Shortly after the National Day holiday, someone in the parent's group for my daughter's class tagged me.

It read, [Hey Catherine, it turns out your daughter is also in this class. I was wondering which parent was holding back on paying the A. Can you stop playing dead?]

At that time, I had just finished drawing a design for a well-known jewelry brand when I saw people in the group discussing buying a piece of jewelry for the teacher.

When looking through their circle of friends, I found that the group owner and administrator were actually my college classmates.

The group leader, Clara Kent, had already taken a fancy to a necklace which was very valuable and every parent wanted to know the price of it.

I looked closely and saw that it was the jewelry I designed and it won an award two years ago.

At first, I ignored them. But the parents in the group started to criticize me continuously.

[Catherine, you are too shameless to take advantage of me without spending a penny.]

[She has always been this kind of person. I and Clara were roommates with her in college. She was always dishonest in college and even stole Clara's brand-name bag. She is so shameless.]

Clara came out to smooth things over. She wrote, [Forget it. Actually, that bag is not worth much money. It is all in the past.]

Then, she tagged me again. [Catherine, please don't miss the parent-teacher meeting tomorrow.]

Reading her answer, I laughed. She actually had the audacity to carry that bag.

Back then, she used a fake bag to fool others and forcibly took my real bag for herself. But I decided to not settle the score with her yet.

After all, the entire school was owned by the Guzman Group, that even the principal had to kowtow to me.

I wanted to see what they would do at the parent-teacher meeting tomorrow.

***

Next day, I took out the jewelry I won two years ago from my collection cabinet. 

My husband, Stefan Guzman, who saw me doing that couldn't help but frown, “I have already informed the school in advance, so you don't have to send anything special to the teacher.”

I carefully admired the necklace in my hand as I answered him, “Someone used a fake to fool the teacher. To show my sincerity, I must give the teacher a real one.”

As soon as I stepped into the door of Class 3, Grade 1, I heard the crowd praising Clara non-stop.

“Oh Clara, I didn't expect you to be so young. I remember your husband is a member of the management of Guzman Group. If you have the chance, please introduce him to my husband.”

“When the class list was just released, I heard that there was someone in this class that the Guzman Family had specifically greeted. It turns out the student is Marvin, right.”

Clara proudly boasted of herself and her child, “Of course, my son is as good as me. I saw that Marvin ranked second in the last class test.”

“Eh? Who is the first place then?”

Amidst everyone's confusion, I walked in with a smile and said, “The first place is my daughter, Alicia.”

Clara's face froze for a moment, but soon returned to normal. She smiled and walked forward to hold my hand, “Catherine, long time no see. We were roommates in college. I don't expect that our children will be classmates now. What a fate.”

Everyone soon recognized my identity and looked at me with contempt.

“This is the miser who only wants to take advantage of small gains and never spends a penny? She looks so poor.”

“That's right, she has the nerve to come here. If I am her daughter, I will be so ashamed that I will not even go to school.”

“If you don't have money, why pretend to be rich? Look, she is carrying a bag with LV printed on it. I am dying of laughter. Where did she get such a realistic fake product?”

I calmly pulled my hand out of Clara's grasp and the next second a figure rushed in front of me and slapped me in the face.

"Catherine, you really are something. You stole Clara’s belongings every day in the dormitory. If she hadn’t been so kind, I would have reported you to the dorm manager and had you expelled. 

“And that bag, it was a birthday gift from her father. You actually dared to take it. Don’t you feel any guilt at all?"

Edwina Williams's aggressive attitude made everyone believe it to be true and they started to blame me without any explanation.

I sneered in my heart.

Edwina's description sounded exactly like the truth. But in reality, she had not even seen it with her own eyes, just listened to Clara's one-sided words and firmly believed that I was a thief.

When she first entered college, Clara always said in the dormitory that she had lost something.

She did not ask me directly, but always looked at me with suspicion.

One day I returned to the dormitory and found that all my things had been turned inside out. Before I could get angry, Clara asked me in a wronged tone why I stole her bag.

She said that the bag was a birthday present from her father and she could tolerate everything else except that bag.

She was walking around outside all day carrying that fake bag and I just had too many brand-name bags that I did not use often, so my roommates all believed what Clara said and forced me to return the bag to her.

I specially asked someone to get the invoice to prepare to fight back against Clara.

