Chapter 1224

Mr. Marquez switched gears, his tone earnest. "Honestly, we all owe Josefina big time. If she hadn't stepped in when she did, our school would've been toast. Now, with Jacob taking the fall, things can finally calm down. But if this had blown up any more, none of us would've gotten away clean."

Everyone immediately picked up on what he meant, and their gratitude toward Josefina was obvious.

Josefina gave a modest smile. "Actually, I didn't even know what was going on at first. Mr. Marquez called me right away-otherwise, I wouldn't have had time to get the medicine ready."

The attention in the room shifted, and now everyone was thanking Mr. Marquez.

Getting singled out like that made Mr. Marquez's heart race, almost like he was riding a wave. The most important person in the room had just spoken up for him.

He thanked Josefina again, pouring out his appreciation, and then made the final call: Jacob, the troublemaker, was officially expelled.

As for Cassandra, the police would deal with her from here on out.

Later, in Mr. Marquez's office, he poured Josefina a glass of water himself, offering it to her with both hands.

"Mr. Marquez, you're too polite," Josefina said, accepting the glass. "I can get it myself."

He shook his head. "It's the least I can do. You've done so much for me I really don't know how to thank you, except..."

Josefina shot him a wary look, sensing where this might be going.

She quickly cut in, "No, seriously, it's fine! You don't need to do anything."

Mr. Marquez burst out laughing. "Relax, I'm not about to make things weird. I just meant, if you ever need a favor, just ask. I'll help however I can."

Josefina grinned, the tension easing. Then she asked, "So, after Jacob got arrested, did anyone try to bail him out or get him a lawyer?"

"His family hired a lawyer and tried to pull some strings, but with all the attention this is getting, there's just no way to cover it up," Mr. Marquez replied.

Josefina knew he was right. With everything she and Oliver had set in motion, there was no way this could be swept under the rug. Jacob's background was already all over the internet.

She gave Mr. Marquez a serious look. "If anything else happens at school, promise you'll let me know right away."

"You have my word," he said. "I won't leave anything out, no matter how small.”

Josefina couldn't shake the feeling

ex

the

that this was just the beginning. Someone clearly wanted to bring Some Whole school down. She'd barely arrived at the University of Melbourne, and trouble had already started. Was she the real target?

It didn't make sense, but for now, all she could do was take things one day at a time. As for the Jacob investigation, she decided to let

et:

Oliver's team handle it. She'd already done enough.

When Josefina got home, she found Hattie deep in conversation with Emily.

"Mom, here's the babysitting schedule I made. Let me know if you see any issues," Hattie said, handing over a neatly organized chart.

Emily put on her reading glasses and studied it closely. The names on the schedule were all family members. The blank spots? Those belonged to Brandon.

"Hattie, we're taking up so many shifts-I'm worried Oliver's grandfather might have something to say," Emily said.

Hattie shrugged, "Mom, just let Dad talk to him. We can't help it if our family's so big. More people means more time to cover And honestly Drake's getting older he hadto look after a baby all day, I'd be worried he'd get worn out. .net

Josefina couldn't help laughing. So this was what her grandma and mom were

plotting—divvying up babysitting duties before the baby was even born.

She hesitated, biting her lip for a second. Should she tell them about the twins now?

Or wait a little longer?

It was a tough call.

Should she say it? Or keep it to herself, just for now?