chapter803

He couldn't decide whether to call Connor General Jefferson or just Mr. Jefferson. Seriously, why was this legendary guy here too?

Connor caught his hesitation and gave him a small nod. "Mm." A simple greeting, but it made Malcolm realize he'd probably just embarrassed himself.

He tried to recover, turning to Lydia with a half-smile. Ms. Norwood, for a second I thought you'd vanished again."

The country had been all about promoting young talent lately, bringing fresh energy into politics. Back in March, both Lydia and Easton took office as directors, working as a team. Easton was the classic public official, always in a crisp suit, keeping regular hours and sticking to the rules. Lydia was the opposite, always under the radar and moving on her own schedule. She was the kind of person who could get anything done if she set her mind to it.

Like right now. It had only been ten minutes, but Lydia had already dug up almost everything about Ms. Murphy.

"Ms. Murphy, your father is Ralph, right? He's an old hand at the Department of Education?" Lydia looked up suddenly. Ms. Murphy's face went pale.

Ms. Murphy shook her head frantically. "My father's been retired for years. This has nothing to do with him!"

Lydia nodded, her tone calm. "Maybe today's mess isn't his fault. But his biggest mistake was using his pull to get you promoted."

Ms. Murphy stared at her in shock, completely terrified. How did this young girl manage to find out so much so quickly? Was she even real?

Lydia didn't bother answering the silent question. She kept going through the files, her smile turning colder the more she read. "Looks like the education sector could really use a shake-up."

Standing nearby, Martin silently felt sorry for anyone in the education world who was up to no good. Whenever Lydia got involved, she always saw things through.

Lydia turned to Martin and Malcolm. "I'll dig up the info and give you the leads. You two handle the rest. She clearly had zero patience for wasting time.

"Of course, no problem," they agreed right away.

Sometimes, you never know what you'll find until you really start looking. Lydia followed the clues and uncovered way more than anyone expected. Ms. Murphy married, and Roger wasn't even her only lover. He was just some guy she fooled around with at school. She had connections in the Department of Education and even higher up, which explained why she could cover up anything that happened at school.

Parents had nowhere to go with their complaints.

So Lydia set up an official online complaint portal. It didn't matter if the issue was at Liberty High or any other school. If a principal or staff broke the rules and nothing was done about it, parents could file a complaint right there. The oversight team promised to investigate every single one.

When news of the portal broke, the internet exploded. People had thought the Liberty High scandal was bad, but it turned out that was only the beginning. The comments section was full of excitement and applause.

FleetingDream [The education system really needs this. Some schools only care about profit and test scores. They push students too hard, and if you can't afford to give gifts, your kid gets treated Where's the heart in teaching? Some people are just a disgrace to the profession.]

ClearWind: [Some teachers act so self-righteous in class, but behind the scenes, they're taking bribes from parents. The kids who pay up get all the best seats and awards, even if their grades aren't great. It's just shameless.]