But Clara's parents came to me and the two old people handed me the money wrapped in cloth with trembling hands, asking me not to expose Clara because they were unable to give her a wealthy life.

I felt sorry for their love for their daughter, so I gave the bag to Clara.

I did not expect that after so many years, she never told the truth and allowed her roommates to misunderstand me.

I was about to refute Edwina's words, but then I thought of the trembling appearance of the two old people and finally I could not bear it.

Seeing me just kept silent, Edwina became even more agitated, “Why don't you dare to speak? It must be because everything I said was true, right? 

“If you still have a conscience, apologize to Clara immediately, otherwise your child will never have a good time in the class.”

I did not expect that my silence would lead to their further demands.

But they would never have the ability to make my child have a hard time in class, because as I left the house this morning, my husband said he wanted to go to the parent-teacher conference with me.

Thinking that my daughter would have to stay in the class with her classmates for six more years, I asked my husband and assistant to buy some gifts for them while I went up first.

I just did not expect that the traffic jam on the road would delay them for so long.

Since I did not want to waste any more time talking to Edwina and the others, I decided to go downstairs and wait for my husband.

My daughter, Alicia Guzman, suddenly rushed into the classroom and told me that she did not steal the necklace while crying.

Soon, a group of children followed her in and called her a thief.

Clara's son said something in her ear and the next second, she raised her bag and smashed it at my daughter.

"So, you two, mother and daughter, make quite the team. The mother distracts us while the daughter sneaks off to steal the necklace. If it weren't for my son's sharp instincts, you might have gotten away with it."

I held my daughter in my arms. The edge of the bag was too hard and it cut a long gash on my arm.

My daughter was so frightened that she hid in my arms and trembled.

I let out a breath, turned around and slapped him, “How dare you jump to conclusions without any evidence, what’s more, you hit a child because of it. Is this your upbringing?”

Clara covered her face and looked at me in disbelief, "Catherine, it was one thing when you used to steal my things in the dormitory, but now you've gone as far as to push your daughter into stealing the necklace we were planning to give Mrs. Mills. 

“And yet, you still act like you're in the right. How embarrassing you are. Don’t you know if I used all my connections to buy that necklace. Do you know how precious it is?”

Since their own interests were involved, all the parents looked at my daughter and me viciously.

“The older one has dirty hands and the younger one is not much better. When I asked her to pay money in the group, she pretended to be dead, but she eagerly came to the parent-teacher meeting. It turns out she had this in mind.”

“That necklace was paid for by all of our parents. How could there be such a vicious woman? Could it be that she wanted to embezzle our purchases and secretly give it to the teacher to take advantage of her for nothing?”

“And how could her daughter possibly get it in the first place? I saw on her transcript that she got full marks in all three subjects. That is simply impossible.”

A child stood up and said, “Alicia sat next to Marvin during the exam. Many of us saw her secretly looking at Marvin's test paper.”

Clara rolled her eyes, hugged her son and cried, "My poor Marvin, you worked so hard, waking up early and staying up late every day for this exam, only to end up in second place.  

“And after all that, you spent the entire afternoon blaming yourself, never imagining that someone else had cheated you, did you?"

Alicia cried out in grievance, “I did not copy. I came up with all the answers myself, how can you lie to me?”

After she finished speaking, the parent next to her pulled her over and said, “You little bitch. How dare you quibble. My son can't be lying.”

“Alicia.” I rushed over anxiously to protect her, but several parents behind me immediately held me down and cursed at me.

“You guys are really a dog that can't change its nature. You guys even stole the grades. We must ask the teacher for an explanation today. We can't let her lead our child astray.”

I stared at them fiercely and yelled, “Let me go. If anything happens to my daughter today, I will never forgive you.”

“What are you talking about Catherine? It is you who have offended the Guzman Family, so I think you are the one who will suffer the consequences.”

As soon as I finished speaking, a parent came up and pinched me.

The pain was so severe that tears were streaming down my face, but I still gritted my teeth and tried to stay awake.

The other parent grabbed my wrists and dug his nails into my flesh. While my daughter was being dragged by another parent, her little face twisted in fear and pain.

She slapped her hard and blood immediately oozed from the corner of my daughter's mouth.

She whimpered in pain, but the woman continued to beat her mercilessly.

“Let her go. She's just a child!” I screamed, trying to break free to save my daughter.

