chapter2172

Miranda's fury detonated. She jabbed a manicured finger at Charlotte's nose, but her words were directed at Cecilia. "See that arrogance? You think I'll simply let her walk away after humiliating my child?"

Truth be told, Miranda had never liked Cecilia. Today felt like the perfect chance to seize a weakness—and she clung to it with vicious relish.

Charlotte had struck her precious boy; Miranda was not a woman to forgive or forget.

Cecilia opened her mouth, but Charlotte lifted a quiet hand, stopping her.

"Boss, leave me be. I'm fine. Worst-case scenario? I'll just spend a few days behind bars. It's no big deal."

Cecilia knew pleading would only embolden Miranda. If she were to beg now, the latter would only be even more smug.

In the end, officers led Charlotte away, her back straight, her gaze unbroken.

Before climbing into her car, Miranda tossed a final remark over her shoulder. "Don't blame me for being ruthless, Ceci. Any mother would protect her son. If yours were treated like that, you'd do the same."

Cecilia said nothing. Silence, cold and heavy, draped over her like midnight fog.

When the driveway emptied, she pulled out her phone and called Norman Jenkins, her attorney. "Charlotte's been detained. See if you can bail her out immediately." After ending the call, she saw Elliot shuffling toward her, eyes rimmed red. "Mommy, I'm sorry," he murmured, voice trembling like a candle in the wind. Cecilia knelt so they were eye-level. "Sweetie, why are you apologizing to me?" "I'm the one who invited our classmate over to play," Elliot murmured, his voice trembling. "If I hadn't, none of this mess would have happened."

Elliot had never imagined Felix could be so shameless. No one had asked the boy to come, yet he had strutted in anyway-an unexpected storm that tore the peaceful afternoon apart.

Cecilia lifted a gentle hand and ruffled the boy's hair. "You silly thing," she said, tone soft yet certain. "How could any of this be your fault? Don't overthink it."

"But what about Ms. Talbot?" Elliot's voice thinned, the sentence trailing off like smoke.

"Don't worry," Cecilia replied, fingers still resting atop his head. "Ms. Talbot would never blame you. And I promise I'll find a way to bring her home."

Elliot nodded so hard his hair flopped over his eyes.

Elsewhere, Miranda ushered Felix into the back seat of a sleek black sedan and slammed the door behind them.

"Mom, thank goodness you showed up," Felix crowed, still buzzing with "That lackey teeded a

rear lesson can you believe she actually threatened me? Hmph-bet she knows who's in charge now."

adrenaline. "The ed

Miranda let the bragging wash over her, icy eyes fixed straight ahead.

"You were supposed to be in class today," she said quietly. "Why did you come here instead?"

Earlier that afternoon, Miranda had swung by Felix's tutor's house to pay a courtesy visit. Only then did she, discover he had never shown up for class that he'd lied, and-after a quick investigation-had sneaked off to Cecilia's house instead.

Not only had he skipped class, but he'd also lied to a teacher to cover his tracks.

Furious, Miranda ordered a discreet search. The report came back quickly: her son was at the Smith residence.

Confronted, Felix dropped his gaze to his knees, the cocky tilt of his chin collapsing.

"Sorry... I won't do it again," he whispered.

"I should have let Charlotte teach you a lesson. Otherwise, you'd never straighten up," Miranda hissed, though she still could not bring. herself to strike her own child Pull

get

another stunt like this and see how I

punish you."

"I-I won't, Mom. Never again," Felix sputtered, nodding like a wind-up toy.

Only then did Miranda ease back into her seat, anger cooling into an exasperated sigh.

She didn't drive him home. Instead, she headed straight for the hospital and marched him to a physician she knew well.

"Doctor, look at my son," Miranda urged, resting a protective hand on Felix's shoulder. "A woman struck him today-hard. I'm worried something serious is hiding beneath the bruises."

The doctor understood exactly what she wanted and nodded politely. "Of course. I'll run a thorough examination."

Satisfied, Miranda allowed a faint smile to break across her lips.

She might not yet have the leverage to crush Cecilia, but she could still make the people around that woman bleed.

And as long as it hurt Cecilia, she'd be happy.

After a few perfunctory scans, the report arrived—minor injury, level two, serious enough to send Charlotte behind bars. With that, Miranda smiled even brighter.