Chapter 102 Molly Causes Trouble
Molly sat obediently in the back seat. After being brought back to the Watson Villa by Cassidy yesterday, no one had paid attention to her. None of the designer clothes and beautiful bags she'd imagined materialized, and Jennifer had arranged for her to stay in the servants' quarters—a basement room that was pitch black and filled with miscellaneous items.
She gritted her teeth and endured the grievance, spending a long time barely cleaning it up, using several small tables pushed together as a bed to pass the night in such miserable conditions. She regretted it all night, regretting not choosing Arabella. Arabella would never have made her live in such a place—she hadn't even had dinner.
However, unexpectedly, this morning this well-dressed man appeared before her, introducing himself as Anthony's assistant who would be responsible for all her needs at the Watson family from now on.
Jennifer had reluctantly arranged a bedroom for her on the second floor. When she went to see it, though called a bedroom, it was actually huge, complete with an independent bathroom, washroom, living room, and study—equivalent to an entire apartment!
Leo had also given her a card—a black card with no spending limit, telling her to buy whatever she wanted. Besides that, she now had driver privileges in this house. All of this felt like a dream.
Molly kept her hand in her pocket, tightly gripping that black card. When she came from the orphanage, thinking there would be good food and clothes, she hadn't brought anything with her. She was still wearing yesterday's outfit—her only set of nice clothes that Cassidy had bought for her.
Thinking of Cassidy, her heart filled with resentment again. It was all that woman's fault—otherwise she wouldn't have suffered for a night. She'd thought Cassidy was some important figure, but it turned out she lived worse than a dog in the Watson family.
Fortunately Anthony was reliable, or she really would have been ruined by that woman.
Molly calculated in her heart that after registering at school, she'd go shopping at the mall, buying all the beautiful clothes and becoming the most dazzling little princess at school, changing into new clothes every day.
They soon arrived at school. Leo had mentioned that the school Anthony arranged for her had top-tier educational quality in Majestic City. Normally there would be written tests and interviews, but she was exempt and could go directly to see the principal. This was the power of privilege.
Molly got out of the car and followed Leo inside, her big eyes curiously and admiringly taking in everything—the clean campus, the tall academic buildings. She'd never seen such a beautiful school!
She didn't know that at this moment, due to her lack of sophistication, her posture was slightly hunched. The new clothes she was so proud of appeared to city children as just ordinary brand and style. Her messy hair clashed terribly with her clothes, making her look quite rustic overall.
They soon met the principal. With Leo accompanying her, though the principal was somewhat surprised by Molly's appearance, he didn't make things difficult. After asking a few simple questions, he arranged a class for her and had the homeroom teacher take her back.
Molly followed the homeroom teacher into the beautiful classroom. The children in the class all looked at her curiously. After a brief introduction from the teacher, she was told to sit in the back row. Her seatmate was a likable chubby boy who was very popular in class. He curiously asked Molly, "Did you transfer here from a suburban school?"
This question had no malicious intent whatsoever—her appearance and demeanor were out of place at this school. This was Majestic City's most elite elementary school, where children's knowledge and refinement far exceeded ordinary standards. It was just a friendly greeting.
But unexpectedly, Molly became furious. She immediately adopted the stance she used to bully other children at the orphanage, suddenly standing up and viciously slapping the chubby boy.
The teacher was writing on the blackboard and the class was quiet, making the slap particularly audible. Everyone looked over in surprise, and the teacher frowned sternly. "Molly, what's going on? Why are you hitting your classmate?"
Molly said arrogantly, "He insulted me."
The chubby boy was initially stunned by the hit, only now reacting with grievance. "I didn't! I just said hello to her!"
Molly glared at him. "You called me a country bumpkin!"
The chubby boy felt terribly wronged. "I really didn't! I only asked if you transferred from a suburban school. I never said anything that mean!"
