Chapter 23
Marissa kept her smile polished and sweet, but there was a hard edge to her voice. “I think we should just let it go. It’s all kids stuff, right? Let’s not make a big deal out of it this time.”
With that. Marissa reached out her hands with long nails, aiming to pinch Serena’s cheek, However, Paisley swiftly buried Serena’s face in her arms and gave Marissa a cold stare.
Not feeling embarrassed by Paisley’s action. Marissa let her hand drop and added. “But just so you know, there better not be a next time. We can’t bear our own kids being always picked on.”
en foot in this school.
Paisley’s eyes flicked over the three of them, and she couldn’t help but regret ever letting Serena step foot
“That’s so nice of you. Ms. Sutton, you’d better get to apologizing right now, Michelle chimed in again, trying to smooth things over.
He thought if Serena’s mother apologized, the issue would be settled with no fuss.
Paisley shot back with a batter Laugh. “Why should we apologize? We still don’t have the full picture here. Who’s right and who’s wrong is still up in
the ali
She scoffed and added. “Or do you judge students based on the parents’s identities?”
Those words hit Michelle like a stap, leaving her speechless. Michelle was furious but had nothing to and increasingly hostile.
counter w
with. Her
r gaze at Paisley turned cold
Michelle scolded. “Ms. Sutton, this is clearly Serena’s fault. She ran off and hurt the other kids. She’s in the wrong here. The two parents aren’t pressing charges, so a simple apology should settle it. But you’re.”
Michelle trailed off her frustration plain. She’d been about to say “ungrateful“. Though she didn’t voice it, her implication was crystal clear.
Ttrust my daughter. She wouldn’t hurt anyone for no reason. I want the school to investigate this and clear her name. Paisley said firmly. Her words rang with conviction, and there was no backing down.
Dominick was momentarily taken aback. For a brief second, he didn’t recognize the woman in front of him. But then, it clicked. This was the same Paisley he remembered–strong, determined, never afraid to speak her mind.
what
Marissa noticed the way Dominick was looking at Paisley and felt a knot in her stomach. She pulled Stella over and said, “Now, Stella, tell us w happened again”
Stella had been ignored long enough and was pouting, clearly unhappy about the situation. But when her aunt spoke, she couldn’t resist. She crossed her arms and added some extra dram to the retelling
“Basically, this bad girl just came over and started bothering Sonny for no reason. Sonny ignored her, so she freaked out and started hitting him. Not just him, she hit me too,” said Stella.
As she spoke, she held out her palm, showing a few red, raw spots where the skin had been scraped.
“Grayson, is that what happened?” Dominick turned to his son and asked.
Grayson hesitated for a second with guilt flashing in his eyes. But the moment he saw Paisley holding Serena, he pouted and gave a sharp nod. He pointed an accusing linger at Serena and replied. “Yeah, Stella’s right. She’s a total nutcase!”
Serena, who’d finally stopped crying, immediately started again when she heard Grayson call her a “nutcase“. Serena protested, “Mommy, I’m not a
Pandey’s eyes licked to Serena’s hands and found the cuts weren’t deep. She knew if they were from a normal child, the principal wouldn’t have taken it so seriously.
The school made such a big fuss only because it was Dominick’s son and Marissa’s niece. They were afraid that the Vanderbilt family would get upset, and that was why they were making such a big deal out of this.
If she were any other parent, maybe she’d have been left to swallow the injustice quietly. After all, who would dare cross the school or its wealthy donors?
“No more talking” Paisley snapped. “Let’s check the security fo expect an apology from them?
footage. If the footage shows my daugh
es my daughter was wrong. I apologize. But if it doesn’t, I
