Summer frowned, glaring at the overweight woman. “There are kids here, watch your mouth!”
“What do you mean? Are you scolding me?” The overweight woman went up to Summer, looking aggressive, as though she was going to slap her.
As things did not look right, the class teacher tried to pull the overweight woman away. “Mrs. Burton, please calm down.”
The overweight woman was the mother of Ben Burton, one of the boys who fought with Douglas earlier. Like mother, like son. When the mother was so aggressive, once could not expect her son to be a gentleman. Not that Summer was prejudiced, but most of the time, it was the parents’ behavior and attitude that influenced the children.
“Calm down? Look at my son!” The overweight woman shook the teacher off and pulled her son over, pointing at the bruises on his face. “Would you calm down if your son was beaten this way?”
The overweight woman grasped Ben Burton’s arm tightly, and Summer could see that Ben Burton was in pain, but he did not make a sound.
The class teacher apparently could not handle the middle-aged woman, who was behaving aggressively. He took two steps back, pushed his glasses up his nose, and said, “I-I’m not married yet…”
The overweight woman gave him a surprised look. “You look like you’re at least thirty, and you’re still not married yet?”
The class teacher did not look too happy. Clearing his throat, he said, “Since Douglas isn’t willing to talk, let Ben Burton tell us what happened.”
Hearing his name, Ben Burton looked up and glanced in Douglas’s direction. Douglas cocked an eyebrow and looked at him. Ben Burton shuddered, keeping his head down and sounding reluctant. “We were just kidding around, and Douglas hit us.”
“Kidding?” Douglas looked at Ben Burton sideways, curling his lips as he warned, “You treat that as a joke? Try that again and I’ll hit you in the face!” As if that was not enough, Douglas added, “Until you become paralyzed!”
Summer shouted, “Douglas!”
Douglas looked back at her, indignant. “Summer, it’s not my fault. If he dares to say it again, I’m going to hit him. My elder cousin will back me up.”
“Shut up!” Summer’s face darkened. She was not as stern as Leonardo, but when she blew a fuse, it could be scary.
Douglas did not say another word and looked away, still indignant.
It was not the right place to talk to Douglas; she would find somewhere else more private. Right then, she needed to square up with this woman who was looking for a fight. There was a problem with Douglas too. At only fourteen, he was so violent, saying that Leonardo would back him up. It was unbecoming of a boy his age.
On the other hand, Ben Burton had probably sensed that Summer managed to put a leash on Douglas, and he became bolder. “What I’ve said is true. The abandoned factory near our house was where Mrs. Emerson was held. Someone saw her; she was gang-raped before she died! No one knows this because the Emerson family has paid hush money to keep everyone’s mouth shut! What does that have to do with you? You f*cking hit me just because of that—”
Before Ben Burton finished his sentence, he was heard letting out a horrifying shriek. Meanwhile, Summer was transfixed when she heard someone mention Mrs. Emerson and did not notice Douglas’s reaction. When she came to her senses, Douglas had grabbed Ben Burton and hit him in the face.
“I f*cking told you I was going to hit you if you said it again…”
“Knock it off, Douglas!” Summer rushed up to pull him away, but she had a problem; the teenage boy was too powerful for her. He had probably been hitting the gym every day. She released her hands and calmly warned him, “If you keep this up, your elder cousin will be on his way.”
Douglas likely got the message and stopped.
The woman rushed up, hugging Ben Burton in her arms, crying with snot all over her face. “This is what I’m talking about! This rascal’s a bastard!”
Douglas wanted to lunge out again, but Summer pulled him back just in time. Taking out a wad of banknotes from her wallet, she threw it on the sofa. “That’s for Ben Burton’s medical bill.” Ben Burton only suffered some bruises and cuts, nothing major. Two thousand dollars was more than enough.
However, the woman did not think so. “With that little money? Do you think we’re beggars?”
Summer did not want to argue with her about it. She told the woman in her face, “Sue us if you’re not happy.”
The overweight woman was visibly intimidated, but still full of bluff and bluster. “You think I won’t?”
“We’ll see.”
Summer brought Douglas out of the place without looking back.
…
Out of the school, Summer brought Douglas to a clinic nearby. With several medical plasters stuck over his face, Douglas turned around and asked, “Summer, do you have a mirror with you?”
“What do you need it for?”
She took out a compact makeup mirror from her handbag and passed it to him. Douglas looked into the mirror, turning his face left and right before nodding in satisfaction. “I think I still look cool!”
Glancing at him with a forced smile, Summer got to her feet. “Let’s go.”
He followed her, tucking the little mirror back into her handbag. “Did you just say my elder cousin’s coming? When? Where?”
“He won’t be coming for now.”
Summer kept walking ahead with her arms crossed. Douglas let out a sigh of relief.
“I heard Ben Burton mention Mrs. Emerson.” Summer bit her lip and paused for a few seconds. Then, she continued, “Was she Leonardo’s mother?”
When the incident happened, Summer was only six or seven years old. The kidnapping of Mrs. Emerson had caused quite a stir at the time, but she was only a little girl, whose concern was when Karen would buy her a floral skirt. She had heard her family maids talking about it before, but not in such detail.
“Mm.” Douglas nodded, looking a little depressed.
They did not say a word again. Years had passed, and it was the first time Summer had heard people talk about it in a way she least expected. If it was true…
Her phone suddenly rang in her handbag, and she took it out. It was Leonardo.
Douglas had a glimpse of the phone screen, and his expression changed. “Please don’t tell him about today. My mom said Leonardo and his mom were very close!” Douglas’s mom was the younger sister of Leonardo’s father. That meant Leonardo’s mom was Douglas’s aunt.