urging her
to come at once.
Blanche caught this out of the corner of her eye, then addressed the group. “Let’s head to the security office and review the footage together.”
The crowd followed Blanche down the hall.
Wasn’t this child placed here by the Simmons family? What on earth was Mrs. Simmons doing?
The headmistress stepped away to make a call. When she returned, the security footage from the previous day was already playing.
On the screen, Lara was shown sitting on Tia’s back, gripping her hair and forcing her face into the playroom mat.
Hedwig grew angrier with every second. She stormed over and slapped Lara across the face. “Whose little monster is this? Acting out like that at such a young age-what’s she going to be like when she’s older?”
Lara cried out in pain, shooting Hedwig a venomous glare. This time, not a single adult moved to help her.
“Headmistress, whose child is she? How could you let someone like that
into your school? If you don’t expel her, we’re pulling our kids out!” Some parents were so furious, they were ready to withdraw their children on the
spot.
“But this is-” the headmistress began, but she was cut off by Healy, who ran in from outside.
“No one is allowed to bully my sister!” Healy planted himself between
Lara and the others.
Everyone recognized Healy. Their gazes flickered in shock between him and Blanche. “Since when does the Simmons family have a little girl? Isn’t the one who got hurt Miss Simmons’ daughter? Then whose child is this?”
Their voices dropped to a whisper. “Could she be an illegitimate child?”
But Blanche heard it anyway.
Like father, like son. The father cheats, and the son defends the
mistress’s child.
Blanche looked at Healy, her tone icy. “She should be expelled-and you should be punished, too! How could you stand by and watch while Tia was bullied by that wicked girl, and do nothing but laugh?”
Healy’s lips quivered. “Lara was just joking around.”
“Joking?” Blanche seized Healy by the arm, dragged him outside, and forced his face down into the soft mat on the ground. “Then let me show you what a joke feels like, Healy!”
The crowd followed, stunned. No one could believe that gentle Blanche had suddenly become so forceful.
Healy struggled, gasping for breath as his face was pressed into the mat, his arms and legs flailing helplessly. The adults watched in horror but were too shocked to intervene.
Blanche yanked him upright. Healy choked and coughed, then lashed out
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at her with hands and feet, completely losing control.
“I was just joking with you-why did you hit me?” Blanche held Healy back with one hand on his forehead so he couldn’t reach her.
Tears streamed down Healy’s face, but he had no words.
He was the Simmons family’s golden child-the third generation-always treated gently by teachers no matter what he did wrong. Nothing in his privileged life had ever prepared him for this.
