Chapter 2

As Ruby spoke, she glanced in the back. "That sickly thing didn't bother you, did she?"

Putting away the cigarettes with practiced ease, Gary smiled ingratiatingly. "Of course not! With direct orders from you, how can I possibly let her in? I just told her the minibus broke down and chased her out. With all that coughing she makes on board, the other parents will definitely complain, won't they?"

Ruby nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Keep waiting at the intersection tomorrow. Don't mind her."

Gary nodded repeatedly. "Got it. Hang on tight, Miss Ruby. I'm starting the car."

I silently sat in front of my laptop.

When I saw Gary's fawning expression and heard Ruby saying "that sickly thing", my nails slowly dug into my palm.

True, I had forked out a huge sum of money to rent the minibus for Amelia, and I even hired a driver for 1,000 dollars, with another 1,000 dollars thrown in as a bonus.

But I didn't mind the driver letting several kids in the neighborhood on board while he was doing the school runs for Amelia.

I had allowed him to pocket the extra earnings.

But I never thought that Gary and Ruby would work together and turn the minibus into a private shuttle for the neighborhood kids.

I spent the whole night extracting the surveillance footage and driving routes of the minibus over the past two months.

Ruby had claimed that her husband Paul cared so much about the workers in the factory that he pulled some strings to get special approval from the higher-ups, and that was how they got their hands on this premium shuttle.

With that excuse, she was getting free money from families in the neighborhood. "We're charging 100 dollars per month for every child to cover fuel and maintenance. Slots are limited, so it's first come, first served."

In the footage, I could clearly see Ruby accepting cash or transfers in the minibus.

There were 16 seats in the minibus, and they were all occupied.

If Ruby and Gary collected 100 dollars per child, and there were 16 seats available, they would be raking in 1,600 dollars per month.

Ruby got the lion's share of the money while Gary was given the smaller portion.

Gary was shamelessly getting his 2,000-dollar salary from me while skimming a kickback from Ruby as well.

He was driving my vehicle while lining his pockets with shady money.

…

At 2:30 pm the next day, I switched to an unassuming black sedan with fake plates and parked it on the roadside opposite the school.

It was still raining. The rain wasn't as heavy as the day before, but the wind was very cold.

At 3:00 pm, the final dismissal bell rang.

Students put up their umbrellas as they rushed out of the gates.

I sat in the car, staring through the tinted window at the other side of the road.

The familiar minibus was parked at the intersection.

Gary was sitting in the driver's seat, head lowered as he scrolled on his phone.

A while later, I spotted Amelia.

She was keeping her head down as she walked toward the minibus. She was going very slowly, as if she were hesitating.

When she arrived at the minibus, she was reaching up to open the door when the door opened from the inside.

Ruby's son, a chubby 8th grader by the name of Larry Hitchborn, was blocking the entrance along with a few other boys.

Larry said, "The cougher is here again! Hey, can't you just get lost already? You cough every day, and you're covered in gross germs. We don't want whatever plague you're having."

The boys nearby joined in the laughter. "That's right. Now shoo, go away! I feel like I'm suffocating just standing next to you!"

Amelia stood outside the door.

The cold wind blew against her thin frame. She tightly clutched at her bag, her shoulders trembling ever so slightly.

She didn't argue. Instead, she just raised her head and glanced at Gary in the driver's seat.

Gary didn't even move an inch. It seemed as if he wasn't even aware of what was happening at the door.