Divorced, But Queen - Chapter 399: Chapter 399

In Peacewell Pharmacy, a middle-aged man in a long robe was carefully weighing herbs on a brass scale, the crisp clicks of an old abacus filling the air.
Standing across from him was a chubby, good-natured-looking young man—Maverick's eldest grandson, Nikolas Todd.
Nikolas had the look of someone you'd never suspect of anything—round cheeks, soft build, harmless smile.
He asked, "You really aren't coming back to Todd School?"
"Not planning to," came the flat reply.
Nikolas propped his face on his hands, sighing, "Don't be mad at Culver anymore—he found the National Doctor's Seal, you know?"
Axton's hands paused over the abacus. He looked up, expression unchanged. "He found it?"
Nikolas nodded. "Yeah. He did."
Axton Sanchez frowned, his gaze sharpening. "And the medical books?"
"No books. Just the seal."
Axton's eyes narrowed. "You checked it? Is the seal real?"
Nikolas flashed a practiced, eager smile. "My dad checked it himself. It's real. We really want you to come back."
Axton just dropped his eyes, his yellowed hands flicking the abacus beads once more. After a long silence, he said quietly, "I stopped being his student a long time ago. You should go."
No matter how Nikolas tried to persuade him, Axton remained stone-faced and silent. Finally, Nikolas gave up. "Alright, I'm leaving then. The handover ceremony for Culver is in mid-May. You have to come."
Axton didn't respond. Nikolas slipped out in silence.
But the moment he turned away, the innocent smile vanished from his face.
Once back in the car, he dialed his father. "Dad, Axton doesn't seem to know about Culver getting the seal."
A long pause. Then, "Keep digging. Those three medical books can't go missing."
"Yes, sir."
After about ten days of recovery, Aria's shoulder was finally well enough for some basic movement.
Labor Day was coming, five days off for the whole school.
But for the seniors at First High, even a holiday meant nothing: SATs were next month, and no one dared slack off.
Valerie had texted Aria ahead of time, so she arrived early and headed to his office first.
She knocked, heard a "come in," and walked inside.
Valerie saw her and immediately set down her work, greeting her warmly, "Aria, you're here."
Saying her name, Valerie couldn't help but remember the first time they met—back then, she'd been known as Nathan's sister. Now she was Lily's.
Aria gave her a polite smile. "Hi, Ms. Gibbs."
Valerie got up and offered her a chair, then pulled another up for herself across from her.
"I knew you'd be coming to pick up Lily, so I wanted to chat with you for a bit," he said, his tone turning serious.
"Lily's been working hard. She's never dropped out of the top three in all the city's mock exams. She's got a real shot at taking the top spot this year.
"But lately, I've noticed she's been getting close to a freshman girl. That student's a bit... unusual. She was enrolled mid-year, and before this, she'd never had a formal education.
"Her family donated a library to the school—otherwise, we never would've accepted her. When she first came, she wore a mask all the time. Some curious kid yanked it off one day and saw her face was scarred..."
Valerie paused, letting out a heavy sigh, her concern obvious. "First High has a zero-tolerance policy for bullying. The student who pulled her mask got written up on the spot.
"The other kids tried to make friends, but she turned everyone down—except Lily. Somehow, she really likes Lily. She visits the senior classrooms all the time, eats and studies with Lily, even gets tutoring from her.
"Honestly, I should have talked to you sooner, but I wanted to see how things played out before jumping to conclusions. Something about this feels off. I even asked Lily if they knew each other before—she swears they didn't."
Aria listened carefully, not interrupting. She agreed it was odd. "Thank you for telling me, Valerie. I'll look into it."
Valerie trusted Aria. She nodded. "I'm not worried about Lily's grades—she's always focused. But the SAT is so close. The last thing she needs is some unpredictable drama right now."
A family wealthy enough to donate a whole library, but never sent their kid to school until high school? A girl who refuses to talk to anyone but Lily, yet insists on Lily spending all her time helping her with basic coursework?
If they were truly friends, she wouldn't be distracting Lily at the most important moment.
With that kind of money, she could've hired a tutor.
Aria stood and bowed slightly, her gratitude sincere. "Thank you, Ms. Gibbs."
Homeroom teachers were always so busy. It was hard for them to care about their students the way Valerie did. She even noticed things like who was making friends with whom.
That was something Aria had completely overlooked.
Valerie stopped her with a helpless smile. "Just doing my job."
"Ms. Gibbs, can I ask who's listed as Rachel's guardian?"
She answered without hesitation, "Her guardian is Orlando."
Aria's expression shifted. "Thank you. Don't worry, I'll handle this."
She had a pretty good idea who this girl was now—the one who lived upstairs.
They chatted a bit longer, until the bell rang.
Valerie told her, "That girl will probably come looking for Lily. You can wait outside her classroom and maybe catch her."
Aria nodded. "Thank you. I'll head over now."
She left, making her way to the senior crash course classroom.
Just as she reached the door, she spotted a girl running down the hallway.
The girl froze as soon as she saw Aria.
Aria took a few steps forward. The girl immediately backed away, fear and suspicion in her eyes.
She was scared of Aria.
Aria stopped where she was, her gaze steady.
"Rachel."
Orlando strode up, planting himself at Rachel's side, giving Aria a pointed glare before lowering his voice to Rachel, "I couldn't find you in class. Your classmates said you came to Class One."
Class One was Lily's class.
He asked, "Are you really that close with Lily from Class One?"