Chapter 548 - 540: You and I, Together and in Love

With that, Tilly and Tammy sat on their stools, not daring to move, as if on pins and needles.

Mr. Cole saw them sitting still and frowned. "What’s wrong? Can’t move?"

The two girls had no choice but to stand up and follow him out of the classroom.

Fatty was now acting like a little class monitor, sitting triumphantly at the teacher’s desk.

He held a piece of chalk, and whenever he saw someone talking, he’d throw it at them.

"All of you, be quiet! If anyone keeps talking, I’m telling the teacher your name."

Dorothy Ellsworth wanted to check on Tilly and Tammy in the teacher’s office, so she quietly whispered to Dylan Grant. But the little class monitor saw her, and a piece of chalk flew through the air, hitting Dorothy right in the eye.

"Ah!" she shrieked, immediately trying to rub her eye. Dylan Grant shot up from his seat and told her not to rub it, but to go wash it out with water.

Elmer Grant jumped up from his seat and scrambled to the teacher’s desk. "You threw that chalk right in Dorothy’s eye! Didn’t you see?"

"So what? She can just wash it out," the little class monitor said dismissively.

Elmer Grant grabbed a piece of chalk and shoved it right into the boy’s eye.

Fatty shoved Elmer hard, sending him sprawling to the floor.

"I’m writing your name down, and I’m telling Mr. Cole later!"

He rubbed his eyes furiously, stomping his feet in anger.

Elmer Grant got to his feet and clenched his little fists. He restrained his anger and finally spat out a single word: "Whatever."

Then he went back and sat down properly in his seat.

Dorothy Ellsworth and Dylan Grant went to the sink to rinse out her eye. It was all red.

"Dylan, I want to go check on the twin sisters. Will you come with me?"

"Okay."

The two of them headed toward Mr. Cole’s office together.

They arrived a few minutes later.

As they reached the door, they heard a pained cry from within. The two children pushed the door open, and the sight that greeted them was a profound shock.

Tilly and Tammy’s pants were pulled down around their hips, and Mr. Cole was in the middle of doing something unspeakable to Tammy.

Dorothy Ellsworth shouted in fury, "What are you doing!!!"

Hearing the door and the shout, Mr. Cole panicked.

As the saying goes, if you play with fire, you’re going to get burned.

Mr. Cole’s first thought was to grab the two children and bribe them to keep quiet.

But he didn’t realize that even if Dorothy kept quiet, a child like Dylan Grant could never be bribed.

When he rushed out the door to grab the two children, they cleverly didn’t run back to the classroom. Instead, they ran toward the school gate, where the Men in Black were waiting.

When the Men in Black saw their young master and Dorothy running toward them, they immediately entered the school grounds. A glance behind the children revealed Mr. Cole in hot pursuit.

"Young Master."

Dylan Grant looked at him. "Call my mom right now. Tell her to call the police immediately."

The Man in Black did as he was told. Thinking something was wrong, Nora Ainsworth rushed over with Chloe Marshall.

"Where’s Elmer?"

"He’s in the classroom."

"Dylan, what happened?"

Dorothy Ellsworth pointed back in Mr. Cole’s direction. "Auntie, Mommy, Mr. Cole made Tilly and Tammy take off their pants, and he put his ugly thing on Tammy."

Hearing this, Chloe Marshall and Nora Ainsworth exchanged a glance. Chloe picked up Dorothy, her heart clenching. ’How can a child get a proper education or have a carefree childhood in a kindergarten like this?’

"Someone, get the principal over here!"

Nora Ainsworth was furious. When the principal learned she had arrived, she hurried over with another teacher, having no idea what was going on.

"Miss Ainsworth, what’s happened to make you so angry?"

Nora Ainsworth said, "Is Mr. Cole your husband?"

"Yes. What’s wrong?"

Just then, sharp-eyed Dorothy spotted Tilly and Tammy in the distance. She immediately trotted over and pulled them along with her.

"Tilly, Tammy, tell them what Mr. Cole did to you. My mommy and my auntie are here. They’ll help you, and the police officers will help you too."

Tilly and Tammy glanced at each other timidly. Finally, in quiet, halting sentences, the two children explained what had happened.

Just then, the police arrived.

It turned out that beast, Mr. Cole, had been using the excuse of homework mistakes to call the girls into his private break room and grope them. This had been going on for several months, ever since Tilly and Tammy started at the kindergarten.

To everyone’s surprise, he hadn’t just done this to Tilly and Tammy; he had behaved this way with other girls in the class as well.

The police immediately went to the classroom to investigate, and their findings confirmed it.

They immediately instructed all the parents to come to the school.

The principal’s husband was taken into custody and brought to the police station.

This incident caused the girls’ parents immense pain. They couldn’t believe the principal’s husband had extended his demonic claws to their own daughters.

Chloe Marshall suggested that everyone take their daughters to the hospital for an examination. They all agreed and went immediately.

The examination results showed that Tilly and Tammy’s hymens had been ruptured by the principal’s husband, Mr. Cole. However, because the injury was recent, it could be surgically repaired.

The other children were all unharmed.

The principal, who had accompanied them, offered to pay for the girls’ surgery.

