The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 369

They closed in on Keen, surrounding him from all sides.

Watching the scene unfold on the security monitor, Haynes’s brow furrowed in concern, while Mrs. Ayers looked as if she might faint from shock.

Even through the grainy footage, it was obvious that Sheldon and his two friends weren’t here for a friendly chat. The way they cornered Keen was practiced—clearly, this wasn’t their first time.

Haynes’s dark eyes grew colder by the second.

Then Sheldon’s voice cut through the tense silence in the room.

“A few days ago, I heard my mom say your mom barely finished middle school—she can’t even read properly, not like us kids at fancy private schools.”

“I bet none of these other kids know just how pathetic and embarrassing your mom is, do they?”

He laughed, a sharp, cruel sound. “Well, even if they don’t know now, they’re about to. We’ll make sure everyone hears about it.”

The sudden hush in the air was suffocating. No one else dared to speak. Only Sheldon’s mocking laughter echoed from the speakers.

Haynes’s icy gaze slid to Mrs. Ayers.

She shrank under his stare, trembling as if she wished she could disappear.

It was one thing for her to gossip about Stella behind closed doors, to look down on her in private. But saying such things out loud—deliberately humiliating someone—crossed a line.

And from Sheldon’s words, it was clear this was no isolated incident. He’d been bullying Keen for a while now.

Thinking back, Stella’s expression darkened as well. She had never realized Keen was facing this kind of torment at preschool.