Chapter 22
Layla felt a bit down. She had just upset her mom yesterday, and if her mom found out they were in trouble again, she would definitely be heartbroken.
Logan glanced at Layla, paused, and his eyes sparkled. "Don't sweat it. When Ms. White gets here, she can hang out with us! You really miss Ms. White, don't you?"
Layla was still worried. "But... but what if Daddy finds out you took the USB drive?"
"Chill, I hid it really well," Logan said, patting his backpack. "When Ms. White gets here, I'll secretly give her the flash drive and ask her to hand it to Daddy. Daddy will thank Ms. White and won't suspect us at all."
Layla finally breathed a sigh of relief, a smile tugging at her lips.
She really missed Heidi—her strawberry cake, her bedtime stories, and her gentle smile.
Just then, their teacher, Violet, walked into the classroom with a little girl.
The girl was wearing a pink dress and had her hair in pigtails. It was Rena, the girl they had bullied yesterday.
"Class, this is our new student, Rena. Let's all get along well," Ms. Violet said with a smile, pointing to the empty seat next to Layla. "Rena, you can sit there."
Rena timidly walked to the seat, put down her backpack, and looked up, meeting Layla's gaze.
Layla remembered promising her mom in the car yesterday that she would apologize to Rena, and she felt a pang of guilt.
Just as she was about to speak, she heard Logan whisper from behind, "Ignore her. If it weren't for her, Mommy wouldn't have been so mad at us yesterday. And she gave Mommy those awful candies."
Layla looked at Rena's small, frail back and remembered her tearful cries when she fell yesterday. Her heart felt heavy.
The golden rays of the setting sun filtered through the blinds, casting dappled shadows on the desk.
Caroline set down her laptop and stretched, rubbing her sore neck. She massaged her temples, trying to ease the fatigue from hours of poring over documents.
Her eyes swept over the neatly arranged Windsor Group files on her desk, each page marked with her highlighter. A faint smile played on her lips.
She had spent the entire day meticulously dissecting the vast business empire, and the once-abstract terms from financial news now formed a clear framework in her mind. The complex ownership structures were becoming more understandable.
Caroline's gaze fell on the calendar on her desk, her finger lightly tapping the date three days away.
Three days until the academic conference she had scheduled with Alton.
She picked up her phone and dialed Alton's number. His familiar, hearty laugh came through the receiver. "Caroline, how's the prep going? The academic world has changed a lot since you were last here."
"It sure has. The materials are overwhelming," Caroline said with a tired but amused tone, still rubbing her neck.
"No worries, just get a general understanding. By the way, did you call because you had trouble with some of the materials?"
"No, I'm still going through them. I just wanted to ask if there's anything special I need to bring to the conference?"
Caroline's voice was slightly hoarse from the long hours of work. She hadn't been in the academic circle for a while and wasn't sure if there were any new protocols.
Alton paused, then his tone brightened. "Hey, remember your university paper on cognitive disorders? If you can find it, bring it along. The academic community is really focused on that area right now. There will be a lot of experts at the conference, and it could spark some new ideas. Oh, and Mr. Flores will be there too. He was asking about you."
Mr. Flores's first name was Kenneth. He had been Caroline's mentor in college, and she had spent countless hours working on experiments with him.
Caroline felt a surge of emotion. That paper had taken her over six months to complete, from topic selection to data collection and countless revisions.
But that paper was still on a USB drive at her apartment on Maple Street.
She glanced at her watch. It was just past 2 PM, and she had plenty of time.
Caroline ended the call and prepared to drive to her apartment on Maple Street.
She had initially thought staying at Isaac's place would be temporary, but it seemed like he wasn't planning on them moving out anytime soon.
She hadn't brought many clothes with her, so it made sense to pick up a few more while she was there. She grabbed her bag from the couch and headed out.
...
The key made a soft click as it turned in the lock, and Caroline pushed the door open, greeted by the familiar scent of her apartment.
She went straight to her desk, retrieving the silver USB drive from the back of a drawer. The cool metal felt reassuring in her hand, and she smiled, remembering the mix of nerves and excitement during her thesis defense.
Maybe it wouldn't be long before the confident, polished Caroline was back.
As she packed some clothes, she opened her closet, her eyes lingering on the dresses. She picked a few comfortable yet professional outfits and stuffed them into her bag.
Just as she was about to lock the door, she heard the sound of a door opening across the hall, followed by a familiar voice. "Rena's almost out of school. You should come early. Don't make the kid wait."
Caroline paused and turned, meeting Libbie's surprised gaze.
"Ms. Hamilton? What a coincidence!" Libbie smiled and waved, her floral apron dusted with flour, a bit of it on her nose, making her look particularly warm and friendly. "You live here too?"
"Yeah, I live right across the hall." Caroline was surprised. "You mentioned you lived near Maple Street yesterday. I didn't realize you were my neighbor. What a small world."
"Yeah, it's convenient with Rena's school nearby and a hospital close too," Libbie said warmly, stepping aside as if to invite her in. "Rena started school today. I saw a photo in her class group. Looks like she's in the same class as your two kids. What a coincidence."
Talking about the kids, Caroline's face showed a hint of apology. "I'm really sorry about yesterday. My kids can be a handful. I hope Rena wasn't too scared."
"Kids will be kids," Libbie said, waving it off with a hearty laugh, the wrinkles around her eyes crinkling. "Rena is quiet and doesn't talk much. Maybe your lively kids will help her open up a bit."