After Mrs. Berry left with the kids, Charlotte immediately ran back to the classroom and searched high and low for the bracelet…
She looked everywhere. The classrooms, the school field, the school bus, the toilets, and every single corner in the school compound.
With no choice but to persevere, she started to scavenge through the garbage bins. As a consequence, her clothes were later soiled full of dust and dirt.
As the sky darkened, the teachers and school workers left one after the other.
Ms. Longman tried to persuade her,” Ms. Windt, I suggest you go home in the meantime. All of us will look for it tomorrow. Additionally, I’ve sent out a notice informing all school personnel about the bracelet. If anyone finds it, it will be passed to me.”
“I plan to search for it longer.” Charlotte was overhauling the garbage tin. “Ms. Longman, don’t mind me. I’ll search for it until eight at night and I’ll leave after that.”
“Truth be told, we’ve looked around in these places…” Ms. Longman wanted to convince her further. Nonetheless, she changed her mind after she saw Charlotte’s determination. “Alright then. I have to go. Take this torchlight with you, just in case you need it.”
“Thank you.” Charlotte retrieved the torch light. “I needed this.”
Ms. Longman turned and walked away. Later, she met Ms. Cheney at the school entrance and the two immediately discussed the incident.
“A woman trying to raise three children is not easy,” commented Ms. Cheney, “where is the children’s father? He’s such an irresponsible parent…”
Ms. Longman replied, “She should be a single mom…”
“Today, Mrs. Sterling had gone overboard by obnoxiously reprimanding the three children. It was atrocious for her to comment that the alleged theft was the result of insufficient familial education by their parents. I tried to calm her down but she threatened to have me fired instead! What an obnoxious woman!” Ms. Cheney eventually disclosed her grievances.
Ms. Long was uneased. “Mrs. Sterling is infamous for her arrogance and domineering behavior. Try not to mess with her.”
Ms. Cheney felt that it was extremely unfair for Ellie. “Clearly, Timothy intended the bracelet to be a gift for Ellie. However, his mother now turns around and accuses Ellie of theft. Such a repugnant act!”
“Unfortunately, the law is against Ms. Windt and Ellie. Minors do not possess the legal capacity to bestow gifts, especially something that is so valuable. Therefore, the Whites have the upper hand in the situation!” Ms. Longman was clearly against the Whites’ conduct.
Ms. Cheney replied, “I understand. Therefore, I dared not to speak up during the argument just now. Nonetheless, Mrs. Sterling shouldn’t have scolded the children in such an unscrupulous manner. When it happened, Ellie was crying and shivering with fear, it pains me to see her terrified look…”
“Indeed, she’s a very mean and cold-blooded woman. Only when Ms. Windt arrived, did she restrain herself from scolding Ellie further!” Ms. Longman agreed.
Ms. Cheney eventually visualized the potential catastrophe that would befall her by having Timothy in her class. “True. A parent like this is horrifying. I have to pray to God that nothing bad happens to Timothy during my class. Otherwise, I’m doomed!”
“Not just you, but the whole kindergarten will also be done for…” Ms. Longman shivered at the thought of it.
Finally, Ms. Cheney lamented, “It’s extremely unfortunate to be involved with a family like this!”
While the two teachers tried their best to speak softly, they were unable to remain inaudible during the quiet and peaceful night. Inevitably, Charlotte managed to eavesdrop on the whole conversation.
She held onto the torchlight firmly and her eyes emanated intense fury and wrath.
Although she knew very well that the mother-daughter duo were insidious and heartless, she underestimated their level of atrocity.
They have the audacity to hurt my children with such barbaric language!
Suddenly, her phone started ringing.
Mrs. Berry was calling Charlotte. She immediately took a deep breath to calm herself down. After she managed to recalibrate her emotions, she answered the call. “Mrs. Berry!”
“Miss, are you still at the kindergarten?” Mrs. Berry asked.
Charlotte replied, “Yes. I’m searching for the bracelet. What’s wrong?”
“Ellie is having a fever…” Mrs. Berry broke the bad news.
Charlotte instantly panicked. “What? I’ll come back immediately.”
Charlotte grabbed a ride and rushed back home.
Ellie laid down semi-consciously on the bed. One would notice that her chubby cheeks were flushed red.
Beside her, Mrs. Berry tried to lower her temperature by sponging her with a cold towel.
Furthermore, Robbie applied an ice bag on her forehead using his right hand. Meanwhile, his other hand was measuring her temperature with a thermometer.
At the other side of the bed, Jamie was trying to feed her some water. He patiently scooped the water bit by bit and put it in her mouth. While doing that, he routinely wiped off the remaining drops of liquid on the side of her mouth.
“Ellie, Ellie, it’s Mommy…” Charlotte called out to her.
She held her hand over and touched Ellie’s forehead. Needless to say, it was blazing hot!
“Mommy…” Ellie mumbled indistinctly, “Mommy, I have a daddy right? I’m not a b*****d, I’m not…”
After hearing what she said, tears uncontrollably streamed down Charlotte’s cheeks.