But those parents were like crazy, ignoring my cries and pushed me hard, making it impossible for me to get close to my daughter.

“Mom, save me,” my daughter's weak voice sounded in her ears.

Looking at my daughter's helpless eyes and tear-stained face, my heart ached.

“Alicia, don't be afraid, mom is here.” I cried, trying to break free and hug my daughter.

But those parents held on to us like mad dogs and we couldn't escape.

The classroom was filled with the cries of children and the scolding of parents. It was a mess. 

I myself felt as if my body was torn apart and the pain was unbearable. But I was more worried about my daughter. She was so young and helpless, yet she had to endure such torture.

Someone shouted, “The teacher is here.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the farce could finally be stopped.

Soon, Jessi Mills walked into the classroom and saw the chaos, soon his face changed.

Clara hurried forward when she saw her, “Mrs. Mills, you are finally here. You should know that Alicia and her mother, Catherine, just teamed up to steal the gift we originally intended for you. It is simply too much.”

Other parents echoed.

“Gift? Is it that necklace?” Jessi frowned and thought carefully. Someone had indeed placed a necklace on her desk just now.

Clara asked in confusion, “Yes, it is the necklace, but how did you know it?”

Jessi took out a necklace from his pocket.

Edwina snatched it away, “This is exactly the same as the one Clara bought, but hers has 12 diamonds and this one only has 10. Well, Catherine, you actually bought a fake to exchange for the real thing. Now it is confirmed. I wonder if you have anything to say.”

My throat was hoarse and I gasped as I spoke, “That necklace is not a fake. It was my award-winning design two years ago. Do you think I would let my daughter steal something I designed? And as for that bag, I only did it because Clara’s parents begged me to….”

Before I could finish my words, Clara walked up to me and slapped me hard, her eyes revealing disappointment, “You are talking nonsense. I clearly bought that necklace, how could it be designed by you?

“Catherine, I originally thought you just liked to take advantage of others, but I didn't expect you to be a habitual liar. And now you're still trying to throw dirty water on me.”

I looked up at Jessi, because there was also an appraisal certificate in the gift box containing the necklace. As long as she took it out, it would be able to prove that what I said was true.

But Jessi heard if the students there was the heir of the Guzman Family, so one of the mother in front of her at that moment was Mrs. Guzman. 

So, when she saw all the parents defending Clara, she took a step back quietly and remained silent, thinking it was her who was Mrs. Guzman.

Seeing that Jessi didn't say anything, it seemed she had tacitly agreed to what was happening.

So, the parents had become more unscrupulous.

They turned my daughter's desk upside down and everything fell to the floor.

The lunch I bought for my daughter was smashed and her homework was stepped on.

“Look. Alicia has a necklace around her neck. It has such a big gem, maybe it was stolen.” Someone shouted and everyone looked at my daughter's neck.

My heart started to beat.

That was the only gift my late mother gave to my daughter, expressing her hope that she would grow up safely and healthily.

“No. I beg you, don't touch it.”

Seeing how emotional I was, the parents ignored my daughter's struggle and pulled off the jewel necklace from her neck, leaving a long red mark on her neck.

“I think this gem is dull and must be fake. Is it really that precious?”

“Some people are so tired of being poor their whole lives that they even start offering fake goods.”

Clara took the jewel necklace and sneered, “A thief wearing fakes does suit your temperament.”

The next second, she threw the jewel necklace to the ground and crushed it hard with her high heels.

The gem broke into pieces and my heart seemed to be bleeding.

I glared at Clara angrily, “I won't let you go. Absolutely not.”

Clara was startled by my look and then she stepped on my hand with her high heels again, “How dare you stare at me like that?”

The pain from my fingertips seemed to be magnified tenfold and I curled up on the ground in agony.

At that moment, a voice suddenly came from the radio, “Welcome President Guzman to our school for inspection. All classes are requested to maintain order and wait for President Guzman's inspection.”

“Hey, Clara, your husband is here to support you.”

“When President Guzman comes later, you must speak up for us and punish this thief mother and daughter.”

Clara lowered her head shyly, “Don't worry, I will tell him everything that happened today and I will ask him to treat everyone to a meal later.”

There was a noise at the door and the principal seemed to be jogging over, holding the door and panting, “Mrs. Guzman, why didn't you notify me when you came here first?”

