Jett instinctively lowered his gaze. Annie pinched his fingers again. Only then did he slowly begin to move. "Ow! Waaah, that hurts!" Jett was "bumped" to the floor by Darcy and started wailing loudly. Darcy stopped in her tracks, her gaze sharp. Wasn't this kid just behind me? When did he get in front... Her mind went blank for a few seconds. Suddenly, Gwen let out an "Oh no!" and pointed at Darcy. "Darcy, your dress..." Darcy looked down. She was wearing a white dress today. And now, a large smear of paint stained the white fabric. Her eyes swept the floor beside her. A small, open bottle of paint now lay there. No need to guess whose handiwork that was.Darcy let out a slow breath, calmly watching their performance. Annie rushed forward in a flash, fussing over Jett. "Sweetie, are you hurt? Where does it hurt?" Jett, eyes red, pointed to his knee. "Mommy, it hurts." Annie hugged him tightly, a look of reproach shooting towards Darcy. Jenna planted her hands on her hips, raising her voice in accusation. "Ms. Gale! If you have a problem with me, take it up with me! Why take it out on a child like this?!" Darcy was almost amused. What a classic case of playing the victim! Jett's crying grew louder, drawing curious glances from passersby. Staff from nearby stores craned their necks, clearly enjoying the drama. Children were the natural underdogs. Whenever an adult and a child clashed, no matter who was at fault, people instinctively blamed the adult. Right now, Darcy was on the receiving end of numerous disapproving looks. She took another deep, slow breath, about to speak, but Gwen couldn't stand it any longer. Her face flushed with anger—she'd never seen someone as low as Annie before. "Excuse me, ma'am," Gwen said, her voice tight. "Your son was the one running around and bumped into Darcy. Look at her dress! It's ruined by the paint from his hands. And you have the nerve not to blame your own kid, but the victim?!" Annie frowned. "Ms. Sterling, I know my son. He's very well-behaved. He wouldn't run around or bump into people for no reason." Jenna chimed in from the side like a perfect sidekick, "Exactly. Our Jett is very well-behaved." The implication was clear—Darcy had done it on purpose. Annie fixed Darcy with a heavy gaze, as if both accusing her and waiting for an explanation.Darcy smiled faintly and crouched down. "Little one, do you agree with what your mommy said? Tell the truth. Kids who lie get long noses, you know." Jett froze, shrank his shoulders, and burrowed deeper into Annie's arms. The reaction was a clear sign of guilt. Annie was also taken aback, not expecting the situation to flip so quickly. She pulled a stern face, holding Jett's hand as if to question him. "Tell the truth. Did you bump into this lady first?" Jett wailed even louder, a heart-rending sound echoing in the mall atrium. "I didn't! It wasn't me! She bumped into me!" More eyes turned their way. The murmur of discussion grew louder. Darcy caught snippets of people saying it was awful for an adult to falsely accuse a child. She didn't pay it any mind. But the purpose of their outing today was to help Gwen pick a gift. Getting bogged down by this nonsense was a waste of time. Utterly pointless. She couldn't be bothered to play Annie's little game any longer. She stood up straight. "The main atrium corridor is covered in security cameras. There's one right there, about 30 feet ahead. Let's go to the security office right now and pull the footage. Let's see who really bumped into whom." Annie's eyes went blank. This had been a spur-of-the-moment act of spite; she hadn't thought it through that far. Hearing Darcy's words, she immediately pressed her lips together and fell silent. Beside her, Jenna's eyes darted around. She adopted a mocking tone. "Is that really necessary? Pulling security footage? Ms. Gale, you always seem so reasonable and nice at the office. Who knew you could be so petty and small-minded in private, haggling over a child's mistake. You have no grace at all." Sometimes, when you're utterly exasperated, you really do just want to laugh. Darcy said, "So, are you admitting it then?" "Admitting what?" "That I didn't run into him. He ran ahead on purpose and hit me." Jenna choked. "So what if he did? You're fine, but our Jett is scared out of his wits, crying his little heart out!" This shameless, twisted logic left both Cindy and Gwen speechless. Wow. Master of playing the victim and double standards. You're really something! Darcy reached out an arm to stop them, shaking her head slightly. There was no point arguing right and wrong with someone like Jenna. People like her knew perfectly well what was right; they just chose to say whatever was most advantageous for themselves. As the saying goes, don't argue with fools, don't fight with petty people.Darcy said, "Who says I'm fine? My dress is ruined. Dry cleaning won't fix it. You owe me for the dress. And you owe me for my wasted time tonight. We've wasted 15 minutes on this. Not much. Let's call it five thousand dollars total."