Louis helped me up from the floor and said with forced patience, "The Flemings have money and influence while you're just an ordinary citizen. You can't fight them.

"Just sign the statement, take the compensation, and let it go. If you keep pushing, you'll only damage the school's reputation. What impression will this leave on other parents?"

I was stunned. Giselle had been bullied, yet the principal's immediate concern was the school's image, not justice. I could hardly believe such words were coming from an educator.

Giselle had been hospitalized from the abuse, and now Louis spoke of compensation as if that could put an end to it.

Shouldn't the bullies be punished?

When he saw that I wouldn't give in, Louis' patience snapped. "They were already willing to pay you. What more do you want? Do you really have to drive them to their deaths?"

Then, he coldly pulled a file from his briefcase and hurled it at me. "If you refuse to sign the statement, Giselle will no longer be welcome at this school."

I couldn't believe my ears. To protect the bullies, he was threatening to expel Giselle. But what gave him the right to?

"The Flemings have a judge in the family," Louis added with a sneer. "The law is on their side, and you'll never win in court. Besides, the school isn't about to risk offending children of powerful families for the sake of one poor student."

I held Giselle's file and leaned against the cold wall of the corridor, an indescribable heaviness pressing down on me.

We had done nothing wrong. So, why were the victims the ones who had to suffer?

After pulling myself together, I returned to Giselle's hospital room.

When she woke up, she stayed curled beneath the blanket, unwilling to come out.

Seeing her trembling under the covers broke my heart. Without missing a beat, I approached her and pulled her into my arms.

Giselle pressed herself against me and sobbed. "Grandpa, it hurts so much. I feel awful. Tricia and the others beat me up and bullied me. They even said I was born to be picked on because I was an orphan.

"But I do have a mom and dad. Didn't they promise they'd come home when I turned ten? I'm 15 now. Why haven't they come back? Did I do something wrong? Don't they want me anymore? Was it because I snuck ice cream home when I was little?

"Grandpa, can you tell Mom and Dad I know I was wrong? I'll never eat ice cream again. I'll be good. I miss them so much. If Mom and Dad were still here, they wouldn't dare bully me."

Her cries hit me like a punch to the gut, and my hand closed around the medals in my pocket.

Ever since the general had given them to me six years ago, I had kept them hidden away. I never dared let Giselle see them. If she ever learned that her parents had died in service, it would mean she was truly an orphan.

I clenched my teeth, fighting back the tears. How could I ever tell her that her parents were never coming home?

"Grandpa, you said only bad kids get punished. But I didn't do anything wrong. Yet, they still came after me."

As I swallowed the ache in my chest, I smoothed her hair and reassured her, "Elle, you've always been a good kid. They're the bad ones, and people like that always pay the price."

Giselle looked up at me, her eyes shining with tears and hope.

…

It took everything I had to soothe Giselle to sleep. Then, I went to the police station to report what had happened.

However, the officers' response crushed me.

Tricia's parents were the wealthiest in the city, with relatives serving as officials. Even the police were helpless against them.

One of the police officers sighed before giving me a look of sympathy. "The Flemings have relatives among the city's top officials. They even have connections at the state level. You can't go up against their family. It's best to just let it go."

With that, I left the station in despair. Even the police couldn't do a thing about them, and the realization sent an icy chill through me.

Just then, my phone buzzed. When I opened the message and saw what it was, my chest tightened.

It was a video of Giselle being bullied.

In the video, Giselle was backed into the corner by the bullies. They lined up, each taking a turn to slap her while she curled into herself and helplessly sobbed.

One of them shoved the phone in her face for a close-up, mocking, "Someone like her, with no mom or dad who cares, was born for us to mess with."

My hand trembled as I held the phone. I couldn't watch another second of it.

Along with the video came a taunting message from Harold. He wrote, "Enjoying the show, old geezer? If you don't sign the statement, I'll upload this online, and your granddaughter will be a laughingstock."

Then, he sent another image. This time, it was one of a skinned rabbit.

Rabbits were Giselle's favorite animal.

My whole body shook with fury as I replied, "Don't you think this is too much?"

Harold shot back, "So what if I'm crossing the line? What can you do? I've got family in the courthouse. Around here, even murder gets swept under the rug, let alone assault.

"Your granddaughter is the one who's screwed. She'll spend her whole life living under the shadow of being bullied."

When I tried to reply again, I realized he had already blocked me.

…

I reached out to various law firms, but every attorney told me the same thing—they couldn't take the case and wouldn't dare to either.

The Fleming family was exactly as Louis had said. They had powerful connections, with relatives in the courthouse pulling strings for them.

Was justice for Giselle truly out of reach?

…

Giselle's mental state kept getting worse. Night after night, she struggled to fall asleep. Even when she did, nightmares would jolt her awake.

Through tears, she told me that she was too afraid to close her eyes. Every time she did, she relived the day Tricia and her friends tormented her.

It gutted me to hear Giselle say that. I pulled her into my arms, and she wept uncontrollably against me.

"Grandpa, I dreamed about Mom and Dad," she said. "They took me to the amusement park, holding me as we played together. But before long, they got called away for a mission.

"They said the country needed them for a while, and once the job was done, they'd come back home. Grandpa… when will the country give them back to me?

"If Mom and Dad were here, nobody would ever pick on me just because I don't have parents. Why don't bad people ever get punished?"

I stared at Giselle's pale face, completely at a loss for words. Right then, sorrow and helpless rage crashed over me like a tidal wave.