Don't Be a Tease, Mr. Blackwood

Chapter 25: Chapter 25: The Only Thing Her Mother Left Her

It felt like thunder crashing in Sophie Shaw’s head.

Her world was collapsing.

"What did you say?"

Joel Kane looked up, his eyes welling with tears. "The necklace is gone. Big Sis, I... I really didn’t mean to..."

"Where did you lose it?"

"In my classroom at school. It was there during the day, but when I checked my backpack after school, the necklace was gone."

Without another word, Sophie Shaw threw off the covers and got out of bed.

She told Joel Kane to go to his room and wash his face, then told Joseph Shaw to wait for them on the first floor. She hurried into the bathroom to wash up, changed her clothes, and immediately dragged her injured foot downstairs.

Seeing her rushing around in a panic, Joseph Shaw hurried over to steady her as she nearly tripped on the stairs.

"What happened?"

"Mom’s necklace is gone. It was lost at Joel’s school. Dad, please drive us there."

"Who would still be at the school at this hour?"

"The security guard will definitely be there."

Joseph Shaw couldn’t argue with her, so he took her and Joel and drove to Kingsport First Elementary.

After a lengthy discussion with the guard at the gate, he finally led them into the academic building.

Joel Kane had just started fifth grade this semester, and his classroom was on the fifth floor.

Staring at the long flight of stairs, Sophie Shaw felt overwhelmed.

Joel Kane was still sobbing with his head down, and Joseph Shaw was patiently comforting him.

"Dad, can you carry me upstairs?"

’Her foot hurt too much. Climbing to the fifth floor would take forever, not to mention the pain.’

Joseph Shaw sighed helplessly. "Joel and I will look for it. You stay here. I hurt my back last year. You’re five-foot-seven now, not a little kid anymore. There’s no way Dad can carry you."

With that, Joseph Shaw started up the stairs, pulling Joel along.

Sophie Shaw couldn’t just wait there. She noticed the security guard standing off to the side. He looked to be around thirty, and though he was a bit thin, he was young.

"Excuse me, sir. Could I trouble you to carry me upstairs?"

"Which floor?"

"The fifth floor."

The guard’s expression turned impatient. He glanced at the security camera, then, with the hand at his side, made a money-counting gesture. She understood instantly. She quickly turned her back to the camera and fumbled through her pockets.

She emptied the pockets of her shirt and pants, managing to scrape together two hundred and fifty yuan.

"Sir, look... this is all I have."

The guard glanced at the money. Two hundred and fifty!

His expression grew even uglier.

"Sorry, sir. I left in a hurry and didn’t bring my wallet."

The security guard frowned, looking her up and down. "How much do you weigh?"

"One hundred..." she began, but conveniently left out the "and twenty pounds" that should have followed.

The guard hesitantly took the two hundred and fifty yuan, quickly stuffed it into his pocket, then bent down and heaved her onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

His hold wasn’t steady; he swayed as he walked.

She held on tightly to the guard’s jacket, the man’s bony shoulder digging painfully into her stomach.

But she was in no position to care about comfort. She gritted her teeth against the discomfort, letting him haul her up to the fifth floor.

The guard put her down, panting heavily. Just as her feet touched the ground, she saw Joseph Shaw leading Joel Kane out of a classroom.

"We didn’t find it," Joseph Shaw said.

She slowly shuffled over. "Did you search carefully? Are there any security cameras in the classroom?"

"There are no cameras in the classrooms," the guard answered, still catching his breath.

Unwilling to give up, Sophie Shaw entered the classroom herself. After asking Joel to point out his seat, she went over and rummaged through the desk. Inside were only a few books and two unopened bags of snacks.

"When did you show the necklace to your friend?" she asked Joel.

"That friend was out sick today. The necklace was in my bag the whole time; I never took it out."

"No one else saw it?"

"No."

"When was the last time you saw the necklace?"

Her questioning made Joel Kane burst into tears. He grabbed onto Joseph Shaw’s leg. "I don’t remember!"

"Think carefully."

"Big Sis, I really don’t remember! Don’t yell at me... Boo hoo..."

The moment he started crying, Joseph Shaw shot Sophie an irritated look. "It’s just a necklace. Is all this really necessary?"

"It’s the necklace Mom left me. She designed it herself..."

"That’s enough. Look how you’ve scared Joel."

Joseph Shaw bent down to comfort Joel, but when that didn’t work, he simply picked the boy up. He patted Joel’s back, his voice softening. "It’s okay, Joel, don’t cry. It’s only a necklace. If it’s lost, it’s lost."

Tears immediately streamed down Sophie Shaw’s face.

’Only a necklace?’

’If it’s lost, it’s lost?’

’That was the only thing her mother had left her. If she hadn’t secretly kept it, Joseph Shaw would have sold it off along with their other belongings back then.’

She wiped her tears and scanned the classroom. She searched every single student’s desk, even the teacher’s lectern, and didn’t even spare the trash can in the corner.

The guard couldn’t stand to watch any longer. While Joseph Shaw was already carrying Joel Kane out of the room, Sophie was bent over, sobbing as she dug through the trash. He walked over and grabbed her arm to pull her to her feet.

"Miss, is the thing you lost very valuable?"

"It’s valuable. Incredibly valuable."

The guard had overheard her mention it was "left by her mother." After a moment’s thought, he said, "If you really can’t find it, you should call the police."

Since it was a valuable item lost at school, calling the police was a reasonable course of action.

Sophie Shaw nodded and had just pulled her phone out of her pocket when Joseph Shaw appeared at the classroom door. "Aren’t you leaving?"

"I’m calling the police."

Joseph Shaw was terrified of trouble, especially of making a scene. All he wanted was to lie low and keep his comfortable position with the Kane Family.

Seeing that Sophie Shaw had already dialed the number and put the phone to her ear, he strode forward, snatched the phone, and hung up the call.

"It’s a worthless piece of junk. Why are you calling the police?"

’Besides, it was lost while Joel had it.’

"Dad, Joel said the necklace was in his bag the whole time. It might have been stolen."

Joseph Shaw confiscated her phone. "We’ll talk about this tomorrow. It’s getting late. Let’s go home first."

"Dad—"

"Listen to me. We’re going home now."

After saying that, Joseph Shaw walked out of the classroom, carrying Joel Kane.

A lump of anger caught in Sophie Shaw’s throat. She felt so furious she could have fainted on the spot. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

Seeing her face had gone pale and she was swaying, about to collapse, the guard quickly reached out to steady her. "Are you alright?"

Hearing the guard’s voice, Joseph Shaw glanced back. "Sorry to trouble you, but could you carry her down?"

"No trouble, no trouble at all."

The guard felt sorry for Sophie Shaw, so this time he didn’t care about the money. He even took out the two hundred and fifty yuan he had accepted earlier and stuffed it back into her pocket.

He carried Sophie Shaw downstairs, huffing and puffing the whole way. He didn’t stop until he reached the school gate, where he deposited her in the car parked at the curb.

On the way back, Sophie Shaw sat in the back seat of the car, silently shedding tears.

Joel Kane fiddled with his sleeve, then moved closer to try and wipe her tears, but she slapped his hand away.

His hand stinging from the slap, Joel Kane let out a "WAH!" and burst into loud sobs.

"Big Sis, I’m sorry! It’s all my fault for being careless... Boo hoo... Please don’t hit me..."

His crying out startled Joseph Shaw, who slammed on the brakes, both angry and annoyed.