All Chapters of From Kindergarten Scam to National-Level Payback: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

I felt utterly drained reading these malicious taunts.Finally, Mr. Dugan posted a screenshot of a conversation in the group."I've already reported this to the principal. This is an official collective purchase by the kindergarten. Mr. Miller, just think of it as supporting the kindergarten."Make sure you have the stock ready. I'll arrange for the parents to come pick it up from your place when the time comes. You don't even have to deliver it yourself."Looking at his message, I felt a tight knot in my chest. Since when had I agreed to this purchase? And where was the purchase contract?Yet, not a single person in the group spoke up for me. In fact, aside from those praising Mr. Dugan, the rest were ridiculing me for not knowing what was good for me.I decided to stop reading the group messages altogether. It wasn't like they could just show up and take them by force if I just ignored them, right?When I dropped Stanley off at the kindergarten the next morning, I happened to

I thought about it for a long time. In the end, I had no choice but to leave the group chat.In the yard, my mother, Dora Ortiz, was directing the workers as they loaded the pears onto the truck."Douglas, someone from the state government is coming to pick up the order at 3:00 pm. I need you to keep an eye on things when they arrive. Make sure not a single pear goes missing, you hear?" she called out to me."Got it, Mom," I replied, stepping forward to help.The State Department of Agriculture had reserved this batch of pears six months ago. Every single pear had a serial number, weight, and Brix reading on file. At pickup, every crate had to be verified against the records.This was because these pears were going to be served at the state banquet.That afternoon, I set off with the shipment.My mind was entirely focused on these pears. As long as I could get them safely delivered to Windford, the rest could be dealt with slowly.But just as the truck was traveling along the f

Mom called soon after. She was quite familiar with several state officials, so she must have heard about what had happened here."Douglas, are you alright? I'll be there soon!" she said urgently."I'm fine, but some of the pears were damaged," I said with a sigh.Not long after, Mom pulled up at the scene.She was nearly 60 years old now. Years of working out in the orchard had left her skin sun-darkened and weathered—she looked just like an ordinary old farmer.And that was exactly why Mr. Dugan and the others had dared to act so brazenly.In reality, though, Mom had worked for over 30 years at the State Department of Agriculture. Her orchard held the status of state-level model farm and had long maintained a working relationship with government agencies."Officers, even if these pears are meant for some state banquet, you can't treat us like this."Some of the parents began to voice their dissatisfaction."Yeah, we didn't know they were for a state banquet, and Douglas never

"Your son won't have a good ending either! Karma will come for him sooner or later!"When I read the last one, I finally couldn't hold it in anymore.I could take people insulting me, but I could never accept anyone cursing Stanley.I turned on my laptop and started organizing all the evidence. I sorted through every last piece—from Mr. Dugan's first private message to me, through the parents' slander and personal attacks, right down to Mr. Dugan's veiled threats about making things difficult for Stanley.I also wrote out in detail everything Stanley had experienced at the kindergarten. When the time came, all they would need to do was pull up the surveillance footage, and the truth would speak for itself.Finally, I opened a folder that had been gathering dust for a long time. Inside was Carmen's dossier.She had made outstanding contributions in high-altitude agriculture and had been awarded the title of National Outstanding Agricultural Worker, so she didn't deserve to be mali

Most of the parents also ended up with criminal records. Jay received the harshest sentence—eight years in prison.In the aftermath of this case, a statewide campaign was rolled out to reinforce professional ethics among educators, along with rigorous inspections targeting any teacher misconduct.A television crew came and requested an interview with me.I didn't want to accept at first, but Ms. Durham advised me to put an end to any future trouble once and for all."Too many people are involved in this case. There are bound to be some who'll want to stir up trouble again, so to ensure some peace and quiet going forward, I suggest you clear your name publicly."I thought about it and figured Ms. Durham had a point, so I agreed to an exclusive interview.The day the reporter, Pauline Gardner, came, I showed her around the orchard.The pear trees were over 300 years old, their trunks so thick that it took two people to wrap their arms around them. Overhead, their canopy stretched