“Mind your words!” Charlotte rebuked her.
“That’s the truth,” Luna slyly replied.
“Shut up,” Amanda interjected and gazed intensely at Luna.
Then, she turned and looked towards Charlotte.
“Be it that the bracelet was stolen or lost, that is not important. Nonetheless, it is undisputed that your daughter is the culprit of this unfortunate event. We’re reasonable people and do not intend to be hard on the child. Hence, we invited you here to resolve the situation. Now, how do you suggest we solve this?”
Ever since she was punished by Zachary during the last auction, Amanda had adopted a different strategy.
Now, she was pretending to be reasonable and courteous towards Charlotte. This way, even if Zachary were to find out, she would not be reprimanded.
“Please give me some time to figure this out,” Charlotte urged.
Charlotte was a reasonable person. It didn’t matter that the mother-daughter duo were nasty and absolutely despicable. If Ellie did lose the bracelet, she would have to bear the responsibility.
“We’re rushing back home to celebrate my grandson’s birthday.” Amanda checked the time on her watch. “Is ten minutes sufficient?”
“That works.” Charlotte carried Ellie in her arms and calmed her down. Later, she asked Mrs. Berry softly, “Mrs. Berry, didn’t I ask you to accompany Ellie to return the bracelet?”
Mrs. Berry’s frustration was apparent. “That’s true. However, when I was sending off the three babies to the school bus, Ms. Cheney was not there. Therefore, I instructed Ellie to hand it back personally to Ms. Cheney. I didn’t expect this to happen… I’m all to blame!”
Mrs. Berry blamed herself for it.
“Don’t blame yourself for it. I’ll try to make things clear.” Charlotte turned towards Ellie and gently touched her face. She then asked, “Ellie, can you tell me what happened?”
“When I reached school and wanted to return the bracelet to Ms. Cheney, I realized that the bracelet was gone…” Ellie whimpered. “Mommy, I’m sorry…”
“No worries.” Charlotte swiftly hugged her. “Ellie, you’re still young. It’s normal to make mistakes. Mommy is here to help you solve it. Don’t be afraid, alright?”
“Mommy, will you go to prison?” Ellie’s arms were wrapped around her mother’s neck.
Her grip was so tight, it was as though her mother would disappear if she were to release her grip.
“Mommy will be fine. Ellie will be fine too! Trust me.” Charlotte gently assured.
She patted her on the back again and signaled at Mrs. Berry.
Mrs. Berry hastily attended to Ellie. “Ellie, let’s go to your brothers. They’re still helping you to look for the bracelet. We’ll go help them!”
“Sure,” Ellie released her arms and followed Mrs. Berry. After taking a few steps forward, she looked back at Charlotte and said, “Mommy, we’ll return once we find the bracelet.”
“Okay. Go ahead.” Charlotte nodded and smiled.
“Hey, how can you let the child leave like this? Now, who’s going to be responsible?” Luna immediately stood up.
“What can you get from the child?” Charlotte asked coldly. “Didn’t you mention it just now? I as her guardian shall take responsibility for this matter.”
“We don’t have time to fool around with you,” Luna was extremely impatient. “Give me back my bracelet, or compensate me for my loss. Otherwise, I will sue your child for theft.”
“You’re so grumpy and impatient. You should learn from your mother!” Charlotte gawked glacially at her.
“You…” Luna was speechless yet infuriated.
Charlotte decided to ignore her. Following that, she invited Ms. Longman and Ms. Cheney to a corner of the room and asked for more information.
Yesterday, Ms. Cheney saw Timothy pass the bracelet to Ellie. However, she was oblivious to what happened subsequently. Also, she tried to look for the bracelet at the school field and in the classroom. However, her efforts were futile.
Ms. Longman summoned a group of teachers to look for the bracelet as well. Additionally, she instructed the school worker to inspect the CCTV footage for possible clues. Therefore, they would be informed if there were any new findings.
“We’re already here for an hour.” Amanda broke the silence. “Our time is very valuable. This can’t go on anymore, call the police!”
“That’s the way to go. Besides, inform the media!” Amanda stroked her head in exasperation. “It will be a big problem if someone loots it and sells it off!
