Connor stepped into the classroom, his eyes darting from the dented locker, to Arthur holding the bat, to Brooke groaning on the floor. He immediately puffed out his chest, stepping into his role as the savior.

"Put the chair down, Kevin!" Connor ordered, his voice echoing with practiced authority.

He rushed over to Aurora's side. He reached out, his hands aiming to pull her into a comforting, protective embrace. "Aurora, are you okay? I'm here now."

Aurora's stomach violently rejected the idea of his touch. She took a swift, fluid step backward, perfectly evading his hands. A flash of pure revulsion crossed her eyes before she hid it.

Connor's hands grasped empty air. He blinked, a flash of irritation breaking through his concerned facade. He quickly recovered, turning his glare onto Kevin.

"What is wrong with you, Kevin? Raising a chair against a girl?" Connor demanded.

Kevin stood frozen, the heavy chair still raised above his head. He looked at Connor, then pointed a shaking finger at Brooke on the floor. "She's insane, Connor! She just flipped Brooke over her shoulder! She's a psycho!"

Connor frowned. He looked at Aurora. She looked pale, her hair slightly messy, her eyes wide. He didn't believe for a second that this fragile, dependent girl could throw someone. He assumed Kevin was just making excuses for his own violence.

Aurora didn't defend herself. Her sharp eyes scanned the immediate area.

Right next to her desk was an empty chair. Earlier that morning, Dylan Walsh had squeezed an entire tube of industrial-strength superglue onto the wooden seat, hoping to prank her. The chaos had erupted before she ever sat down.

Aurora's mind worked with terrifying speed. If she fought back now, Julian would see her as a liability. He would tighten his grip on her life. But if she was a broken, humiliated victim of severe bullying, Julian's obsessive need to protect his family would ignite. She could get out of school forever.

She made her choice.

Aurora let out a sudden, high-pitched gasp. She stared at the chair Kevin was holding, her eyes widening in manufactured terror. She threw her hands up to protect her face and stumbled backward, her steps looking clumsy and panicked.

Arthur saw her retreating. He thought Kevin was about to throw the chair.

With a roar, Arthur lunged forward. He kicked his heavy boot straight into Kevin's chest. Kevin flew backward, dropping the chair. It crashed against the chalkboard with a deafening shatter.

At that exact moment, Aurora's backing up ended perfectly. She let her knees give out and collapsed heavily onto the empty chair next to her desk.

The thick, wet superglue instantly soaked into the fabric of her expensive custom skirt.

Aurora waited exactly two seconds for the chemical to bond. Then, she let out a panicked cry and tried to stand up.

RIIIP.

The sound of tearing fabric was loud and sharp in the quiet room. A massive chunk of her skirt ripped away, remaining glued to the wood.

To sell it completely, Aurora threw her head back in distress. A thick lock of her long, dark hair slapped against the top of the chair back, instantly fusing with the glue residue there.

She was trapped. Physically bound to the chair, her clothes torn, looking utterly humiliated and helpless.

She dropped her face into her hands. Her shoulders began to heave with violent, suppressed sobs. It was the picture-perfect image of a girl pushed past her breaking point.

Connor stood just a few feet away. He looked at Aurora stuck to the chair. His nose wrinkled in genuine disgust. Instead of rushing forward to help her, he took a distinct, undeniable step backward. He didn't want to get glue on his blazer. He didn't want to deal with this mess.

Aurora watched him through the gaps in her fingers. That single step backward sealed his fate. She was going to destroy him.

Arthur turned around and saw Aurora trapped. The sight of her torn clothes and glued hair pushed him over the edge. His eyes filled with blood. He looked like a demon.

He pointed the bat at the entire class. Spit flew from his lips. "If any of you take one more step toward her, I will personally break every bone in your bodies! I will make you beg for mercy!"

The students shrank back, terrified by the raw promise of violence in his voice. Several girls started crying for real.

Connor cleared his throat, trying to regain control. "Listen, sir. The student council will investigate this. You need to calm down and put the weapon away."

Arthur snapped his neck toward Connor. He grabbed Connor by the lapels of his blazer and yanked him forward.

"You piece of trash," Arthur snarled, his breath hot on Connor's face. "You think you can manage the Carlisle family's business?"

Connor's face drained of all color. His eyes bulged. Carlisle. He thought her identity was a closely guarded secret. He never expected a driver to scream it in front of the whole class.

Before Connor could speak, the sharp, angry clicking of high heels echoed from the hallway.

Mrs. Albright, the homeroom teacher, stormed into the classroom. Her face was red with fury. She had been enjoying her coffee when the crashing sounds finally forced her to investigate.

Mrs. Albright was a woman who worshipped wealth and despised anyone on a scholarship. She took one look at the room. She saw Brooke crying on the floor. She saw a strange man holding a bat.

She completely ignored Aurora glued to the chair.

Mrs. Albright pointed a shaking finger at Arthur and shrieked, "Security! I am calling security right now to have you arrested, you animal!"

Behind her hands, Aurora's tears stopped. A cold, dark satisfaction settled in her chest. The final idiot had arrived. The stage was perfectly set.

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.