First Day of School, His Fall

I saw the pen Lily clutched tightly in her hands and immediately understood what was happening.

“This pen is indeed my daughter’s. Her father gave it to her as a gift to celebrate her enrollment. I still have the purchase record.”

I pulled up the receipt on my phone—an expense of $100,000.

The woman in purple burst out laughing.

“Don’t know whether to call you uneducated or a fraud. You can’t even read the zeros properly. This pen costs $10,000, but you’re showing $100,000?”

“Pathetic. You’ve probably never seen that much money in your life. You can’t even fake it convincingly.”

Her ignorance made me laugh bitterly.

“This pen’s nibs are custom-made with gemstones. Prices vary depending on the gem’s type, color, and clarity. The one in my hand is crafted with a Colombian emerald, the only one of its kind in the country.”

I pulled off the cap, revealing the glistening green nib.

The crowd began whispering.

“My husband told me about this Hepburn pen—it has three tiers, and the highest does go for about $100,000.”

“I don’t know much about gems, but the way that emerald shines doesn’t look fake.”

The woman’s face flickered with doubt, but she quickly sneered again.

“You can’t even afford a $200 jump rope. You expect me to believe you bought a $100,000 luxury Italian pen?”

“Trying to fool me with a knockoff? I, Olivia Scott, have been in the socialite circle for years—you think I’d fall for this?”

The other parents nodded, clearly siding with her.

Lily trembled in my arms, her temperature rising rapidly. She was running a fever.

I didn’t want to waste more time arguing. The priority was to get Lily to the hospital.

I placed the pen on the desk.

“This pen will stay here. Once the matter is clarified, I’ll take it back.”

I tried to leave with Lily, but Olivia stuck out her leg and tripped me. Lily hit her head on the ground, a lump swelling at her temple.

“You think you can walk out that easily? Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to—trying to swap a fake for my son’s real one? Not a chance!”

“Trash like you are all the same—teaching your kids to steal so you can resell for cash.”

Gasps filled the room.

“No wonder her kid can afford this school—turns out it’s stolen money.”

“If the daughter steals, what does the mother do? Sleep around for cash? Disgusting.”

“Bringing a fake pen to trick us? They’ve probably been targeting our kids’ things for a while. Everyone check your stuff—if anything’s missing, today’s the time to get it back.”

At her words, several parents lunged at me, snatching my purse and emptying Lily’s backpack.

Books and makeup spilled everywhere, but nothing suspicious was found.

“They must be pros. Of course they wouldn’t hide it in their bags. Could be on them instead.”

Seeing them reach for Lily’s clothes, I pulled her tightly to me.

“You have no right to search us. This is illegal.”

One parent shouted back:

“Stealing is illegal too! If you didn’t steal, why are you afraid of being searched? You’re obviously guilty!”

I had no way to argue back. Outnumbered, I could only watch as they tore Lily’s school jacket off.

In a panic, I searched for my phone, desperate to call my husband.