Mr. Simmons'' suicide rocked the entiremunity.


    The story, already making waves online, instantly blew up again. The inte was split in two, with people arguing back and forth in everyment section.


    Some started to reconsider everything after Mr. Simmons took his own life to prove his innocence.


    "Maybe this is all just a misunderstanding. What if Mr. Simmons was innocent all along?"


    "I''m starting to think the same. He never seemed like a bad guy to me. If he went as far as taking his own life just to clear his name, maybe he really didn''t do it."


    "But there were so many students at Westfield Academy who came forward. It wasn''t just Layna. I still think Mr. Simmons was scared and that''s why he jumped."


    "Now he''s dead. So young, too. What a waste."


    "But an eight-year-old? What possible reason would a kid have to frame her teacher? People always say kids don''t lie."


    "The students at that school are a handful, though. I wouldn''t take everything they say at face value."


    "Come on, how could an eight-year-old be that wicked? Do you really think a little girl would take off her own clothes just to frame a teacher?"


    "You''d be surprised. Didn''t a simr thing happen justst month? Some student imed her teacher hit her, got the poor woman fired, and then it turned out she made it up."


    "Kids these days see way too much. They''re getting harder to manage."


    "Tell me about it. Justst week, I saw a kid in our apartmentplex tormenting a stray cat. I don''t know what''s going on with parents anymore."


    "The Stranz family is loaded. They wouldn''t joke about something that could ruin their reputation."


    "Exactly. With this much attention, the kid''s going to have issues growing up, no doubt..."


    The online chatter was endless. Amid all these casual opinions, a man had lost his life.


    People expressed regret and sympathy, but not one of them admitted they were part of what drove him to his death. Their words online were the final straw that broke Mr. Simmons.


    A few days of online hate were all it took to destroy his will to live.


    Scott was stunned when he learned Mr. Simmons had jumped to his death.


    He couldn''t shake the memory of Layna running out of school, barely dressed, terrified and shaking. He''d been furious then-she was histe sister''s only child.


    Scott had already hired awyer to sue Mr. Simmons and the school, but now, with everything changed, he just felt lost-and deeply guilty.


    He realized that, in his own way, he''d helped push Mr. Simmons over the edge. He was part of what killed him.


    The story was everywhere online; nobody could stop talking about it.


    Scott called his wife, Juliana. "That Mr. Simmons... he jumped. He''s dead."


    "I saw the news," Juliana replied. "Teachers like that don''t deserve to


    "Tea and kids. After everything he


    be


    did to Layna, now people are acting like he''s the victim. It''s disgusting."


    Juliana was seething. In her eyes, Layna was the victim. Case closed.


    Hearing his wife''s cold words-nopassion at all, not even for the dead-Scott felt his heart sink. He hung up without another word.


    From that point on, Scott stopped caring-about Juliana, about Layna''s situation, about any of it.


    Juliana, meanwhile, worried Layna might be traumatized. She washed some imported fruit and headed to Layna''s room, hoping tofort her.


    Layna''s room was straight out of a fairy tale-princess decor, limited edition plushies, every kid''s designer bag you could imagine. Juliana had bought her everything.


    But when she walked in, Layna wasn''t there.


    "Where did she go?" Juliana put the fruit down, then noticed Layna''s diary lying open on the desk.


    Layna always kept a diary.


    Juliana picked it up for a quick look, and what she read made her blood run cold.


    "Mr. Simmons big dummy and the worst. I was so happy when people threw eggs at him. Now that he''s dead, I''m even happier. That''s what he gets for not letting me go home. I wanted to teach him a lesson-so I took off my clothes and ran to him so everyone would think he''s a bad man..."


    is such a loser. He''s a


    Layna was only eight. Her diary was simple and honest-she just wrote down exactly what she did.


    After reading it, Juliana''s hands shook. She put the diary back where she found it and left the room, heart pounding.


    She never breathed a word about


    what she''d read. Out of love for Layna, even knowing Mr. Simmons had been innocent, she kept silent. He was gone. There was nothing left to say.