The autumn break has just ended when a call arrives from school.

"Ms. Watson, your daughter failed to secure a scholarship and bullied her classmate in retaliation. Can you please come to school?"

When I rush over, I find Lila Keats bound to a trash can, her hair drenched in sewage, and her mouth sealed with duct tape. Meanwhile, the so-called victim merely has had two strands of hair pulled out.

After some querying, I discover that Melody Caldwell is jealous of Lila's achievements and has been waiting for an opportunity to strike.

When I demand an apology, Vanessa Morrison flies into a rage. "You're lowly trash without a proper family! My daughter teaching her a lesson is the greatest honor you can obtain in this life!

"Expel her immediately! My husband works in the Education Bureau! Beg for mercy, or she can forget about taking the college entrance exam!"

That arrogant woman is convinced that Lila and I will beg for forgiveness after being expelled.

Unfortunately, she has chosen to mess with the wrong person.

Lila's grandfather is a nuclear weapons expert. Her true origins have been concealed for her safety since her whole family works for classified operations.

I immediately call the Intelligence Agency. "Mr. Keats' granddaughter was bullied severely at school. Send someone here to deal with this now!"

Vanessa Morrison stood protectively in front of her daughter with a contemptuous gaze.

"Go ahead. Call in more of your sugar daddies to protect your bastard child!" she hissed. "Let everyone know about this scandal so the other students will spit on her!"

She deliberately raised her voice to draw in a crowd of students.

Lila Keats shrank behind me. Her hoarse voice made my heart clench. "I'm scared, Anna."

My throat felt tight as I squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Don't worry, I'm here. I'll make sure you get justice."

Seeing this, Melody Caldwell spoke with the same arrogant cadence as her mother.

"You call your mother by her name? Is that your guilty conscience speaking? So what if I hit you? You're not even legitimate. I'm doing the world a favor!"

Lila's entire family consisted of intelligence operatives. Her grandfather was a nuclear weapons expert under military protection. That was why her real surname wasn't reflected on her birth documents.

For her safety, Lila was given my last name. I never thought they'd assume that I, Anna Watson, a student of Josiah Keats, was a mistress and that Lila was born out of wedlock.

I looked at the homeroom teacher, Tara Marshall, and coldly said, "Ms. Marshall, did you hear what she said? Melody admitted to hurting my daughter. Tell your school's administration to sort this out immediately, or there will be severe consequences."

I wasn't trying to scare anyone. If the Intelligence Agency responsible for the safety of Josiah's family learned about this, they would send someone over.

By then, it would become an issue no apology could fix.

Before Tara could leave, Melody held up an application form and sneered. "Nobody has treated the Caldwells like this before!"

Lila's pupils contracted sharply as she cried, "That's my early admission application for Langston University!"

I was well aware of how much effort Lila had put into this application. She spent countless late nights competing for this hard-earned recommendation letter.

If it were destroyed, it'd undo all her hard work over the past three years of high school.

I lunged forward to grab the form, but Melody quickly ripped the document to shreds.

Melody scoffed. "She dares to compete with me? The scholarship is mine! Don't you even think of going to university! My mom told me that I can destroy anything that displeases me!"

Vanessa clapped gleefully. "Isn't she just bright? Melody knows how to put people in their place at such a young age. She's bound to make it big!"

I glared icily at Vanessa when I saw the ruined document. "Is this how you raise your children, Vanessa Caldwell?"

I'd long heard of this woman. She allowed her daughter to run rampant at school while hiding behind her husband, who worked for the Education Bureau. I'd never bothered with her because she had yet to cross me.

Yet, after today, I could no longer remain idle.

Just as I was about to phone the Education Bureau, Lila let out a sharp cry and collapsed.

Lila was deathly pale as she looked down. I rushed over, reaching down to support her.

My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I realized that Melody had hurt Lila with chalk.

I rushed to the infirmary, carrying Lila. "Excuse me, my daughter was severely injured with chalk. Can you please take a look?"

However, the school nurse, Elisa Sanders, merely glanced at Lila and continued scrolling on her phone. "I can't. Just get her to a hospital."

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I begged, "It'll take at least 15 minutes to get there. I don't think she can take it. Please just bandage her up at least!"

Elisa clicked her tongue impatiently and shooed Lila off the bed. "And how would a school have the necessary facilities? Don't dirty my infirmary with your poverty and poor hygiene!"

"Ms. Sanders, my daughter bumped into a pauper. Please disinfect her," said Vanessa.

As soon as Vanessa walked in, Elisa greeted her with a warm smile. "Goodness, that won't do! Let me disinfect her thoroughly."

Elisa carefully escorted Melody onto the bed. She then opened the medical kit, spraying disinfectant on Melody's manicured nails.

After that, Elisa applied a treatment oil to Melody's hair. The infirmary was practically a beauty salon.

Melody had nary a scratch on her, yet she was given exclusive access to treatment. Meanwhile, Lila was in so much pain that she could barely stand. She was relying on the pain to keep herself conscious.

I clenched my fists. My voice was sharp with rage as I exclaimed, "She's not injured! You're wasting medical resources!"

