Chapter 346
Paityn was desperate to rush over, hug Josie, kiss her face, and tell her, “I’m your mother.”
Sitting beside her, Saanvi said, “Athena’s surrounded. You can get out now.”
Paityn, wearing a sunhat and mask, opened the car door and looked toward Athena, who was about 100 feet away.
Athena and Maria had just gotten out of their car when a group of people rushed towards them, pointing cameras, camcorders, and phones at them, shouting loudly, “You’re Zayn’s sisters, right? We heard Zayn’s relationship with the family isn’t good. Is that true?”
“We heard Zayn had a big fight with the family over who controls the earnings from his work. Is there any truth to that?”
“I have a gift for Zayn. Could you deliver it to him?”
The commotion quickly drew attention from the crowd, who began to gather and watch.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Paityn got out of the car and hurried over to Josie. She squatted down, showing Josie printed photos. “Josie, these are pictures of you before you were three years old. Do you remember any of them?”
Not wanting to scare her, Paityn refrained from saying she was her mother and instead tried to spark Josie’s memory.
Josie didn’t recognize her and stepped back warily. “Don’t come any closer to Josie. This is a school. If you try to take me away, I’ll scream for help.”
Panicking, Paityn said, “I’m not a bad person. I’m your family. Look at these photos and videos. They’re of us together.”
She played a video of herself and Alina celebrating a birthday years ago.
Josie furrowed her brows and glanced at the photos and video with curiosity for a moment, but she quickly lost interest and shook her head. “That’s not me. I have never taken photos like that.”
“You have.” Paityn instinctively grabbed her arm. “You’re the child in those pictures. Your real name is Alina, and the woman in the photos is your mom.”
Before she could finish, Josie screamed, “Ah! A bad person is trying to take a child! Help!”
At once, all eyes turned toward Josie and Paityn.
Athena, noticing the commotion, swiftly pulled out her custom–made, high–power pepper spray and unleashed it on the people blocking her way.
Immediately, they howled in agony, dropping their phones and cameras, clutching their eyes and noses in pain as tears streamed down their faces.
Athena, putting away her spray, strode through the crowd and reached Paityn in seconds. She slapped the sunhat off Paityn’s head, grabbed her by the hair, and angrily demanded, “How dare you try to abduct a child in broad daylight? Do you even care about the law?”
Shocked, Paityn stammered while covering her face, “I… I wasn’t kidnapping Josie! I came to reunite with her.”
Athena recognized Paityn and initially intended to give her a good lesson. However, seeing so many people around, she didn’t want to make a scène. So, she let go of Paityn’s hair and said, “Get out of here. If I catch you bothering my child again, I’ll make sure you end up at the police station.”
By then, teachers and security staff from the school had arrived, and one of them sternly said, “No way. This woman scared the child. She must be taken to the police for questioning.”
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