5
I fiddled with Snowball’s ears, my voice barely a whisper. “…Teacher Emily doesn’t like me.”
“Why?”
*She says I’m naughty.” My fingers unconsciously drew circles on Snowball’s back. “She won’t let Brother go with Auntie Clara.” Alex’s pupils constricted sharply. He reached out and lifted my chin. It was then I realized my tears had already fallen onto Snowball’s head.
“Explain,” his voice was suddenly very soft, but each word seemed to be coated in ice shards. “What did she do to you?” I tugged at the dinosaur pattern on my pajamas, recounting the incidents in broken sentences. During nap time, Teacher Emily would pinch the inside of my thighs. In arts and crafts class, she’d deliberat
ely take scissors and snip my fingers. The most terrifying thing was…
“She she put a caterpillar in my dress. “I shivered. “She said that way, I’d crawl to find my brother like a worm…”
Crack! went the sound Alex’s phone screen cracked. He called James, his assistant, to investigate.
Half an hour later, James burst into the study, his face ashen. “Found it! Emily Thomas is Clara’s college best friend, but…” He glanced at me, who was grooming Snowball “We’re not sure why she targeted Ms. Vance Alex’s fingers tapped a dangerous rhythm on his desk. “Evidence.” James handed him a USB drive “Surveill ance shows she locked Ms. Vance alone in the supply closet at least three times, the longest for two hours. And there are parent group chat logs.
“She spread rumors that Ms Vance is the Sterling family’s illegitimate child. So the children in the class all isolated her
I was suddenly picked up by Alex and placed outside the door Snowball deftly scured out to join me. Before the door closed, I heard his cold voice. Buy that kinde rgarten By today‘
“And Emily Thomas?”
“Make sure she disappears from the industry forever
Chapter 2
དཔ་་་ པས་་ པ་་་ ས་པཔPPས་པ
00 32
The door opened. Alex, crouching down, still carried a lingering trace of aggression, but his hand stroking my hair was as gentle as if he were touching something fragile. “You won’t go to that kindergarten anymore.” I burrowed into his embrace, inhaling the faint scent of cedar on him. Was this truly the villain from my dream
who did all sorts of evil deeds? No! He was an angel!
“Want to see Snowball do arithmetic?” he suddenly asked. I blinked away my tears, nodding vigorously. So that morning, a strange scene unfolded in the Sterling Enterprises CEO’s office. Alex, the business world’s grim reaper, crouched on the floor, teaching his Border Collie addition and subtraction with cheese sticks. And I,
eating pudding, enticed Snowball.
In the afternoon, Alex took me to a child psychologist. The doctor smiled at him. “This child’s psychological resilience is stronger than imagined.”
“However… she is Daniel’s sister, after all. Are you sure you want to raise her?” Alex’s shoulders visibly relaxed a fraction. He walked over and picked me up from the examination table. I seized the chance to slip my cold little hand into his shirt collar for warmth. Surprisingly, he didn’t pull me away as usual.
“He doesn’t want her, and I’m not allowed to pick her up?” Alex sneered. The doctor looked helpless. “Have you asked the child if she’s willing?”
“She’s very willing!” Alex proudly lifted his chin. The doctor…
Alex found me a new kindergarten, one invested in by Sterling Enterprises. On my first day, dressed in overalls personally picked by Alex, I stood at the classroom
door. He said they were easier to pick me up by.
“Is that your dad?” a little girl with pigtails asked, pointing out the window. Outside, Alex stood with a cold expression, talking to the principal. Several teachers secre- tly watched him, not daring to approach.
“That’s my big brother!” I puffed out my chest, my voice loud enough for the whole class to hear. “The most amazing big brother in the whole world!”
