Chapter 116

“Stella. I’m sorry. It’s my fault Keen got the wrong idea,” Marvin said, his eyes red as he took the phone from her. He looked like a lost puppy. Even the other preschool teachers felt a pang of sympathy just watching him. It was heartbreaking to watch Marvin cling to the housemaid like she was his mother—just a little boy starving for affection. Who could fault him for that?

Stella’s heart ached for him too. “Marvin, you don’t have to delete anything. Just leave it be,” she said, stopping him.

“But Keen might not like it,” Marvin mumbled, his head hanging low.

“It’s okay,” Stella reassured him gently. “But,” she continued softly, “as long as no one is hurt, there’s no need to compromise yourself just to keep others happy.”

Marvin nodded, saying, “I’ll do as you say, Stella.”

Suddenly, a deep, commanding voice broke through the air. “I want to check his phone.”

Stella’s brow furrowed. “Haynes, don’t you think it’s a bit much to go through a little kid’s phone?”

Haynes replied calmly, “I know Keen’s character. I don’t believe he would lie.”

Stella was about to argue when Marvin gently tugged at her sleeve, showing an understanding beyond his years. “If Mr. O’Brien wants to see it, then let him.”

The preschool teachers around them couldn’t help but admire Marvin’s maturity.

After a moment of thought, Stella nodded. But she didn’t hand the phone directly to Haynes. Instead, she suggested, “If we’re going to look, let’s all see it. We shouldn’t rely on just one person’s word.”

She turned to the teachers. “You have a projector here, right?”

“Oh yes, we do,” one of the teachers replied quickly. “It’s in the meeting room next door.”

The group headed to the meeting room, where they projected Marvin’s phone onto the screen. On Marvin’s preschool network account, there were mostly photos and innocent thoughts typical of a child. It was a classic case of something said innocently being potentially misinterpreted.

Stella then opened Marvin’s messages and contacts. Everything seemed perfectly normal.

“So, you’ve seen the phone,” Stella said. “Can we now agree that Marvin wasn’t trying to provoke Keen?”

Rachel chimed in, “Keen said Marvin showed him some photos and videos on his phone. Ms. Cameron, why not check his gallery?”

Crella glanced at Rachel, then opened Marvin’s gallery. It was full of pictures of Marvin and Stella, some selfies, some candid shots, but nothing untoward.

“The videos too,” Rachel insisted.

Stella complied. The videos were mostly of Stella cooking in the kitchen or picking Marvin up from school. She played each one through to the end. Until she opened a video of Rachel’s fall. Rachel’s eyes flickered with panic. “Turn it off! That video has nothing to do with today!”

Stella smirked coolly. “Let’s watch it to the end. I wouldn’t want anyone accusing Marvin of editing the footage later.”

Stella totally brushed off Rachel’s whining and hit play. When the first video ended, she just swiped straight to the next one without missing a beat.

The atmosphere in the room shifted as the gathered crowd’s expressions changed.