From Ashes of Scandal to His Embrace (Laurinda) novel Chapter 210

Egan sat there, confused. It had already been an hour since everything went down, but nobody had shown up looking for the shipment. He couldn’t figure out what was going on.

Adolphus was spinning his lighter between his fingers, eyes glued to his chat with Laurinda. It was almost funny how she hadn’t messaged him back in an hour either.

He let out a low laugh. Laurinda was sharp. She always knew how to find the strongest person to lean on.

“Just keep the goods,” he said. “And while you’re at it, see if you can stir up some trouble for Stonehaven. Call it a thank-you to the mysterious benefactor who sent us this present.”

Egan blinked, trying to process that. Was Adolphus serious right now? They’d just taken someone’s shipment, and now he wanted to make things hard for them too? That couldn’t be right, could it?

Before Egan could even ask, Adolphus hung up and typed out a message to Laurinda. Are you asleep?

She replied almost instantly. Not yet. Something came up and I forgot to text you back. And don’t stress about your friends, okay? I’m in such a good mood tonight, I could forgive anyone.

Adolphus stared at the message, a cold glint flickering in his eyes. He was pretty sure he knew exactly who their mysterious helper was now. And as for Stonehaven, he wasn’t about to forget what they’d done.

Just as he was mulling things over, his phone buzzed again. Another message from Laurinda.

I’m heading to bed. Good night. You should get some sleep too. Oh, and I want an egg pancake for breakfast.

He sent her a quick good night, grabbed his jacket, and walked out of the medical room. Foley followed right behind him.

***

“What are you hoping I’ll say?” Laurinda asked, her tone gentle but firm. “That money was supposed to help students who really need it, not be handed out as spending money.”

She looked straight at him. “While you’re feeling sorry for them, did you ever think about the students who actually needed that help?”

She didn’t give him time to answer. “If you can’t sort this out, I’ll get my lawyer involved. And if that happens, I won’t worry about saving anyone’s reputation.”

She could have let it go, but after her investigation, she found out that over a dozen students who truly needed support had been forced to drop out. There was no way she could just ignore that.

The principal could see she wasn’t going to back down. He let out a long sigh.

“Alright, I get it. I’ll ask the education bureau to come oversee the investigation. The teachers involved will be held accountable. I promise, from now on, every bit of financial aid will go to the students who actually need it.”