Zoe Ellsworth, along with Dorothy and the Grant mother-and-sons trio, turned to leave. A group of parents began chattering, praising Dorothy for her cleverness. Even Tilly and Tammy’s parents expressed their gratitude; although what happened was terrible, it was far better to find out sooner rather than later.

On the way back, Nora Ainsworth sighed and said to Tilly and Tammy’s parents, "A beast like that deserves to be shot for ten minutes straight. How could anyone do something so utterly depraved? Still, he’ll probably get several years in prison. The girls were violated, but thankfully they’re still young and had the reparative surgery. I hope you can take them away from this place. Keep this a secret for the rest of their lives. Otherwise, this pain will follow them forever."

"We will."

Chloe Marshall was also seething with anger. She could understand what those little girls must be feeling.

The kindergarten was finished. The principal apologized to each parent, but it was obviously no use. It was clear her pain was no less than the parents’; the business she had poured her heart into was ruined, just like that.

Nora Ainsworth stepped forward and looked at the principal. "You shouldn’t be in this business anymore. I’ll give you a sum of money. Sell the school to me."

"How much are you offering?"

"Two million."

It would have been a lie to say the principal wasn’t tempted. She replied immediately, "This kindergarten represents years of my hard work. The building and everything, it’s all my own property... but I’m willing to sell it to you."

Nora Ainsworth nodded. "We’ll sign the contract tomorrow."

On the way back, Chloe Marshall asked, "Nora, are you really going to buy the kindergarten?"

"Of course," she said with a smile. "I don’t plan on taking any more acting roles. My main focus now is on educating our kids. Once they’re in elementary school, I’ll sell the kindergarten."

"But after what happened, the school’s reputation is ruined. Who would dare to send their daughter to our kindergarten?"

Nora Ainsworth replied, "Tomorrow, after I sign the contract, I’ll call a meeting with all the parents. I’ll guarantee they can review the security footage once a week, and I’ll promise that if anything at all happens to a child at school, the school will take full responsibility."

Chloe Marshall’s mood lifted. "In that case, Nora, I support you. If you do that, I’ll feel much more at ease with Dorothy attending school here."

Nora Ainsworth kissed Dorothy. "Our Dorothy is so smart. Dorothy, listen to your auntie. Whenever you see anything unusual, you must tell a grown-up. What you and Dylan did this afternoon was absolutely the right thing to do."

"It was mostly Dylan."

"You deserve a lot of credit, too."

The group returned home.

Worried that the day’s events might have a psychological impact on Dorothy, Chloe Marshall had a long, careful talk with her. She also took the opportunity to teach Dorothy about personal safety, explaining what was okay and what was not.

That evening, in a private room at a seven-star hotel, two tables were filled. The Grants, the Ellsworths, and the Hawthornes had all arrived.

Everyone was gathered to celebrate the recent marriage of Zoe Ellsworth and Herman Hawthorne.

And so, the day came to a close.

As they left the hotel after dinner, it had started to rain.

Herman Hawthorne put his arm around Zoe Ellsworth, holding his jacket over both their heads as they got into the car.

Inside the car, they watched the rain patter against the windows.

Zoe Ellsworth opened the window and reached out her hand, letting the rain fall coolly into her palm. "This is so nice," she murmured.

Herman Hawthorne looked at her, gazing at her profile. "Our life is just beginning, Zoe. You and me, together, loving each other."

She pulled her hand back and leaned against his shoulder. "Darling, let’s go home."

"Okay."

The car slowly pulled away, soon disappearing into the light rain of the night.

**

That night, after Holly Wood and Leon Lynch had already fallen asleep, the urgent ringing of a phone startled them awake. The call was from Mrs. Wood.

"Mom, what is it?"

"Holly, you have to come quick! Your father’s being beaten to death!"

Mrs. Wood’s voice came from the other end of the line, choked with sobs.

Holly Wood shot up in bed. "Mom, don’t cry! Leon and I are coming right now!"

Leon Lynch sat up. "What’s wrong?"

"That was Mom. She said Dad’s being beaten to death."

Hearing this, Leon Lynch also scrambled to grab his clothes and get dressed. "Who’s doing it?" he asked as he pulled on his shirt.

"She didn’t say. Let’s just hurry. We’ll find out when we get there."

The two of them dressed quickly and drove in a hurry to Prosperity District. They couldn’t move into the new house they’d bought yet, as the renovations weren’t finished.

They reached the Westgate entrance, parked the car at the base of the apartment building in the Westgate District, and the couple hurried upstairs together.

When she opened the door, the scene before them sent Holly Wood into a shame-faced rage.

The living room was a complete wreck, but Holly barely registered the property damage. Her father, Mr. Wood, had been beaten, and his head was bleeding.

"Mom, why isn’t he at the hospital?"

Mrs. Wood sighed. "Your father won’t go."

Holly Wood’s gaze fell on June Walsh’s family. She shot them a cold look. "It looks like fifteen days in detention wasn’t enough for you last time, was it?"

Mr. Walsh lunged forward, about to strike Holly. "You took my daughter to get an abortion behind my back! I’d like to see what the police have to say about that crime!"

Leon Lynch grabbed his swinging arm. "Not while I’m here, you don’t! Call the police!"

Mr. and Mrs. Wood looked as if they wanted to say something but held back. Holly knew why they hadn’t called the police or an ambulance—it was because she had forced June Walsh to have an abortion.