Chapter 2

A strong, terrible premonition surged through me.

I forgot about lunch, driving straight to Ivy’s preschool.

As soon as I entered, I spotted Ms. Jenkins, Ivy’s homeroom teacher.

Like a drowning person grasping a lifeline, I rushed up to her.

“Ms. Jenkins, where’s Ivy?”

“Ivy’s mom, Ivy’s napping right now. Is something wrong?”

Ms. Jenkins was as cheerful as usual, but as she saw me, a flicker of panic clearly crossed her eyes!

I didn’t bother with pleasantries and walked straight in.

“Ivy’s mom, the children are all sleeping now. You can’t just barge in.”

Ms. Jenkins tried to stop me, but a mother’s fierce instinct took over. Her slender body was no match for mine.

“Ivy, Mommy’s here to take you home!”

I shouted as I walked.

Normally, if I called her more than twice, Ivy would immediately respond.

But now, there was nothing.

I searched room after room. Not only was Ivy gone, but there were no other children either!

More and more teachers emerged to try and dissuade me.

“Where have you taken my Ivy?!”

“Ivy’s mom, please calm down. This is a school. Please don’t make such a scene. We can discuss whatever happened calmly.”

“That’s right, Ivy’s mom, you’re being too aggressive.”

Instead of helping me find my daughter, they started to criticize me.

I was the victim, yet they were accusing me of causing trouble and being unreasonable!

If she wasn't in the nap room, I’d check other places.

The office, the cafeteria, the classrooms…

I turned every place I visited upside down.

“Ivy’s mom, if you keep this up, I’ll call the police!”

“Go ahead! I dare you!”

The air fell silent for a moment.

Just then, I suddenly heard a cry!

It was coming from the storage room around the corner!

The teachers clearly heard it too; their faces turned frantic.

“Ivy’s mom, this is for staff only. You can’t go in there!”

At this point, I couldn’t hear their pleas. All I wanted was to break through that door.

The door was locked from the inside, so I slammed my body against it.

Finally, the door burst open.

Seeing the scene inside, my eyes blazed with fire. I wanted to kill.

My daughter was on her hands and knees, bound hand and foot.

Someone was holding her mouth open, forcing shrimp into it!

“What are you doing?!”

Hearing my voice, Ivy struggled harder, but her strength was too little, and it was useless.

I frantically tried to rush to my daughter’s side.

But a group of people surged forward, forming a barrier between me and Ivy.

The woman sitting in the middle, smirking triumphantly.

I recognized her.

It was Ms. Albright!

“Ivy’s mom, last night I told you to teach your daughter a lesson, but you didn’t listen. So, it falls to an outsider like me to do it, doesn’t it?”

As she spoke, she continued to shove shrimp into Ivy’s mouth.

By now, Ivy’s face was covered in red rashes, her lips swollen and red. She no longer had the strength to speak.

My heart ached with every beat.

Ivy had grown up, and I had never laid a finger on her.

Now she was enduring such inhuman torture!

“Ivy’s mom, don’t worry so much. Ms. Albright is a doctor. She’s giving Ivy desensitization therapy.”

Ms. Jenkins blocked me, her face a picture of sincerity.

“That’s right, Ivy’s mom. See, even Ms. Jenkins says so. You can relax.”

“The preschool is a shared environment, not a place for special exceptions. Why can everyone else eat shrimp, but not your child? If this corrupts our children, can you bear the responsibility?”

I knew some parents had limited understanding.

But the teachers? They were educated professionals.

How could they allow such an absurd thing to happen?