But Molly wouldn't listen at all, saying viciously, "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. You think I have no one backing me up? Let me tell you, I'm from the Watson family—the Watson family of Majestic City, you know? If you dare bully me, I'll have you kicked out of this school!"
The chubby boy stared at her blankly. The teacher shouted sternly, "Molly, go to my office and wait for me."
The students and teachers at this school were all wealthy or noble—anyone who could enter such a school had some background. But they'd never seen anyone like Molly, constantly threatening others with family connections. These were just first-grade children—Molly's problems were serious!
Molly completely defied the teacher, saying arrogantly, "I won't go. I didn't do anything wrong—why should I leave? Go ahead and contact the Watson family if you dare!"
She thought the teacher wouldn't dare, but unexpectedly the teacher immediately contacted the principal, requesting Molly's parents' contact information.
Coincidentally, Leo had come with Anthony's sincere intentions. After Molly entered the classroom, he hadn't left but was discussing next year's scholarship naming rights with the principal.
This elementary school was full of hidden talents. Being able to name scholarships meant more visibility at parent meetings and school award ceremonies.
Simply put, the Watson family was wealthy and Watson Group was a business leader, but above them were even wealthier families and bigger business leaders. Plus there was the political world. This was a win-win opportunity.
The principal received the phone call at this moment. In just over ten seconds, his expression changed. He stood up and said gravely, "Bring both students to me!" Then he hung up and looked at Leo with an uncertain expression. "Molly hit a classmate in class, defied the teacher, and arrogantly claimed the Watson family was backing her up."
Leo's face immediately darkened as he quickly said, "There must be some misunderstanding. Molly isn't that kind of child."
The principal didn't take a stance, only saying, "Let's call them over and ask first."
Molly and the chubby boy were brought to the principal's office by the teacher. Molly didn't know that as soon as they left the classroom, the other children had gathered to defend the chubby boy. The chubby boy was particularly popular with classmates. After Molly hit him and acted so arrogantly, everyone disliked her and agreed not to play with her anymore.
On her very first day at school, she'd already been ostracized without knowing it.
Facing the principal, Molly's arrogance finally diminished somewhat, but she still insisted the chubby boy had insulted her. The chubby boy repeatedly denied it. Molly looked at Leo with red-rimmed eyes, acting like she'd been bullied but didn't dare say more.
Leo was also in a difficult position. Given the current situation, Molly was likely at fault. But this was Mr. Watson's adopted daughter. After much hesitation, he still called Anthony. However, Anthony didn't take it seriously and told him to handle it completely.
Leo pondered the meaning of "handle it completely"—it should mean using any means necessary to protect Molly.
Thinking this, Leo looked at the principal and was about to speak when he saw the principal looking over with difficulty. "Well, Leo, how about having Molly apologize and we'll let this matter pass?"
Molly bit her lip stubbornly. "I didn't do anything wrong. Why should I apologize?"
Leo felt the same way—regardless of whether it was Molly's fault, they had to protect her. This was Mr. Watson's face and Watson Group's face.
Seeing he didn't understand the hint, the principal helplessly shook his head and decided to lay it out plainly. He glanced at the chubby boy and said to Leo, "This child's surname is Martin. His father works at the Department of Commerce."
A flash of realization struck Leo's mind. There was only one high-ranking official surnamed Martin at the Department of Commerce—the newly appointed Secretary of Commerce Timothy Martin. The chubby boy Molly had bullied was Timothy's son?
Leo immediately broke into a cold sweat. The Department of Commerce—that was the department that managed all commercial activities nationwide. Not to mention distant matters, the two plots of land Watson Group wanted to develop this year were decided by the Department of Commerce.
From the corner of his eye, he saw the chubby boy making a phone call, angry yet somewhat aggrieved: "Dad, the school wants to see parents... No, it's not me, I didn't cause trouble... Okay, come quickly then."
The principal sighed softly, then looked at Leo. "I think you'd better ask Mr. Watson to come here personally."
With the Secretary of Commerce coming personally, only Anthony could handle the negotiations—an assistant like him wasn't qualified.
