With Judith's consent, under the guise of tutoring Thaddeus, Calista began to frequently visit the Brooks Mansion.
The Brooks family was somewhat surprised by her frequent visits, but out of respect for their matriarch, no one raised any objections.
"Thaddeus, could you try solving this problem?"
Calista, bored out of her mind, flipped through his textbook and tossed a workbook in front of Thaddeus.
Thaddeus was still just a kid. He was hardly capable of basic arithmetic.
After looking at the exercises in the textbook, she felt like a joke.
Here she was, a medical prodigy admired by all, teaching a child to add and subtract.
One plus one equals two; two apples plus three apples make five.
If it weren't for her ulterior motives, she would never put up with this.
"Calista." Thaddeus, holding his third-grade workbook, said uncomfortably, "I can't…"
"You're so stupid." Calista scolded him. She closed the textbook and said, "If it weren't for your sister, Vivienne, do you think you could stay in the Brooks family? You have no connection with the Brooks family. You’re a mere branch member trying to climb up to the main Brooks family. It's wishful thinking!"
Thaddeus bit his lip as tears welled up in his eyes.
"You dare cry?" Calista sneered. "You’re just like your sister! You’re pretending to be pitiful to gain sympathy. Who do you think you're fooling? Do you think I will pity you like the Brooks family?"
As she spoke, she gave Thaddeus a pinch out of frustration. "It's all because of your sister! She stole everything that was mine! You two siblings are the same. You both deserve death!"
Thaddeus tried to dodge, but he still defended Vivienne. "My sister is not like that! You can't speak ill of my sister! She's good to me! She's good at everything!"
The more Thaddeus defended Vivienne, the angrier Calista got.
Why did everyone think Vivienne was so good? Baron and Richard were also fond of Vivienne, and Percival treated her like a treasure.
"Shut up!" Calista snapped and lost her temper.
Thaddeus stubbornly looked at her with tears streaming down his face.
"Thaddeus, come have some fruit!" Just then, Judith and a maid walked in and saw this. "What's wrong? Why is he crying?"
The maid placed a bowl of fruit on the table, and Judith quickly strode over to wipe Thaddeus' tears. "Thaddeus, tell Grandma why you are crying."
"I…"
Thaddeus was about to answer honestly when Calista glared at him sharply.
He closed his mouth in fear and turned his head away.
"The problems were too difficult." Calista quickly pretended to be considerate and answered, "Thaddeus couldn't solve them and got upset."
Judith believed her and comforted Thaddeus. "If you can't solve them, just learn slowly. Calista is very good. If you learn from her, you will succeed in your studies."
"Of course, Thaddeus is very smart and can catch up quickly. I believe he will catch up soon." Calista's gaze was threatening as she stared at Thaddeus.
"That's right! Thaddeus is Vivienne's brother, so of course he's smart!"
Judith patted Thaddeus' head. "Then study hard. Grandma will have someone prepare your favorite snacks. You can eat them after class."
Thaddeus nodded timidly, not daring to look into Judith's eyes.
Judith soon left with the maid, leaving Calista and Thaddeus alone in the room.
"Good. Just like that. If you dare tell the truth, I'll make you regret it!" Calista satisfyingly said.
Thaddeus lowered his head in fear, not daring to speak.
...
A few days later.
Vivienne had been busy these past few days. The investigation she and Percival had launched regarding the missing infants had yielded results.
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