blinked in surprise.
With clear enunciation Cordelia slowly said, âWhen I walked in, I discovered that this place was mistreating students. They have a bunch of dunk tanks in the yard, and many teachers, just like this homeroom guy here, holding kids down, dunking them underwater. Itâs not just Merry, but all the students in this school.â
The officer was taken aback, âThatâs happening here?
Cordelia nodded, âYes, thatâs why I rescued Merry, but I could only get her out. There are hundreds more waiting for your salvation.â
Hearing this, the officersâ expressions turned grave, âThis is serious, and we must open an investigation immediately.â
The principal was beside himself, âWhat on earth are you saying? Youâve really gone all out to skip school. This is absurd
Cordelia pointed toward the school entrance, her thoughts crystal clear, âI forgot to record it, but those dunk tanks inside are evidence, along with the abused students. Do you dare let the police enter for evidence collection right now?â
The headmaster fumed, âOur school is an upright institution, established to help misdirected children get back on track. How can we just let the police in? What about our reputation?â
Cordelia remained silent, looking at the officers.
The officer furrowed his brow, lowering his voice to explain to Cordelia, âWe need a warrant to proceed with the search. If your claims are correct and the principal denies us entry, we would have to wait until the paperwork comes through.â
Cordeliaâs brow tightened.
By then, who knows what else might transpire at the school?
The officer then turned to the headmaster with a sense of duty, âMr. President, since this student has made allegations, and she claims to have witnessed it, why not let us have a look around? It would also prove your schoolâs innocence.â
The headmaster frowned, âOfficer, kids these days are hard to manage and rebellious to boot. If every time someone calls the cops, you want to search our school and disrupt classes, what will become of our institution?â
The officerâs brow furrowed as well. But without a search, he couldnât be at peace.
As he pondered, he saw the headmaster sigh, âBut we understand your concerns. We canât let crime happen right under our noses, right?â
The officer nodded.
The headmaster continued, âSo, I will allow you to enter and you may even question the students for evidence.â The officerâs face lit up with hope.
The headmaster then turned to Cordelia, âBut for a child whoâs disobedient and spreads malicious rumors, who even barged into the school and injured security and staff you canât just ignore that.â
The officers also turned to Cordelia, their voice full of righteousness, âDonât worry about that. If we verify that she has made a false report we will certainly detain her and impose the appropriate punishments. And weâll issue a statement confirming there is no issue with your school.â
The headmaster finally relaxed and stepped aside, âAlright, come on in.â
.
the officers headmasterâs gaze narrowed, turning to Paulina and â
also come in and if the mistreatment of your child
Seeing the headmasterâs forthright manner Cain and Paulina trusted him more.
behind Merry, couldnât help but , âYou were always a troublemaker, but this time caused uproar. Do really not want to school badly?â
hung her head , silent.
The entered the school at first disoriented by its atmosphere.
headmaster explained, âAll the students who come here have their own issues. To prevent them from running away, we installed metal gates and surrounded the place with sheet metal, out of necessity.â
officer Merryâs parents were skeptical. Soon, they bypassed the front yard and arrived at the backyard. Upon entering, they were shocked by the dozens of dunk tanks, with puddles still on the ground.
Cain and Paulina furrowed their brows, looking towards the headmaster.
headmaster said, âThe dunk tanks are actually for the students. If they get sleepy during lessons, they can splash some cold water on their faces to wake up. Itâs not forced, but we donât allow sleeping in class.â
It sounded somewhat reasonable.
Cordeliaâs brow tightened.
The headmaster spoke up again, âLetâs call the students out.â
Once he said this, the teachers began herding the students out.
The recently mistreated students had damp hair but had changed into clean clothes and redone their hair, looking like theyâd just washed it, nothing amiss.
The headmaster sighed, âOfficer, go ahead and ask them.â
Shaking his head, he put on a disappointed and sorrowful expression.
The officer looked at the students, asking, âThis student reported you were being mistreated. Is that true? Will anyone speak up?â
At this, all the students lowered their heads, not a single one speaking up.
Seeing this, Cordelia was stunned.
These kids were clearly bullied, so why wouldnât anyone speak up? The police were right there.
Her gaze swept over her classmates, finally pulling aside one she had seen being mistreated upon arrival, asking, âThe police are right here. Speak up.â
The student stepped back in panicked fear, shaking their head rapidly, âNo, itâs not, I wasnâtâ¦â
The reaction was suspicious, but there was no evidence.
Cordelia looked at the others, âSpeak up, will you?â
The rest of the students also remained silent.
The headmaster addressed Cain and Paulina, âMerry is too rebellious for our school to manage. Please take her away.â
Paulina begged, âPlease give her another chance.â
But the headmaster was unyielding.
Chapter 160
Paulina turned to Cordelia in anger, âYou got Merry kicked out of school. Are you happy now?.â
The headmaster turned directly to the officer, âDo you understand the true situation now, Officer? Sheâs caused a commotion in our school and tarnished our reputation. We request your assistance in rectifying this matter!â
The officer asked Cordelia, âDo you have anything else to say?â
Cordeliaâs face was tense, but her expression remained cool.
Before entering, she had guessed the headmaster might have cleaned things up.
But she was here to save Merry, to have the police search the school. Even if it meant getting Merry expelled for the sake of the schoolâs reputation. Her mission was complete.
But these peopleâ¦Without anyone to corroborate Cordeliaâs account, she was helpless to rescue them.
The police officer broke the silence, âWell then, I have no choice but to detain you for 15 days and contact your guardian to cover the damages to the school.â
But before he could finish, his phone rang. He answered, and his expression shifted to one of utter bewilderment as he turned to the headmaster, lowering his voice, âWhat? Thereâs evidence?â