Chapter 57
With someone helping at home, Juno was being good and well–behaved, and as long as Martha kept an eye on him, I could take time for more important matters.
Luckily, when I rented a place for Martha, I never told Dexter the address. By now, he was probably searching everywhere for me, but I was already on my way to Juno’s kindergarten.
Before going there, I’d already reported everything to the authorities and got a letter of cooperation for the investigation.
The big red official stamp on the letter made the kindergarten director’s head spin, and she had no choice but to usher me into her office.
I got straight to the point and demanded to see the surveillance footage from Juno’s class over the past six months. The director agreed.
When I arrived, it was lunchtime at the kindergarten, so all the classes were busy. Almost no one noticed me slipping through.
In the surveillance room, I went through the footage frame by frarne, finally pinpointing the most likely moments. Then, while the staff wasn’t paying attention, I downloaded the footage and took it with me.
Once I finished, I left. Back home, I uploaded the videos to my computer and started reviewing them carefully. Around midnight, I finally found the crucial footage. Watching the scenes, I was so angry my hands were shaking–it was Rhea. The one behind all of this was Rhea, the popular teacher who everyone thought was amazing with kids.
I watched as she intentionally made things hard for Juno. During lunch, she sent him to the bathroom to eat alone, then stuffed a toy in his mouth and laughed with the other kids, making Juno the target of everyone’s ridicule…
With Rhea leading the way, the other kids started following suit. When the homeroom teacher, Vivian, wasn’t around, they would sabotage Juno in all sorts of ways.
They even soaked Juno’s water cup in the toilet and then made him drink from it. Juno refused, and when Vivian, unaware of what had happened, punished him by making him stand outside for two entire lessons, my poor Juno was left crying helplessly.
But that wasn’t the worst of it. Rhea even turned my personal situation into a ‘story‘ in front of the class, mocking me.
Juno couldn’t stand someone insulting me like that and tried to stand up to her. But he was so small, powerless to protect himself, and of course, no match for Rhea.
Soon, Juno faced even more severe isolation and cruelty. They didn’t hit him, and they didn’t yell at him, but they made him feel as though he was trapped in an endless, suffocating darkness…
I couldn’t watch anymore. I collapsed in front of my computer, crying my eyes out. I didn’t understand, wondering, ‘Why is this happening?‘
I
I had gotten along well with Rhea before. She even once told me that family issues could affect a child’s emotions. I wondered, ‘How could someone who seems so kind and competent do something like this?
‘Not to mention, she has accepted the gifts I gave her, and now she is treating my child this way: A surge of pure hatred filled
- me.
The next morning. I headed straight to the kindergarten. On my way there, Dexter blocked my path. It looked like he had
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14:41 Mon, 17 Feb 0
Chapter 57
been hanging around the area for the past few days–this was the only place he could think of to find me.
“Sylvia, we need to talk,” he said.
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“You showed up just in time,” I said coldly, opening the car door. “Get in. We’re going to the kindergarten. There are some things you need to know.”
Dexter looked stunned.
I urged him, “Don’t try anything funny. My car has an automatic alarm system. If you make any strange moves, I’ll call the police immediately. Don’t waste my time–just get in.”
Still unsure of what I was up to, Dexter reluctantly got into the passenger seat.
Once the door closed, I caught a faint, familiar scent of perfume. It was… the scent of a woman. For some reason, it felt oddly familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it.
When we arrived at the kindergarten, I had the director call Rhea into the office.
Rhea came in. As soon as she saw Dexter and me, her face shifted for a brief moment, but she quickly put on a sweet smile. “What can I do for you?” she asked.
I smiled and walked up to her. Without another word, I slapped her hard across the face.
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