Upon seeing that, the parents immediately started to exaggerate.

“Mr. Harrison, you are finally here. Mrs. Guzman was bullied just now. You must help her and drive these two thieves out of the school.”

When the principal heard that, he immediately said with a cold and serious face, “Who is it? How dare you do this to our chairman's wife?”

When he put on his reading glasses and took a closer look, he was immediately shocked, “Mrs. Guzman? How did you become like this?”

Everyone was confused.

“Mr. Harrison, you must have made a mistake. Mrs. Guzman is standing right here.”

“Yes, that woman is a thief. How could she be the wife of the chairman of Guzman Group.” Edwina walked past me proudly.

Clara coughed lightly a few times, then slowly stepped forward and extended his hand, “Hello, Mr. Harrison, I am….”

“What thief? Do you know who you have offended? This is President Guzman's wife. I saw it with my own eyes when I went to deliver materials to Guzman Group, how could it be false?” Hector Harrison, the principal, spoke excitedly and ignored Clara directly, spitting all his saliva on her hands.

Clara's face turned pale instantly. She turned to look at me with disbelief in her eyes, “Impossible! It is impossible, how could she be the wife of the chairman of Guzman Group?”

“That's not our fault. We didn't know. If she had said from the beginning that she was the wife of the chairman of Guzman Group, how could we have treated her like this.”

“Can you cover up the theft of Guzman's people? The children saw their daughter stealing the necklace with their own eyes, how could it be false?”

I stood up weakly with the help of the desk. I could not help but sneer when I heard them still being stubborn, “Did you give me a chance to speak?”

Everyone looked at each other and fell silent.

I feel even more ironic.

“Your children don't lie, so will my children lie? I am a jewelry designer myself. If my daughter wants a necklace, I can give her something a hundred or a thousand times more precious than this one. How could she steal it?”

“Who knows, maybe she just likes this necklace,” one of the parents dared to answer me.

The other also chimed in, “Don't talk nonsense to us here. Can you provide any evidence to prove that she did not steal?”

I pulled out Marvin who was hiding behind Clara.

Ever since the principal came, his eyes became evasive, probably because he did not expect things to become so serious.

Marvin burst into tears and struggled to slap me, “Let me go. Let me go. Mom, save me.”

Save you? Why did not anyone save my daughter when she was surrounded and bullied by a group of adults just then?

Thinking of that, I became even angrier and glared at Clara fiercely.

She was frightened by my eyes and shrank back, not daring to speak.

“Let me ask you. You said you saw my daughter steal the necklace with your own eyes. Where was the necklace just now? How did she steal it? Where is the necklace now?”

Marvin was confused by my series of questions and stammered, “In... on the empty lawn outside the classroom….”

I continued, “How did the necklace end up on the lawn? Tell me another lie.”

Clara suddenly pulled Marvin into her arms with heartache and scolded me, “Catherine. Don't go too far. What's the point of scaring a child? He's so young, how can he remember it so clearly.”

I stared at Marvin's eyes. He did not dare to look up at me out of guilt, but his eyes were always glancing towards the desk.

Children really could not keep secrets.

I understood what was going on and before Clara could react, I reached out to touch Marvin's desk.

The necklace was lying inside.

“The necklace was always in the classroom. Let me ask you again, where did my daughter steal the necklace?”

I pressed on step by step and Marvin finally could not hold back, “I lied to everyone. Alicia did not steal the necklace. I lied.”

Clara heard this and said sharply, “Marvin, what are you talking about? I know, you must be scared of her. Please don't be afraid of her. Mom is here.”

I looked around the classroom, “And you, you just based on Marvin's one-sided statement and concluded that my daughter stole the necklace. You didn't make your own judgment. Shouldn't you apologize to her?”

The parents gradually realized that they had been too extreme and made a conclusion without giving it much thought.

However, some parents still joked, “Oh, there is nothing to apologize for, it was just a joke between classmates.”

The person who spoke was the parent who just defended her son and pulled my daughter.

“Are you kidding?” I glared at him, the anger in my eyes seemed to be about to burst out. “My daughter has been bullied by you guys like this, how dare you tell me it is just a joke?”

“Then it is a fact that your daughter plagiarized others. Several of my son's classmates saw it with their own eyes. Even if she did not steal the necklace, cheating is also not a good thing.”