She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 270

Mr. Ludlow froze. He clearly hadn’t considered that.

Loyce didn’t let him breathe. “And you said it’s worth a fortune—her most precious keepsake. Then why would she take it off casually? Why would she leave it somewhere anyone could touch? How does something that important ‘accidentally’ end up in someone else’s pencil case?”

Mr. Ludlow’s forehead beaded with sweat. “Well… Cyrilla said she kept it in her desk…”

“In her desk,” Loyce repeated, dripping sarcasm. “So her desk was wide open? And Giselle stole it in full view, then calmly put it into her own pencil case while Cyrilla’s friends watched, yet nobody stopped her until later when they suddenly remembered they’d ‘seen everything’?”

Mr. Ludlow’s face went blotchy.

Loyce stood, looming over him. “Mr. Ludlow, as a teacher, you should know better. With no conclusive evidence, you branded Giselle a thief and started discussing expulsion. Is that how this school operates?”

Her tone sharpened into steel. “If so, I’ll happily call the district office and ask whether Victory High officially allows favoritism based on family background, and whether you’re comfortable enabling bullying under the guise of discipline.”

Mr. Ludlow panicked. “Please calm down. We can investigate further—”

“Great.” Loyce’s voice stayed cold. “Then we call both sides. Not just one. Bring Cyrilla and every so-called witness here right now. We ask them, in front of everyone, what they actually ‘saw.’”

Mr. Ludlow hesitated, then said heavily, “Cyrilla’s family… isn’t someone we can just summon.”

Loyce’s brow arched. She’d met Cyrilla’s mother before—working in the Shapiro household, practically unpaid, out of gratitude for being taken in.

So Loyce asked, “Why? She didn’t leave a family contact number?”

“She did,” Mr. Ludlow said, irritated. “But do you think a high-ranking military officer can just drop everything and come running? That would be incredibly inappropriate.”

Loyce’s eyes turned amused. “So you mean… she put Lucian’s number down?”

Mr. Ludlow frowned at her bold use of his name. “Yes.”

Loyce pulled out her phone, scrolled, and found Lucian’s contact. “Instead of guessing whether he’s busy, let’s ask him. That’s faster.”

Loyce ended the call.

Mr. Ludlow stared at her, his expression turning strange. “That just now… was that really Admiral Shapiro?”

Loyce slipped her phone away. “What, Mr. Ludlow? You think I’m putting on a show?”

He forced a laugh. “No, it’s just… Admiral Shapiro is extremely busy. How could he possibly—”

Giselle stood to the side, twisting the hem of her shirt, anxious. She knew Loyce was powerful, but the Shapiros were the Shapiros. Cyrilla’s quiet cruelty at school had always come with that shadow behind it.

Loyce didn’t bother explaining. She simply tugged Giselle to the sofa and sat. “Then we’ll wait.”

Mr. Ludlow’s uncertainty grew. In the end, he told a student passing by to go fetch Cyrilla first.