Chapter 290 One Tour Isn't Enough
It was from when Daisy pinched her.
Daisy quickly spoke with indignation, "There was a teacher at school who took Josie out without permission, and she came back with that injury."
"What teacher? Did she hit Josie?" Gummidge Peggoty asked sharply.
"It was a violin teacher, a music instructor, and we all know her," Daisy implied.
"Who?" Gummidge asked, visibly upset.
Daisy accused, "Caroline."
Aragorn Watson, who was watching the news, turned his gaze sharply.
"She came back to the States?" he asked.
"Yes, she returned about half a year ago; seems like she was recruited by some bigwig, but today I had the principal fire her," Daisy declared, proudly.
"Getting fired is too light for what she did to Josie; we must call the police," Gummidge Peggoty said angrily.
Josie interjected, "No, it wasn't Roberts who did it."
Josie listened as her mother falsely accused Roberts, even though it had been her mother who pinched her, Josie felt anxious.
She had just finished talking when she saw her mother's piercing gaze and instinctively flinched.
"Josie, tell grandma the truth, who did that to your hand?" Gummidge urged.
Josie made an excuse, "It was just an accident, I bumped it myself."
Josie didn't dare to tell the truth and didn't want to continue seeing her mother slander Roberts.
Gummidge Peggoty was half-convinced.
Daisy's heart sank a little.
That child was protecting Caroline!
"Auntie, let's let bygones be bygones. She's been fired from the preschool and won't have the chance to encounter Josie anymore. But I'm worried she might try to get involved with Nicholas..."
"Hmph," Aragorn Watson snorted coldly, "If she dares to bother Nicholas, I'll make sure she can't make her way here or overseas!"
Gummidge Peggoty comforted her, "Caroline, you're a good woman and we accept you as part of this family. Don't worry, Nicholas will come around to accepting you one day."
Daisy bore her grievances silently.
She replied, "I know."
Aragorn Watson's health wasn't the best and almost every year he needed to travel abroad for treatment. Having recuperated abroad for a month after his latest treatment, he returned feeling somewhat better.
Gummidge Peggoty called Nicholas, hoping to have him come over for dinner. Nicholas didn't accept or decline, yet he didn't show up for the evening meal.
It wasn't until eleven o'clock late in the evening, when he entered the house and saw the living room light still on, that Daisy, in her pajamas, was waiting for him.
She immediately stood up from the sofa upon hearing him.
"Nicholas, brother."
Nicholas ignored her as Marlow Kurtz attempted to usher him straight into his room.
"Nicholas, brother, Josie was hurt today."
Nicholas raised his hand, making Marlow Kurtz stop, then turned around to look at Daisy.
"What happened?" His voice had dropped several degrees colder.
Daisy took out her cell phone and showed Nicholas a picture of Josie's bruised arm.
Seeing the bruise on Josie's arm caused swift and cold darkness to flash across Nicholas's eyes.
"Who did this?" His voice was even colder now.
"I picked up Josie this afternoon and discovered that Caroline had taken her out. It wasn't until they returned that I noticed the bruises on Josie's arm."
She didn't outright blame Caroline but made it clear to Nicholas that Caroline was responsible.
No one else would dare to hurt Josie.
As soon as Daisy finished speaking, she could feel the temperature in the room drop sharply.
Nicholas was furious!
"Caroline said she took Josie to visit a sick classmate. I felt that by taking Josie out without permission, Caroline violated our rules, so I insisted the principal fire her."
Her voice became quieter as she spoke, her demeanor one of doubt, wondering if perhaps she had made a mistake.
"Nicholas, brother..."
Nicholas pulled back from his anger and said coldly, "You did well. Has Josie's arm been treated?"
Daisy replied, "Yes, it's been treated."
Nicholas said, "I'll go see her."
Marlow Kurtz accompanied Nicholas to Josie's room.
It was the smallest room in the entire villa, and when he found out Daisy had Josie stay there, he was furious. However, Daisy claimed Josie had chosen it herself, and since Josie also expressed her fondness for the small room, he reluctantly went along with Josie's wishes.
From the moment he came to his senses, he noticed Josie's utter dependence on Daisy.
By that time, it was too late to consider sending Daisy away. Josie was too young; she needed a mother figure.
Watching his daughter's tranquil sleeping face, he could see a hint of that woman's shadow in her.
Nicholas gently lifted Josie's sleeve, and the small bruise on her fair skin was somewhat alarming.
"Caroline, isn't touring enough to keep you occupied?" he muttered under his breath.
...
"Boss, there's news from the preschool. The art teacher we hired made a basic mistake and has been complained about by a parent, facing dismissal," reported Alex.
"And she's offended the Watson Group,” he added.
Gabriel knew Nicholas, even though they operated in different circles, but both were part of the same elite social echelons and had crossed paths before.
If he remembered correctly, the art teacher was Sophia's best friend Caroline.
He recalled the recent event at CEO Doolittle's birthday party, where Caroline had slapped Nicholas. There seemed to be some kind of complication between the two of them.
The landline phone rang, and Gabriel pressed the speaker button to hear his secretary's voice.
"Boss, there's a call from Mr. Watson of the Watson Group. Would you like to take it?" the secretary inquired.
He replied, "Put him through."
Gabriel had a hunch, which was confirmed the next moment.
Nicholas had found out it was he who had brought Caroline in as the art teacher. If Nicholas insisted on having the preschool fire Caroline, he would have to consult Gabriel first.
"Our service contract term is nearly up anyway, Mr. Watson, so please, as you wish," Gabriel said.
With the three kids starting elementary school in the second half of the year, they could hire private tutors for things like art.
Such a simple matter, yet it would put Nicholas in his debt, a very profitable outcome indeed.
Gabriel readily gave Nicholas this courtesy.
After the call, Gabriel instructed Alex, "Prepare a separate contract for Caroline. Have her teach Emma the violin privately."
Alex replied, "Yes, boss."
"And Alex, look into Miss Kelly's matters in the States as I asked, and uncover who was behind the reason why we couldn’t find the two kids. Who had deliberately erased their tracks?" Gabriel added.
If that hadn't been the case, the boss would have known the two kids were still alive as soon as he found out Miss Kelly was alive.
Alex explained, "We just couldn't figure out who was capable enough to do it."
A small figure leaped into Gabriel's mind, someone who was always very calm and collected when facing situations, someone who had led him and the cops to find people.
That evening, Gabriel went home early. Emma and Sam were playing video games, and Ethan went downstairs to get a glass of water. He bumped into his nasty daddy just as he returned.
Gabriel called him, "Ethan, come here."
Ethan ignored him, holding his glass of water, intent on going upstairs.
"The traces of you and Emma living in our country have been erased. Did you do this?" he questioned Ethan.
Ethan stopped in his tracks. Without a word, he paused for two seconds and continued upstairs. He didn't want to deal with his nasty daddy at all.
Inside, Gabriel was almost certain that Ethan was responsible. His son was a genius, managing to completely evade his investigation.
If Gabriel had any doubts initially and investigated it more, he could have uncovered the truth. But he had assumed from the start that the two children were already dead.
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