The horoom teacher and the principal quickly assured, "Of course, calling the police is the right thing to do. Rest assured, the school will cooperate fully."
Elara Hale took out her phone to call the police, and after briefly explaining the situation, she waited for them to arrive.
The principal brought over a chair, Elara sat down, and the horoom teacher chatted with her about Zoe Chase’s situation. Zoe was an exceptionally outstanding child, sensible, polite, and ranked among the top in academics. Not only the teachers but even the students liked her very much.
Elara had interacted with the horoom teacher before when handling Zoe’s bullying incident, and she knew the teacher was very responsible. So when Zoe disappeared, she did not bla the school.
As the horoom teacher said, Zoe was a sensible child and wouldn’t skip school for no reason. Who took her away? Was the person malicious?
Recalling Zoe’s previous bullying and her mother’s sudden disappearance, Elara didn’t dare to think deeply. She could only pray that nothing would happen to Zoe.
Mason Jacobs kept watching her.
He didn’t know why. He had initially intended to network with Director Dawson by staying, but now he had no interest in speaking with him at all.
She sat there quietly, her eyebrows and eyes still like before, but the once affectionate gaze towards him was now full of indifference.
What was the relationship between that child nad Zoe and her?
Mason hesitated for a mont but still stepped forward to ask, "If you need help..."
Before he could finish, Elara shook her head and refused him, "No need, I’ve already called the police. They will help ."
What Mason could do, so could the police. In fact, the police had higher authority, and she didn’t need to ask Mason for anything.
For her, Mason was now no different from a stranger. Despite having loved him once, any affection had already dissipated amidst his limitless tolerance for Cecilia Quincy.
Mason’s good intentions were rejected, and he looked sowhat embarrassed. Jasmine, from the side, expressed her displeasure, "Aunt Hale, Uncle Jacobs was being kind, and instead of being grateful, you rejected him."
Elara glanced at her. Jasmine had changed a lot since the day she said she wanted to stay with the Jacobs Family. There was nothing more to say between them.
Elara did not argue with her but casually replied, "This is my own matter."
Unexpectedly, her words provoked Jasmine’s sneer, "Fine, you say it’s your matter, just don’t co begging us when you can’t find the person."
Director Dawson and the principal both frowned simultaneously.
This child was a bit too spoilt and arrogant.
Mason spoke up, "Jasmine, shut up, co over here and reflect on your mistakes."
Jasmine was sowhat defiant, but she was a bit afraid of Mason, so she said nothing more.
Director Dawson chuckled, and with a aningful smile, said, "President Jacobs, this child is quite unique."
Mason replied politely, "She’s spoiled, unlike your son who is sensible."
Director Dawson smiled and said no more.
The principal, however, had a look that changed several tis. Director Dawson’s words seed less aid at Mason than at him.
This was the top school in Northgarde, where everything for the children was built on a high foundation. No parent wanted their child to be classmates with soone like Jasmine.
In all fairness, a capricious and willful student like Jasmine wouldn’t be admitted without Mason’s request.
And now, Director Dawson had made it clear...
He was sowhat in a bind, as neither side was easy to provoke, but if he had to choose, he would choose to offend President Jacobs.
If only there was a better reason...
Just then, the police arrived.
The police first consulted with the horoom teacher and Elara Hale to understand the situation better, then retrieved the surveillance footage. After watching it, they said, "We’ll need both of you to co to the station to make a record. We’ll fully investigate the child’s whereabouts."
Elara was anxious but cooperated with the police’s work. Just as they were about to leave, Chubby Dawson, who had been silent in the corner, suddenly stood up.
"I saw Zoe Chase this morning."
Elara halted abruptly and turned to him, asking urgently, "You saw her? Where did you see her?"
Chubby Dawson hesitated and glanced at Jasmine, pointing at her, "In the hallway, I saw her give Zoe a lollipop and say sothing. Zoe was about to enter the classroom, but after hearing Jasmine, she didn’t go in, turned around, and left the school."
Elara was stunned for a mont and quickly turned to Jasmine, "Jasmine, is what he said true? What did you say to Zoe?"
Jasmine’s eyes quickly flashed with panic, soon replaced by anger, "I didn’t. He’s lying. I don’t even know this Zoe he speaks of. Today’s my first day at school; how could I give her a lollipop?"
