Chapter 112
She deeply regretted ever trusting Reynard. In the end, not only did Josie get all the attention, but she also ended up getting herself dragged into this mess.
Natalie knew there was no way she could escape a beating today, but what terrified her even more was the thought of getting implicated and sent to prison.
She couldn’t count on Reynard anymore. If Audrey refused to help him, she wondered if Reynard would rat her out just to save himself.
‘I can’t go to prison. I can’t get dragged into this!’ Natalie thought desperately.
Ignoring the whip Audrey swung at her again, Natalie grabbed it and fell to her knees before Audrey.
She said, “Mom, I am sorry, I swear I’ve learned my lesson. I promise that I’ll never call him my father again. I’ll never contact him ever again. Please, I’m begging you, save me. I really don’t want to go to prison!”
She clung to Audrey’s legs and pleaded.
Audrey gave her an impatient kick before shoving her away.
She said, “Get up and stand straight. The Kinberg family doesn’t raise spineless cowards. If I hadn’t given birth to you, I’d seriously doubt you were even my daughter!”
Natalie didn’t dare go against Audrey anymore. She wiped her tears and stood there obediently in front of her.
Audrey asked, “Spill it. When exactly did you start talking to him, and what kind of dirty business has he done for you? Don’t you dare lie to me. If you do, don’t blame me for kicking you out.”
Natalie hesitated for a moment before she explained everything. “I just wanted to teach Josie a lesson and stop her from competing in the school competition. I never thought they’d actually go so far as to kidnap her.”
Of course, she had thought about that, but there was no way she could ever admit it, not if she wanted to keep herself out of trouble.
Audrey said, “Getting bullied by some country girl? You’re honestly hopeless. What about your five teammates? Are they just for show? Is your head just for decoration? Try using your brain once in a while.”
Audrey waved her hand impatiently. “That’s enough. Get lost. Don’t bother going to school for the next couple of days.”
“I understand,” Natalie said, knowing she was in the clear for now.
Her body and face ached all over, but compared to the thought of going to prison, this pain was nothing.
She had no idea what Audrey would do next, but she was sure Audrey would handle it.
The only thing was that she wouldn’t be able to contact Reynard again.
She thought, ‘Not contacting him is fine. He is so useless. He couldn’t even pull off something this simple. How dare he use me to manipulate the Kinberg family? Serves him right to end up in jail!’
Before she left, Natalie handed Audrey the phone she had used to contact Reynard.
After she left, Audrey stepped out, and by the time she came back, it was already evening.
After dinner, Audrey gave David a call.
She said, “David, it’s me, Josie. Natalie came home feeling unwell today, so she probably won’t be able to make it to school for a while. It’s nothing serious, she’s just in a low mood. I’m worried her depression might flare up again, so I think it’s better for her to stay home for a couple of days."
“I trust you, but as you know, college is like a society of its own. Natalie is so naive and kind-hearted. It’s no surprise she ends up getting picked on. Honestly, this is partly my fault. I’ve always emphasized her studies and being diligent, but I guess I neglected to teach her about other things. Natalie told me there’s a competition coming up at school. She really cares about it and has put a lot of effort in. Honestly, I don’t care whether she wins or not, but I just can’t accept her losing for some shady or unfair reason."
“These days, some students are always looking for shortcuts, and even some professors seem to have forgotten what it means to be an educator. David, you really can’t just let this kind of atmosphere fester. It’s not a big deal if Natalie faces a little hardship, but what worries me is the school environment getting corrupted. You know that my research institute hires directly from the university every year. This is about the standards of the entire medical field. We can’t let a few people drag down the bar for everyone else, right?”
The call lasted over half an hour.
After hanging up, Audrey glanced up the stairs, just in time to catch a glimpse of someone’s clothes slipping out of sight at the top of the staircase.
Three days passed.