Elliot felt his chest tighten, then roared, "Avery! Stay right where you are! I'll send the bodyguards to go
get you and the kids!"
If Avery had not brought it up, Elliot would never have expected that Chelsea could have possibly
escaped to Avonsville.
Sometimes, the most dangerous places could end up being the safest refuge.
Moreover, Chelsea might not be thinking about going into hiding right now, but to drag whoever she
could down with her before she dies! Elliot was still unclear about what happened at Layla's school, but
it must have been something serious for the teachers to ask the parents to take the children home!
Avery's heart raced wildly after hearing his warning.
The stop light in front of her turned green, and she was in a rush to pick Layla up from school, so she
could not listen to Elliot.
"I should be fine.If Chelsea really does come looking for me, she might not be able to harm me."
Avery had already made up her mind.
"I'm about to reach Layla's school.I'll pick her up first."
Elliot was also worried about Layla, so he understood her anxiety.
"Be careful."
"I will."
Avery hung up the phone, then stepped down on the gas pedal and sped toward her destination.
There were several patrol cars and an ambulance outside of Avonsville Elementary.
Avery parked the car by the street, then quickly got out and rushed toward the school gates.
"I heard a child died...A first- grader...A girl..."
"How did she die? Was she sick or did something happen?"
"I don't know! Let's wait for the school to let us know! I'm just worried my kid's too traumatized to come
back to school now.It's terrifying!"
"I heard that the kid who died was from Class C.Are any of you parents of students from Class C? Do
any of you have insider information?"
"My kid isn't from Class C, but they're in Class B next door.
It's so unlucky that all the other classrooms need to stop classes because of this! We don't think when
classes will resume yet!"
"What's so unlucky about classes being canceled? The dead kid's family are the unlucky ones!"
Avery's entire body turned cold GEu![nJL rigid after she heard the discussions going on around her.
Layla was a first-grader in Class C.
The little girl who died was possibly Layla's playmate.
Even if she was not, she was a classmate that she saw every day.
This must be a massive blow to Layla! When the teacher handed Layla over to Avery, she explained
the situation to her, "The little girl who died today was called Kiki, Miss Tate.Layla was having lunch
with her today.Something happened to Kiki before she finished her food.Our initial suspicions are food
poisoning.Kiki's health report was normal when she first enrolled in the school and she had no severe
illnesses.You should take Layla to the hospital for a checkup right now to see if there are any issues
with her health."
Avery nodded and said, "Alright.I'll take her to the hospital now."
Then, she carried Layla, whose eyes were red and swollen from tears, out of the school.
Layla normally had neverending stories to tell Avery whenever she saw her, but Layla did not say a
word even now that she was sitting in the child safety seat in the car.
She did not even call Avery "Mommy" when she saw her.
Avery sat down next to her daughter, then asked softly, "Tell me, Layla.Are you not feeling well
anywhere?"
Layla froze for a moment, then shook her head.
"I know you suffered a great shock.I have, too.Once the school and hospital finish their investigation,
they'll let us know exactly why Kiki left us," Avery said patiently as she held her daughter's cold hand.
Layla's eyes filled with tears, which rolled down her cheeks as she said, "Kiki died from eating
cherries.She ate my cherries...The cherries must have been poisoned!"
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