Mrs. Albright's heels clicked aggressively as she rushed to Brooke's side. She knelt down, her face a mask of exaggerated sympathy, and helped the wealthy girl sit up.
Brooke immediately buried her face in the teacher's shoulder. "He attacked us, Mrs. Albright!" Brooke sobbed, pointing a manicured finger at Arthur. "And Aurora started it! She threw me on the floor!"
Kevin Porter scrambled to his feet, rubbing his chest where Arthur had kicked him. "It's true! That psycho driver threatened to kill us with a bat!"
Mrs. Albright's face twisted with rage. She stood up, smoothing her skirt, and glared at Arthur. "Who do you think you are, breaking into an elite prep school? You belong in a cage."
Arthur's knuckles turned white around the grip of the bat. His chest heaved. "I am her driver. These animals were bullying Miss Aurora. Look at what they did to her!"
He pointed the bat toward Aurora, who was still glued to the chair, her skirt torn and her hair trapped against the wood.
Mrs. Albright followed the bat. She looked at Aurora's ruined clothes. Instead of horror, a nasty, mocking sneer curled her lips.
"Miss Aurora?" Mrs. Albright let out a sharp, derogatory laugh. "Are you out of your mind? Look at her cheap clothes and that trashy car she arrived in! She's obviously some poor relative who begged her way in here! A pathetic charity case who probably can't even afford to replace that cheap uniform."
Aurora kept her head bowed. Her hair hid her face, but her breathing remained shallow and erratic, playing the part of the traumatized victim flawlessly.
Connor Hayes stood nearby. Seeing the teacher take control, he immediately aligned himself with the power in the room. "Mrs. Albright is right," Connor said smoothly. "Aurora has been acting very erratically today. She caused a lot of this chaos."
Arthur felt a vein pulse in his forehead. He looked at Connor with pure, unadulterated hatred. "You backstabbing little snake."
Mrs. Albright snapped her fingers, silencing Arthur. She pulled a black walkie-talkie from her belt. "Security, I need immediate assistance in room 204. We have a violent intruder."
She clipped the radio back to her belt and marched over to Aurora. She stood over the trapped girl, her eyes filled with contempt.
"Stand up, Aurora," Mrs. Albright commanded harshly. "You are going straight to the principal's office to sign your expulsion papers. And you will pay for every piece of furniture damaged in this room."
Aurora slowly lifted her head. Her face was pale, streaked with tears, and a thick lock of her hair pulled painfully against her scalp where it was glued. She looked at the teacher with hollow, dead eyes. She didn't say a word. She didn't move.
Mrs. Albright's face flushed with anger at the silent defiance. "Did you hear me? Get up!"
She reached out, her hand aiming to grab Aurora by the arm and physically drag her out of the chair.
Arthur moved faster than thought. He threw his massive body between the teacher and Aurora. He shoved his chest forward, forcing Mrs. Albright to stumble backward.
"Don't you dare touch her," Arthur growled, his voice dropping to a terrifying register.
Mrs. Albright shrieked, clutching her chest. "You are going to prison for this! Both of you!"
Juston and Kevin, hiding behind the teacher, exchanged nasty grins. They thought they had won. They thought Aurora was finished.
Just as the heavy footsteps of the security guards echoed from the far end of the hallway, a sharp burst of static crackled through the classroom's PA speaker.
The static faded, replaced by the voice of Principal Coleman. But the usually arrogant, booming voice of the principal was gone. Instead, he sounded breathless, his voice trembling so violently the microphone picked up his shaking breaths.
"Attention... Attention, Mrs. Albright in room 204. Please... please cease all actions immediately. Do not touch the student. Repeat, maintain the scene exactly as it is!"
Mrs. Albright froze. Her hand hovered over her radio. She stared at the speaker on the wall. Why was the principal intervening in a simple disciplinary issue? And why did he sound like someone was holding a gun to his head?
She frowned, her arrogance pushing down her unease. She looked at Arthur. "You got lucky. The principal is coming to throw you out himself."
Aurora sat perfectly still. She didn't look at the speaker. She looked at the classroom door. She knew exactly what was coming.
The chaotic noise in the hallway outside suddenly died. The heavy boots of the security guards stopped.
A new sound replaced it. The sharp, rhythmic, synchronized clicking of expensive leather shoes against the floor tiles. The sound carried a suffocating weight. It was the sound of absolute power.
The students in the hallway outside the classroom parted like the Red Sea, pressing their backs against the lockers in dead silence.
The classroom door was pushed open. Not by a guard. Not by the principal.
A man in a black suit and white gloves stepped inside, holding the door open with military precision. Principal Coleman stood behind him, his face the color of ash, sweating profusely. He didn't even dare to step fully into the room.
Then, Julian Carlisle walked in.
He wore a bespoke, midnight-blue suit. His presence sucked the oxygen out of the room. His eyes, cold and merciless as a winter storm, swept over the classroom.
His gaze bypassed the teacher, bypassed the bullies, and locked instantly onto Aurora. He saw her torn skirt. He saw her hair glued to the chair.
The air in the room turned to ice.
