Fake heiress Real heroine

Chapter 24

* 63%

Hearing that, Joseph let out a sharp exhale. If he’d been drinking something, he probably would have spit it out.

He glanced at Quinlyn, his lips twitching. “So why did you.. take the teacher’s phone?” he asked, stopping himself just short of saying “steal”

“It seemed odd.” Quinlyn muttered, unaware of his conflicted look. She typed furiously, trying to crack the password. “A cop once said people hide secrets in their phones. They check them because it makes them feel safe.”

Joseph furrowed his brow, processing what she was saying. “You think Mr. Lambert’s shady or something?”

Quinlyn shook her head, still focused on the phone. “Not sure yet,” she said. But she was determined to dig deeper and uncover the truth.

Joseph used to roll his eyes at assumptions like these–blaming someone without proof was just dumb. But Quinlyn had saved his butt more than once and proved herself over and over. Now he trusted her just like Stanley did, no questions asked

Instead of talking about returning the phone, he asked, “Can you unlock it? If not, maybe Stanley could-“He cut himself off, staring at the screen now filled with lines of code. His mouth dropped open.

If he knew Quinlyn was the one who sent Mordoria the blooming roses during that backer alliance chaos, he’d be blown

away

Three seconds later, there was a soft “ding,” and the phone unlocked, the screen lighting up.

Quinlyn was new to smartphones and still figuring things out. She accidentally opened the camera app and jumped when she saw her own face on the screen.

Joseph leaned over with a smile, about to help her out. But as his eyes caught a photo thumbnail in the corner, his smile vanished, and he quickly covered Quinlyn’s eyes with his hand.

“You don’t need to see what’s next,” he said, his voice turning cold. “Give me the phone, okay?”

handed over the phone. She knew Joseph needed

scrolling through the phone in silence. After a few minutes, he stepped out, his face tense.

themselves. She took a moment, then spoke up, her voice steady. “Why not just hit Mr. Lambert

his hand on a tissue, then

it,”

knew Mandy had been through something rough. “So, she’s not going to

sadness in his eyes. “Nope. Gotta get her to the

for more.

about you skip school today?” he blurted out, glancing over at her.

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18

Chapter 24

skip she murmured. “We have PF dass this afternoon, and there’s a test. Iured to

test was nothing to worry about for elementary school students, especially for

before he could, Quinlyn added, “Besides, if Mr. Lambert is up to something,

came up to the car door, but her determination was fierce. It was like ray

him ditch the idea of going after that jerk himself. He sighed quietly. “Alright, but be careful. I’ll wrap up what I’m doing and get over there. If something happens, don’t jump in without

knowing he was

break ended fast, and kids

checking it

class.

some needing support from friends. But Quinlyn

whistle. “Alright, everyone, the rest of the period’s free. Go find some shade

opening card packs over in the shade. We brought a bunch. You should join us, they said,

invitation. “I’ll join you