Unexpectedly Sweet Flash Marriage

Chapter 35 Found Billy's Shoes by the River - Was Billy Dead?

Chapter 35 Found Billy's Shoes by the River - Was Billy Dead?

"Billy? What happened to Billy?" Adeline's heart raced with nervousness, as if it might leap out of her chest.

"He left a letter and ran away from home!" Leah cried in distress.

Adeline hung up the phone and quickly got out of bed, "No, I have to go out and find him."

"Don't worry. I'll have Steffen ask some old friends for help," reassured Curtis in a warm tone.

Adeline glanced at him and nodded. Then, she quickly freshened up before grabbing her bag and leaving.

Soon, news of Billy running away from home spread like wildfire in the local area.

The whole city began live-streaming the search for him simultaneously.

Many media outlets saw the opportunity for attention and started live-streaming while searching for him using their phones.

Most of them had no specific purpose in their search, looking for Billy in major shopping areas, snack shops, and internet cafes.

Some people went to the seaside, riverbanks, and lakes in search of him.

There were even self-media bloggers who, in order to attract attention, deliberately placed a pair of worn-out cloth shoes by the river, claiming they didn't know if they belonged to Billy.

For a moment, the live-streaming once again sparked concerns about the child's safety among the public.

At the same time, the online attacks against Adeline reached a new level.

"Adeline Burton should die!"

"How can someone like this be a teacher!"

"They're not just misleading the younger generation, they're causing harm! If that student commits suicide, I suggest putting Adeline Burton in jail!"

"Exactly! An eye for an eye!"

"This kind of teacher is truly malicious! I bet she forced her son to die just to marry Mr. Baker, so there would be no one left to fight over the inheritance!"

"Oh my god! This woman is terrifying!"

"Let's all sign a petition together and report her to the education board, so that this teacher can't work in any educational institution in Prodiff anymore!"

"Alright, count me in!"

...

The online comments grew increasingly intense, with some even claiming that Billy had already died.

There were even netizens organizing candlelight vigils online to mourn Billy.

While searching for Billy, Adeline also kept an eye on the online trends, hoping to find any self- media outlets that had discovered his whereabouts.

As she witnessed the information circulating online becoming more and more mysterious, she grew increasingly anxious.

However, what worried her even more was when she privately contacted the parents of several students who were close friends with Billy. The parents all reported that these children hadn't returned home!

Including Billy, a total of ten students were missing!

Taking a deep breath, Adeline forced herself to calm down.

She racked her brain, trying to recall the places where Billy might have gone.

Billy was an excellent student with a pure heart, and he usually didn't like places like internet cafes...

Suddenly, Adeline had a flash of insight. In her mind, she saw the scene where Billy had come to see her, holding something.

At that time, Billy had mentioned that his favorite mythical creature was the "Lathlaeril", which he believed symbolized fairness and justice.

He had asked, "Teacher, do we have a sculpture of Lathlaeril in Prodiff? I think it's really cool, and I want to touch it and take a photo with it."

"Yes, we do. I remember going to the old City Museum often when I was a child. There were many cement sculptures of mythical creatures on the platform on the fourth floor, including Lathlaeril. But that old City Museum is abandoned now, and I'm not sure if those sculptures are still there."

...

Her recollection abruptly stopped, and Adeline's body jolted.

"Yes, Billy might have gone to the old City Museum."

She quickly hailed a taxi by the roadside.

Before she could even get in the car, several self-media influencers noticed her presence. Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

"Quick, look! Isn't that the famous female internet celebrity teacher?"

"Yeah, it's her!"

Several self-media individuals, holding their phones for selfies, swarmed towards her as if they had just stumbled upon a jackpot of views.

"Ms. Burton, where are you headed?"

"Ms. Burton, is it true that Billy is dead?"

"There are rumors online that Billy's body was dismembered. Is that true?"

"Ms. Burton, do you feel guilty about Billy?"

"What does Mr. Baker think about Billy's disappearance?"

These self-media individuals transformed themselves into reporters, bombarding Adeline with sharp questions.

Several microphones nearly smacked her in the face.

"Could you please step aside? I have something important to attend to," Adeline said, annoyed, trying to get into the car. But the self-media people kept pestering her, refusing to let go.

In the next moment, a woman in black athletic attire, around twenty-five years old, with a rather cold expression, rushed out from nearby.

She swiftly pushed aside the self-media individuals and signaled to Adeline, "Get in the car quickly."

"Thank you." Adeline nodded at the "kind person" and swiftly got into the taxi.

Some of the self-media individuals, seeing her hastily entering the car, quickly hailed their own taxis and chased after her.

The "kind person" who was sent by Curtis to protect Adeline also hurriedly drove after them.

Soon, Adeline arrived at the old City Museum in the taxi.

As soon as she got out of the car, she faintly heard the voices of students coming from the fourth- floor platform, and they sounded familiar.

They were probably her former students.

A smile tugged at the corner of Adeline's mouth. Just as she was about to take a step towards the City Museum, she heard the sound of car doors closing behind her, one after another.

Someone exclaimed, "Quick, look! There's a student up there!"

"Hurry up, take out your equipment and start filming!"

"Yes, yes, let's livestream it right away!"

Adeline looked up and her heart almost stopped in fear.

Ten students had climbed onto the elevated sculpture of Lathlaeril in mid-air!

On the fourth-floor open platform of this old City Museum, there were numerous cement-made statues of mythical creatures. However, only the statue of Lathlaeril was designed on a small platform about ten meters above the main platform, as if it were commanding the other creatures below.

The small platform was extremely narrow, and once the ten students stood on it, there was hardly any extra space for movement.

At this moment, a self-media person shouted from below, "Kids, are you trying to commit suicide? Did you plan to come here and commit suicide together?"

Upon hearing this, Adeline's eyes flashed with anger. She walked up to the self-media person and stared fiercely at him.

"Sir, would you please shut up!

Are you inciting my students to commit suicide?

You haven't even investigated the facts, so how dare you ask such a question!

They are all outstanding students, and your words are nothing but slander!

I am their teacher, and I won't allow anyone to maliciously defame my students!"

The self-media man felt a bit embarrassed after being scolded like that.

But that was how their line of work worked, exaggerating and fear-mongering to attract attention.

He muttered quietly, "Well... I was just asking... I didn't say they actually wanted to commit suicide."

As his voice fell, the students on the small platform began to speak up one after another.

"Don't come up here."

"That's right! Don't come up, or we'll jump down."

Upon hearing this, Adeline's face darkened, and she looked at each familiar student in disbelief.

Meanwhile, the self-media guy who had just been confronted suddenly grew more defiant, "See, they're here to commit suicide as a group! It's because you, their teacher, didn't teach them well!"

In no time, the entire internet started to criticize Adeline relentlessly.