"Mind your words!" Carla rebuked her.
"That's the truth, " Lola slyly replied.
"Shut up, " Alia interjected and gazed intensely at Lola.
Then, she turned and looked towards Carla.
"Be it that the bracelet was stolen or lost, that is not important. Nonetheless, it is undisputed that your daughter is the culprit of this unfortunate event. We're reasonable people and do not intend to be hard on the child. Hence, we invited you here to resolve the situation. Now, how do you suggest we solve this?"
Ever since she was punished by Zayn during the last auction, Alia had adopted a different strategy.
Now, she was pretending to be reasonable and courteous towards Carla. This way, even if Zayn were to find out, she would not be reprimanded.
"Please give me some time to figure this out, " Carla urged.
Carla was a reasonable person. It didn't matter that the mother-daughter duo were nasty and absolutely despicable. If Venus did lose the bracelet, she would have to bear the responsibility.
"We're rushing back home to celebrate my grandson's birthday." Alia checked the time on her watch. "Is ten minutes sufficient?"
"That works." Carla carried Venus in her arms and calmed her down. Later, she asked Mrs. Borah softly, "Mrs. Borah, didn't I ask you to accompany Venus to return the bracelet?"
Mrs. Borah's frustration was apparent. "That's true. However, when I was sending off the three babies to the school bus, Miss Cheney was not there. Therefore, I instructed Venus to hand it back personally to Miss Cheney. I didn't expect this to happen… I'm all to blame!"
Mrs. Borah blamed herself for it.
"Don't blame yourself for it. I'll try to make things clear." Carla turned towards Venus and gently touched her face. She then asked, "Venus, can you tell me what happened?"
"When I reached school and wanted to return the bracelet to Miss Cheney, I realized that the bracelet was gone…" Venus whimpered. "Mommy, I'm sorry…"
"No worries." Carla swiftly hugged her. "Venus, you're still young. It's normal to make mistakes. Mommy is here to help you solve it. Don't be afraid, alright?"
"Mommy, will you go to prison?" Venus's arms were wrapped around her mother's neck.
Her grip was so tight, it was as though her mother would disappear if she were to release her grip.
"Mommy will be fine. Venus will be fine too! Trust me." Carla gently assured.
She patted her on the back again and signaled at Mrs. Borah.
Mrs. Borah hastily attended to Venus. "Venus, let's go to your brothers. They're still helping you to look for the bracelet. We'll go help them!"
"Sure, " Venus released her arms and followed Mrs. Borah. After taking a few steps forward, she looked back at Carla and said, "Mommy, we'll return once we find the bracelet."
"Okay. Go ahead." Carla nodded and smiled.
"Hey, how can you let the child leave like this? Now, who's going to be responsible?" Lola immediately stood up.
"What can you get from the child?" Carla asked coldly. "Didn't you mention it just now? I as her guardian shall take responsibility for this matter."
"We don't have time to fool around with you, " Lola was extremely impatient. "Give me back my bracelet, or compensate me for my loss. Otherwise, I will sue your child for theft."
"You're so grumpy and impatient. You should learn from your mother!" Carla gawked glacially at her.
"You…" Lola was speechless yet infuriated.
Carla decided to ignore her. Following that, she invited Miss Longman and Miss Cheney to a corner of the room and asked for more information.
Yesterday, Miss Cheney saw Simon pass the bracelet to Venus. However, she was oblivious to what happened subsequently. Also, she tried to look for the bracelet at the school field and in the classroom. However, her efforts were futile.
Miss Longman summoned a group of teachers to look for the bracelet as well. Additionally, she instructed the school worker to inspect the CCTV footage for possible clues. Therefore, they would be informed if there were any new findings.
"We're already here for an hour." Alia broke the silence. "Our time is very valuable. This can't go on anymore, call the police!"
"That's the way to go. Besides, inform the media!" Alia stroked her head in exasperation. "It will be a big problem if someone loots it and sells it off!
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