Chapter 163

Leila was stunned, the burning sensation on her cheek overwhelming her senses. She turned toPaulina, her eyes brimming with a mix of corífusion and hurt disbelief, “Mom, why would you dothat?”

Paulina was beside herself with anger, “Tell me, did Merry ever give you a note asking for help?”

Leila narrowed her eyes, carefully considering her words, “Mom, why would you ask something likethat?”

Paulina, who lacked any kind of reason in her rage, blurted out the truth, “That school has beenraided. It was full of abuse. They didn’t just dunk Merry in water to make her obey, there were alsoelectric shock rooms, meditation rooms.”

As she recounted the horrors, Paulina remembered what she had witnessed at the school that day.

Cordelia had whisked Merry away, sparing her the sight of the items being removed from theschool, but Paulina and Cain had stayed behind, determined to see the full extent of Merry’ssuffering. And then they came across the instruments of torment, designed to leave no physicalmarks on the body but to indelibly scar the mind.

hero As Paulina recalled the sight of those devices, each one likely used on Merry, she shivered fromhead to toe.

Only then did Paulina begin to harbor resentment towards Leila. Why hadn’t Leila acted when Merrysent her a message? Was it deliberate? Merry’s words had shaken Paulina’s steadfast belief inLeila.

Especially when Leila had come home, wearing her pristine school uniform, her backpack clean, adiamond hairpin sparkling in her hair, while her Merry….

At that moment, Paulina was overwhelmed by an impulsive rage, and, without thinking, she slappedLeila.

Hearing Paulina’s revelations, a flicker of comprehension crossed Leila’s eyes.

Always intelligent enough to mask her true feelings, she quickly grasped a critical piece ofinformation, the school had been exposed, and certainly, Merry’s teacher was in custody. Leila’ssecret was out.

Feigning shock, Leila responded, “Mom, what are you talking about? How could Merry’s school belike that? Are you serious?”

Paulina hesitated at Leila’s surprise, “You really didn’t know?”

Leila seized the opportunity to plead her innocence, “Mom, what are you saying? If I had known,wouldn’t I have told you? Sure, Merry and I had our differences, but we’re sisters. How could I everharm her?”

I Paulina challenged her, “Then why didn’t you give me the note Merry sent you? Why did you give itto her teacher instead? And why didn’t you tell me about it?”

Tears welled up in Leila’s eyes, “Mom, you, know Merry’s character better than I do. I thought shewas planning another escape, so I didn’t even read the note. Wasn’t it just another one of herpranks? So, I handed it straight. to the teacher. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do with problems,go to the teacher?”

Paulina was silenced.

Leila continued her voice quavering,/Sending her to that school broke your heart. If I’d told you shewas causing trouble again, it would only hurt you more.”

Her tears began to fall, “But I never expected something like this to happen. Thank goodnessnobody got hurt. But why didn’t Merry tell us anything when she came home for the weekend?”

Paulina was taken aback by the question.

In the midst of the turmoil, they had forgotten to ask Merry that very question.

Cain’s gaze flickered, and as their eyes met, they both realized something. Paulina began, “At thetime, Cordelia had the students testify, and none of them spoke up. Then Merry mentioned theschool had their…”

Paulina stopped short as the realization hit her. Her face drained of color, “I need to go to thepolice station.”

If word about such an incident were to leak…

Cain interjected quickly, “Don’t go. The police said they’ve taken care of everything on thecomputers. We need to trust them.”

Their evasive words were clear to Leila. She kept her thoughts to herself, her eyes glinting withknowledge.

At the Delaney family, Cordelia hadn’t gone into detail about Merry’s ordeal with Lorna.

And Lorna hadn’t asked, welcoming Merry with open arms. Seeing Merry shivering in Cordelia’sclothes, Lornal immediately suggested, “Let’s get you warmed up with a hot bath, then I’ll whip upsome hot soup for you.”

Cordelia nodded, “Sounds good.”

After escorting Merry upstairs and explaining the school’s abuse to Lorna in brief, Lorna clenchedher fists, “That school deserves to be struck down for such cruelty.”

“If anyone dared treat you like that, I’d fight them tooth and nail.” Lorna’s protective instincts wereclear.

Observing Lorna’s response, Cordelia was filled with a sense of warmth.

Post–bath and soup, Latham arrived on his old bike to comfort Merry, “The past is behind us. Doyou want to take a few days off, or are you ready to come back to school tomorrow?”

Merry was puzzled, “I can go back to school?”

Latham smiled, “Of course. Did you think I’m just a math teacher with no clout? I’ve taken care ofeverything at school, and your spot is waiting for you.”

Merry’s eyes filled with tears. In her darkest moments, she had doubted the goodness in the world.But now, she realized that warmth always outnumbered the darkness.

“I’ll go back,” she decided.

“Alright.”

After some more comforting words, Latham left, and as evening came, Sanderson arrived home,outraged by Merry’s story, “The Jordans were so careless. How could they send their child to such a place without proper investigation?”

In the privacy of their bedroom, they vented their anger.

Even Mathilda was incredulous, ranting to Lacy who could barely grasp the story but agreednonetheless, “Right, we must never send Lorna to such a school.”

Mathilda sighed, both frustrated and concerned.

As night descended, the Jordans made their way to Merry’s door for the second time that day.Paulina could barely hold back her tears upon seeing Merry, while Cain, with a more pragmaticapproach, extended a bank card toward Merry, “Sweetheart, I know you’ll probably never forgiveus, so please, take this card.” Before Merry could protest, Cain continued, “We’ve made mistakesas parents, and we won’t make excuses for that. This is a token of our love. You wanted to get intothe Ontoky City Film and Animation Academy, right? We won’t stand in your way anymore. But, theauditions are costly, and the tuition even more so. Use this money to help with that.”

Merry looked at him for a long moment before nodding slightly and accepting the card.

Later that evening, Cordelia was up in her bedroom, lost in her books, trying to catch up on a day’sworth of lost time. She was diligently working on the homework. By the time she was done, theclock had struck eleven. After a moment of thought, she stood up and made her way to Merry’sroom. For some reason, her heart was racing. Knocking on the door and receiving no responseconfirmed her fears.

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