But Chubby Dawson was persistent, insisting that Jasmine tricked Zoe out of school.
The horoom teacher and principal said nothing. Formally, they should defend their student, but personally, Jasmine was indeed quite botherso, with both parents and police present, so they remained silent.
Director Dawson crouched down, looking at Chubby Dawson, "Son, tell Dad the truth. Is what you said really true? Finding soone’s child is a serious matter; you shouldn’t be joking."
Chubby Dawson was nearly in tears, "I’m telling the truth! Why don’t you believe ?"
He had gathered all his courage to speak the truth!
Director Dawson listened seriously and looked at the police, "My child has never lied."
Jasmine imdiately retorted, "He doesn’t lie, so it must be lying? We just had a fight, who knows if he’s trying to retaliate against !"
A side-standing Mason did not want to intervene in this matter, but with Director Dawson speaking up, he could only say, "Let’s do this, the school has surveillance, we can check the relevant footage to see if Jasmine indeed interacted with Zoe Chase."
Jasmine’s eyes flickered when she heard this.
The horoom teacher hesitantly said, "I took Jasmine from the principal’s office, so theoretically she wouldn’t have had the chance..."
Elara looked at Jasmine for a long ti, then said, "I agree to check the surveillance."
The surveillance footage was soon delivered, and upon multiple reviews, the police said, "We can’t confirm if Jasmine interacted with Zoe Chase."
In the video, Jasmine was escorted by the horoom teacher out of the principal’s office, then the horoom teacher returned to her own office, leaving Jasmine outside waiting.
During this wait, Jasmine ran towards the campus, and indeed stopped at a corner, then ran back a while later.
The corner happened to be a surveillance blind spot, showing Jasmine stopping there, but it couldn’t confirm if anyone was in front of her.
Elara and the police reviewed the footage several tis and didn’t find any leads. However, Jasmine running over there was itself the biggest suspicion.
The police pointed at that corner and asked Jasmine, "What were you doing stopped here?"
Jasmine responded angrily, "What? Can’t I appreciate the nice view of the sports field?"
The horoom teacher said, "From that angle, indeed, you can see the sports field."
Chubby Dawson said in grievance, "But I really saw her say a few words to Zoe Chase, and Zoe just turned and left."
The two policen exchanged glances. One of them approached Jasmine, smiling gently, asking, "Is today really Jasmine’s first day at this school?"
Jasmine pouted and responded with a "hmm."
The police asked again, "Where did you go to school before?"
Jasmine’s face turned a bit awkward, "It’s none of your business."
She never had the chance to go to school before.
The police smiled and said, "Just showing so concern. You did great today, owning up to your mistakes. You’re a good kid."
Jasmine proudly raised her head and gave Chubby Dawson a glare.
Chubby Dawson pouted, feeling crushed.
The police asked Jasmine again, "The playground at this school is really beautiful. What do you like most about it?"
Jasmine said, "Flowers, I love flowers. They’re very pretty."
In reality, she didn’t know what was on the playground. She was just stunned by the flowers everywhere when she entered the school gate. The deepest impression the school left on her was the flowers.
Upon hearing this answer, the police exchanged a look discreetly, then asked, "Were you looking at the flowers then? Can you describe the flowers you saw? Where on the playground were they?"
Jasmine answered as if it was a matter of course, "Of course, the flowers I saw were pink and purple, in huge patches, particularly beautiful, planted right in the middle of the playground."
The police looked at her, "Are you sure?"
Jasmine was a bit unhappy, "What do you an by that? You’re the one asking . I told you, but you don’t believe ? Go see for yourself if you don’t believe !"
She didn’t actually know what a playground was. She had heard the term before, and thought that with so many flowers in the school, the playground surely had so too.
Weren’t flowers usually planted in the center? Such beautiful flowers should be planted in the most striking places. It was just like that at the welfare institution before.
anwhile, the principal and the horoom teacher’s faces had already changed.
"Jasmine, there are no flowers planted on our school playground," the horoom teacher said with an ugly expression, "For the protection of students, ornantal plants aren’t allowed on the playground. It’s the rule."
Jasmine froze for a mont, her face turning white instantly as she stepped back, looking at the police in panic, "I was wrong, there’s no flowers, there are no flowers. I said it wrong!"
