A helpless look spread across Thea York’s face. "Estelle, you don’t have to defend Scott just for the sake of our families’ relationship..."
"Our families’ relationship? Aunt York, what kind of relationship do our families have?"
A soft, sweet girl’s voice piped up curiously. Mia poked her head out, looking very puzzled by the statement. She turned to look back, baffled. "Daddy, do we have to do things for Aunt York’s sake?"
Nathaniel Sloan’s lips curled into a slight smile as he said coolly, "There’s no sake to consider."
Mia nodded and turned back. "Aunt York, you heard him. We don’t have any relationship to consider, so don’t get ahead of yourself~"
Thea York: "..."
Thea York swallowed her frustration and forced a strained smile. "Mia, earlier this morning, Aunt York saw you wearing a yellow watch. Why aren’t you wearing it now?"
Mia’s eyes darted around. She exchanged a look with Christian and Zachery, then her gaze fell on Scott.
As expected, a hurt expression appeared on Scott’s face, but he remained silent—the clear result of years of suppression by the York Family.
Mia said meaningfully, "I didn’t realize Aunt York was so concerned about me. And yes, I was indeed wearing a watch this morning."
The two livestreamers exchanged a glance and silently began to guide the comments in the chatroom.
[Looks like the theft is a sure thing. The little girl was wearing her watch this morning, and it’s gone after lunch. What else could it be but stolen?]
[I heard that watch was custom-made and super expensive. To steal something so valuable instead of anything else... so greedy.]
[Maybe he stole it precisely because he knew it was expensive.]
[York Family, aren’t you going to come out and explain? Why is your young master a habitual offender!]
[Hey, didn’t Thea York just say it? He’s from the first wife’s side. What can the current Mrs. York do? She can’t hit him or scold him.]
At the York family residence, Mrs. York watched the turn of public opinion with great satisfaction.
’That idiot Scott is just a grandson from the first wife, yet just because of that title, those old fossils at the company actually said they wanted to groom him!’
’Saying the York Group is what it is today all thanks to the first wife—what nonsense! I am the true Mrs. York!’
Watching people curse out Scott, Mrs. York felt a deep sense of vindication.
...
After Mia said her piece, she looked toward Scott under everyone’s watchful gaze.
Thea York naturally noticed her gaze. Her heart leaped with joy, but she feigned ignorance. "Mia, where’s your watch?"
Mia suddenly lowered her head, tears welling in her eyes as if she were about to cry.
From Thea York’s perspective, this meant Mia Lockwood felt wronged but didn’t dare to speak up!
’That’s right. Scott bullied Mia Lockwood at kindergarten on my orders.’
’What does a five-year-old know? After being bullied, I told him not to let her tell her parents, so she wouldn’t dare tell Estelle Lockwood. Mia must be terrified of Scott.’
’Now that Scott has snatched her watch, Mia won’t dare tell the truth!’
Although Thea York wasn’t an actress, her performance was top-notch. "Mia, why are you looking at Scott... Could it be that your watch really was taken by him?"
Mia didn’t say anything.
Thea York felt victory was within her grasp and pressed on. "Mia, don’t be afraid. Auntie is here. If Scott really did it, Auntie will definitely make him apologize to you!"
Mia still said nothing.
"Mia, you don’t have to cover for Scott. I know he has a bad temper. At kindergarten, he must have..."
"Aunt York, I’ll say it."
Though Mia was only five, her presence was unmatched. She enunciated every single word:
"Scott York did not bully us. Does Aunt York not understand the meaning of that sentence?"
"I’m also a little curious. Aunt York is Scott’s aunt, so why are you so persistent in misleading everyone into thinking he’s a bully at kindergarten? Is Aunt York at the kindergarten every second of every day? Or perhaps the kindergarten Aunt York is talking about exists in a different dimension from ours?"
"Otherwise, why would Aunt York be so adamant that Scott bullies us when we’ve never been bullied? Shouldn’t we, the so-called ’victims,’ be the ones who know best?"
Thea York’s pupils trembled violently!
’What is the meaning of this? What are these three little brats trying to do?! They’re actually speaking up for Scott!’
’But Scott does bully his classmates at kindergarten...’
"Mia... you, you don’t have to hide something like school bullying for him..."
"Aunt York."
Christian was very calm. He wore an expression of pure innocence, with just the right touch of guile. "All our classmates are here on the outing. If you really want to know if Scott is a school bully, why don’t you just ask everyone?"
That was true. Everyone had a sudden realization.
Even if some children who had been bullied were too scared to speak up before, what was there to fear now? Scott’s guardian, their own parents, and the kindergarten teachers were all present, and a livestream was running. A simple five-year-old child wouldn’t be able to hide their expression if they had truly been bullied.
Thea York suppressed her fury and gave a sheepish laugh. "I... I only heard rumors. But didn’t a classmate say before that Scott snatched her milk and drank it? I... I just thought that since Scott had a prior record of bullying, so..."

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