Leo had to call Anthony again, briefly reporting the situation. When Anthony heard that this matter had alarmed the Department of Commerce, he was also shocked and immediately dropped his work to rush over.
Timothy and Anthony arrived almost simultaneously. The two met in the hallway, exchanged a few words, and entered the office one after the other.
Anthony had already understood the whole story on his way there. Even if this hadn't been Molly's fault initially, let alone when she was clearly the instigator, he wouldn't back her up. The Watson family wasn't that powerful.
He looked at Molly and said without room for argument, "Molly, apologize to your classmate."
Molly was unwilling. "Mr. Watson, I..."
But when she looked up and met Anthony's gloomy gaze, she couldn't help shuddering. She looked at the chubby boy, bit her lip, and reluctantly apologized: "I'm sorry."
The chubby boy wasn't the type to make things difficult for others. Since Molly had backed down first, he magnanimously waved his hand. "It's okay, I forgive you!"
Seeing this, Timothy extended his hand to Anthony and smiled kindly. "Children will encounter some problems when they're together, but most of the time they can resolve them themselves. Children have their own ways of socializing. So shall we consider this matter closed?"
Anthony quickly said, "It's because you and your son are broad-minded. Our Molly still has much to learn. Rest assured, I will definitely educate her properly—such incidents will never happen again."
Timothy smiled and waved his hand. "Don't be too hard on the child. It's not a big deal."
Anthony wanted to take the opportunity to build more connections with Timothy, but though Timothy seemed simple and approachable, he spoke very carefully and wouldn't engage with any of Anthony's business-related comments.
Just as Timothy was about to leave, the homeroom teacher's phone rang. She answered, and after a moment her expression changed. "Naomi didn't come to school today? She wasn't here this morning, and now you can't find her?"
Naomi was a student in her class. It was now lunch break, and Naomi's guardian was waiting outside to pick her up but hadn't seen Naomi come out, so they'd called her. But she was also confused—Naomi hadn't come this morning. She'd thought Naomi was sick and had planned to call at noon to check, but she'd been delayed by Molly and the chubby boy's incident.
The homeroom teacher hesitated with her phone, then said, "Why don't you come to me? I'm at the principal's office."
Molly and the chubby boy's matter wasn't finished—at least their parents hadn't indicated they were done. To avoid delays, the homeroom teacher had to call Naomi's guardian over.
Timothy was concerned about the missing child's safety and stayed. Seeing him remain, Anthony also didn't leave.
When Arabella pushed the door open and saw Anthony and Molly, she paused briefly. Though surprised they were there, what mattered most to her now was Naomi's safety. So her gaze passed over them without lingering and went directly to the homeroom teacher and principal.
She got straight to the point: "I personally watched Naomi enter the school this morning, but you're saying you haven't seen her all morning?"
She'd originally wanted to check on Naomi's emotional state during lunch break, but after waiting at the gate for a long time, she hadn't seen Naomi. She'd had to call the homeroom teacher, only to learn that Naomi hadn't come to school at all that morning. She was worried something had happened to Naomi, so she'd rushed over to confirm the situation.
The homeroom teacher frowned. "I'm certain Naomi didn't come to the classroom."
The chubby boy nearby heard their conversation and looked somewhat strange. He glanced at Molly unconsciously, then quickly looked away and lowered his head, seeming to think about something.
Arabella asked, "Can we check the surveillance footage?"
The homeroom teacher looked at the principal. The principal nodded.
The surveillance was quickly reviewed. After Naomi entered the school that morning, for some unknown reason, she walked back out through the school gate to a surveillance blind spot and never appeared again.
Arabella's face darkened. What had happened to Naomi? Why did she suddenly turn back after already entering school? Who had called her back?
Anthony had been watching her the whole time and only now spoke up: "Is Naomi your newly adopted child?"
Arabella didn't answer his question but said to the homeroom teacher, "I need to call the police."