The police had laid so much groundwork to coax the truth from her. How could they be deceived? He looked at Jasmine sternly and said, "You weren’t looking at flowers then. What were you looking at?"
Jasmine still wanted to argue, "I wasn’t, I was just looking at flowers, but they weren’t on the playground, I was looking at the flower beds on the side..."
"Jasmine," the police said a bit more sternly, "Lying about such matters involves legal responsibility. You must take responsibility for your words and actions."
Jasmine’s lips turned ashen, trembling slightly.
Wasn’t it clear to the others what her reaction ant?
Mason Jacobs looked at her steadily, "Jasmine, tell the truth!"
This was no small matter, especially in front of the police and Director Dawson.
His words beca the last straw breaking Jasmine’s psychological defense. Jasmine cried out, "Soone just asked to give her a lollipop and tell her that her mom was waiting outside. I didn’t know anything, it had nothing to do with !"
The police pressed further, "Who asked you to do this?"
Jasmine stamred, unwilling to say.
This definitely needed investigation. The police separated Jasmine and Mason Jacobs for questioning, then interrogated Chubby Dawson.
After a while, the police brought Jasmine back and told Elara Hale, "She assisted soone in tricking Zoe Chase out of the school gate. She then saw Zoe Chase being taken into a van, but she doesn’t know the identity of the person or the whereabouts."
Elara Hale looked at Jasmine in disbelief and exclaid, "Why would you do such a thing?"
Jasmine shouted with red eyes, "How was I supposed to know she’s your adopted daughter? Soone just asked for help, wasn’t I just trying to be helpful, is that wrong?"
"You!" Elara Hale was furious, but unwilling to argue with a child. Besides, Zoe’s whereabouts were the most important issue now.
She said to the police, "Please contact as soon as you have news of the child."
The police nodded, "Rest assured, we will investigate promptly."
Due to Jasmine’s young age and the fact that no further information could be extracted, the police only educated her briefly before leaving.
Elara Hale saw no need to stay further. She said goodbye to the horoom teacher and prepared to leave.
Mason Jacobs watched her silhouette and suddenly spoke up, "Elara, Jasmine didn’t an it. Don’t bla her."
Elara Hale stopped in her tracks, and hearing these words, she suddenly laughed, "Mason Jacobs, I’m tired of hearing those words."
She left without hesitation.
Mason Jacobs frowned, trying to catch up, but was stopped by the principal.
The principal coughed and said awkwardly, "President Jacobs, you know our school has high standards for students. Jasmine might not be suited for our school."
Mason Jacobs was taken aback, "Principal, Jasmine, she..."
He was about to say sothing on behalf of Jasmine. The effort he had expended to arrange for her education here was quite substantial—it wasn’t an educational resource easily acquired.
But then he noticed Director Dawson on the side.
Director Dawson’s expression was calm, with a smile playing at the corners of his mouth, his deanor unclear.
He suddenly realized that the principal’s words might indeed have Director Dawson’s influence.
He said no more, only adding, "Jasmine’s been unruly for a while, she’s caused trouble for the school. I’ll find her a new school."
The principal breathed a sigh of relief.
Not insisting on keeping Jasmine was good enough.
Jasmine’s eyes flickered. She knew she had really caused a big problem this ti; she couldn’t stay at this school anymore.
Feeling a bit unhappy internally, she thought, given the Jacobs family’s power, it shouldn’t be hard to attend any type of school she wanted, so she wasn’t too concerned.
After causing such a scene, Mason Jacobs no longer felt comfortable socializing with Director Dawson and left with Jasmine after a brief goodbye.
Downstairs, Jasmine spoke sowhat unhappily, "Uncle Jacobs, they’re all bullying , I can’t even go to school anymore, so much for their mission to educate, this lousy school isn’t worth staying at."
Mason Jacobs glanced at her solemnly without responding, and continued walking forward.
Jasmine paused, feeling a bit uneasy, and followed him.
After getting in the car, Special Assistant Wood started the vehicle, and Mason Jacobs finally spoke, "Tell , what actually happened?"
Jasmine’s eyes avoided his, "What, what do you an what happened?"
"You and that kid, Zoe Chase," Mason Jacobs looked at her, his eyes sharp, "it was your first day at school and you’ve never t her. Whose favor were you helping?"
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