The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

 

Chapter 70

For the next two days, the progress of Class Eighteen visibly shot up, and the students were buzzing

with enthusiasm.

Even the ones who used to hate going to class were now so engrossed in studying that they didn't

want to rest when the bell rang.

Mr. James was over the moon after seeing this. Taking over Class Eighteen had initially been a

daunting task, but now he felt like he was on top of the world.

I mean, who wouldn't be stoked to see students, who once couldn't be bothered to study, now making

leaps and bounds under his tutelage?

Meanwhile, Vivienne was also up to her eyeballs in work. She personally kept tabs on Class Eighteen's

progress. Although she wasn't the one teaching, she had a ton of other stuff to deal with.

Particularly, she was tutoring Charlotte Redwood one-on-one.

Charlotte was lagging way behind the others, so Vivienne had to start from scratch with her.

But Charlotte was sharp as a tack. Once Vivienne taught her something, it stuck. Charlotte's previous

problem was simply a lack of supervision. If someone kept an eye on her, she'd ace any test.

On Friday, a school-wide assembly was held.

At the beginning of every semester, the school would hold a big meeting. This one was originally

scheduled for Monday, but because Class Eighteen swapped homeroom teachers and got Mr. James,

it was pushed back to Friday.

At the assembly, the principal and some top-notch teachers would give speeches.

Lysander Harper invited Vivienne to speak, but she turned him down.

Halfway through the assembly, some people in uniforms walked in. One of them said to Lysander,

"Sorry to butt in. We've got a report that one of your teachers has forged a certificate. We need to take

them in for questioning."

Lysander was taken aback and stood up. "Are you sure there's no mix-up? All our teachers were hired

through proper procedures. Their certificates were verified by the relevant departments. How could

anyone have a fake one?"

"We understand the reported person is your new teacher, Vivienne." The man continued, "Where's

Vivienne?"

"I'm here." Vivienne, who was sitting with the students of Class Eighteen, stood up and responded

calmly.

"Please hand over your diploma. We need to verify it." The man said.

After hearing this, chatter broke out among the teachers and students.

"Is Ms. Vivienne's diploma fake? Forging a diploma is pretty ballsy."

"I heard Ms. Vivienne and Lysander are tight. He personally hired her. Maybe he's in on this fake

certificate thing too."

"Oh my God, this is shocking. Lysander always seemed so nice. Who knew he was such a sneaky

snake?"

Upon hearing the whispers, Vivienne's face turned serious.

Lysander also looked like he had swallowed a sour lemon.

He had let Vivienne register her diploma to avoid issues with some angry parents. He never thought

the authorities would come knocking during a school-wide assembly.

Teachers only needed to register their diplomas, so he hadn't made Vivienne's public, making her stick

out like a sore thumb.

Vivienne was not a fan of drama, and he had tried to keep her out of it.

But the authorities showed up at the assembly and aired Vivienne's dirty laundry to the entire school.

Clearly, someone couldn't stomach the idea that Vivienne got her job through connections.

Lysander was seething as he thought about this.

Just as he was about to speak, he heard Vivienne speak to the officials, "Didn't you check my info in

the system before investigating me?"

The official was taken aback. "We came as soon as we got the report. Please cooperate and provide

your diploma."

"Funny!" Vivienne leisurely spoke, with her hand in her pocket, "You got a report, and instead of

checking its validity, you came to verify my diploma?"

The official seemed embarrassed but maintained his composure. "We follow procedures. Please

cooperate."

"How do you want me to cooperate?" Vivienne asked coldly.

"You need to provide your diploma for verification."

Vivienne scoffed. "Do you carry your diploma around when you go out?"

The officer was irritated. "Please don't waste everyone's time and provide your diploma promptly."

"You want me to produce my diploma during a school meeting? Are you expecting me to pull one out of

thin air?" Vivienne's eyes narrowed, and a chill seemed to emanate from her.

"Since you're not willing to provide your diploma, we have reason to suspect it’s fake. Please come with

us." The official said impatiently.

"Go? No way!" Vivienne said, her face expressionless.

"So you're refusing to cooperate?" The official asked sternly.

"I'm not the one who needs to cooperate. It's you who should be cooperating with your department's

investigation."

Before the official could respond, Vivienne pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

Soon, the call was answered, and Vivienne started, "Mr. Jason, I’m teaching at Havenwood Cloudcrest

High School. Your guys from Havenwood Divisional Administration are saying my diploma is fake and

want to take me in. We're at Cloudcrest High School, so how do we resolve this?"

Upon hearing Mr. Jason, the lead official’s eyes flickered with unease.

Did Vivienne call Mr. Jason from Rivenwood General Administration?

No way!

Mr. Jason was incredibly busy. How could a country bumpkin like Vivienne possibly have his number?

"Sorry, Ms. Vivienne, I had no idea this would happen. Please hand the phone to your coworker; I need

to have a word with him." Although Mr. Jason kept his cool, he was inwardly seething.

Who was this idiot?

Vivienne was a national treasure. She had made significant contributions to the country over the years.

For her protection, her information had been encrypted.

And someone accused her of fraud?

Vivienne glanced at the guy leading the crew and then handed him the phone, saying, "It's for you."

The leader, looking confused, took the phone. "Hello, who is this?"

"I'm Jason. Tell me your department and name."

Jason!

The leader was floored.

It was really Mr. Jason!

The crew leader's face turned pale. "Mr. Jason, I'm Gabriel Lockwood."

Jason grunted in response and hung up.

After the call ended, Gabriel stood there, dumbstruck.

Not long after, his phone rang. It was his boss.

As soon as he answered, his boss started scolding him. "Gabriel! Who gave you the authority to

investigate this fraud case?"

Gabriel tried to explain, but his boss didn't let him speak.

"Did you get kicked in the head by a donkey? Didn't you think before you acted? That’s a well-known

aristocratic school; don't you think they check diplomas before they hire their teachers? Even if they

don't, is our department's system just for show? You didn't even verify anything and went after this case

like a clown! What's in your head?"

The boss was clearly furious. He scolded him non-stop and then finally snapped. "You're fired! Pack

your things and go!"