The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance

Chapter 369

They closed in on Keen, surrounding him from all sides.

Watching the scene unfold on the security monitor, Haynes's brow furrowed in concern, while Mrs. Ayers looked as if she might faint from shock.

Even through the grainy footage, it was obvious that Sheldon and his two friends weren't here for a friendly chat. The way they cornered Keen was practiced- clearly, this wasn't their first time.

Haynes's dark eyes grew colder by the second.

Then Sheldon's voice cut through the tense silence in the room.

"A few days ago, I heard my mom say your mom barely finished middle school- she can't even read properly, not like us kids at fancy private schools."

"I bet none of these other kids know just how pathetic and embarrassing your mom is, do they?"

He laughed, a sharp, cruel sound. "Well, even if they don't know now, they're about to. We'll make sure everyone hears about it."

sudden hush in the air was suffocating. No one else dared to speak.

icy gaze slid to Mrs.

under his stare, trembling as

for her to gossip about Stella behind closed doors, to look

was clear this was no isolated incident. He'd been

never realized

cruel remarks made it painfully clear: much of the

and sad. She'd asked him

suggested Keen stay with her for a while, saying she wanted to tutor him

Her time with Keen was limited to

realized that's when Keen's attitude toward her had started to change—he'd grown distant,

on Rachel. Now, she saw that wasn't the whole story. That must have been when the bullying

quickly pieced together what had happened. Marvin's outburst made sense-it was Sheldon's insults to Stella that had pushed him over the