Vanessa scoffed derisively. "The entire school is under my husband's purview. My daughter can use anything here as she pleases. The school is six miles away from the city center—Lila can just die an agonizing death then!"

Elisa brought Melody some water before rolling her eyes at me.

"This is the power of money, not that a hillbilly like you could understand. Can't you see that Ms. Caldwell is seeking treatment? Get out!"

As she spoke, she stood up and herded us toward the exit.

I held onto Lila, refusing to budge. "Your duty is to ensure student safety, yet you stood there and did nothing about my daughter's injuries! I should report you!"

Elisa panicked and let go. I then sat Lila down and rummaged through the medical cabinet for supplies.

However, Vanessa called security in.

"These two came to the infirmary to steal and even threatened the nurse. Take them out of here and hand them over to the police!" Vanessa shrieked.

I clenched my fists, wanting to lash out. Yet, as a member of the Intelligence Agency, I was constantly reminded that I was oath-bound not to hurt civilians.

However, that was until they laid a hand on Lila. They tossed her onto the flowerbed outside, where she began to bleed profusely.

I saw red.

I immediately took down the security guard with a sweeping kick before scooping Lila up and sprinting toward the infirmary.

I grabbed Melody by the collar and threw her off the bed, then sent Vanessa stumbling to the exit with another kick.

I lay Lila on the bed with a steely gaze.

"Get out! This is your last warning!" I yelled. "If anything happens to Lila today, not even your husband can make up for it!"

Outside the infirmary, a crowd of parents had gathered, their murmurs filling the air.

"Melody Caldwell wasn't injured. Why didn't the school nurse treat that other kid? Does being the principal's relative somehow make them special?"

"Which family is that insane shrew from?"

"This is outrageous! It's bullying! I'm going to film it and post it online!"

Vanessa clenched her jaw and glared at me, but she kept quiet when she saw the cameras. She could only tug Melody away and mutter, "Just you wait."

Lila's uniform was soaked in blood. When I lifted her pants, I saw that her legs were covered in burn marks.

That wasn't all—her arms, stomach, and other body parts also harbored burn marks!

Lila was born with a bleeding disorder. Failure to stop the bleeding could prove life-threatening.

I grabbed Elisa and demanded, "Do you have any coagulants on hand? She has a bleeding disorder and needs it immediately!"

Just then, Lila tried to muster up her strength to reassure me, "I'll be okay, Anna…"

Lila had always been a sensible child—a botanist in the making. She was constantly praised at home, yet she endured such inhumane treatment at school.

I felt a sharp tingling in my chest as hatred surged within me. I vowed to make Vanessa pay for this.

Elisa handed me the last pill on hand. Just then, Melody burst into the infirmary with a dozen or so young ladies.

They waved their phones around, taking pictures of Lila on the bed and spreading vicious rumors.

"Estrella High's underprivileged students must have such an amazing nightlife! The break's just over, and this one's already pregnant!"

"She's too broke for an abortion, so she came begging the school nurse for one!"

"She's just like her mother, both mistresses living off their sugar daddies!"

Their mocking laughter was heard in waves around Lila.

I hurriedly shielded Lila's body from view and snapped, "Enough! Do you think I won't sue you, Melody Caldwell?"

Melody narrowed her eyes, her expression a mirror image of Vanessa's arrogance. "Everyone! Take all the medicine you can find! Let this bitch die in agony!"

Her lackeys then ransacked the place, gathering all the medicine and taking it away.

I held back my tears, reassuring myself repeatedly that the Intelligence Agency was arriving soon.

Fortunately, they hadn't taken the coagulant in my hands.

I was just about to give it to Lila when Vanessa burst in with five black-clad bodyguards. She then kicked at me with her heels.

The bodyguards approached, with three of them pinning me down.

Vanessa slapped me a few times, cackling viciously. "I bet you're pleased at how Melody taught that little bitch a lesson. You would dare to rally the public against us? How juvenile.

"If you don't beg for mercy and apologize, I won't let you leave the school compound. I won't even give you this medicine."

She picked up the pill, intending to throw it into the disinfectant.

I struggled, desperately trying to get the medicine back. "Vanessa! Give it back!"

Her stiletto pressed down on the back of my hand, with half the pill dissolving in the disinfectant.

"You wish! You're dead meat unless you make your daughter beg for forgiveness! Well? Have you decided? Or will you stake your own worthless life on this?" she asked.

My eyes were red-rimmed from panic. Lila needed that medicine to save her life.

To placate Vanessa, I had no choice but to beg, "Take it out on me. I'll apologize on Lila's behalf."

Vanessa sneered, her gaze brimming with malice. "Fine. But I'll double the punishment."

She pulled out her phone and pointed the camera at my face. "I want you to look here and say that you're nothing but a mistress, and your daughter is a bastard. I'll post this online tomorrow. Do you agree?"

I stared at the pill, fighting back my tears. "Fine. I'm nothing but a mistress, and my daughter… is a bastard."

Melody burst out laughing. "Look at how pathetic she is, Mom!"

Vanessa put away her phone with a contemptuous sneer. "Poor people are all the same. Vulgar and obnoxious."

With that, she tossed the pill into the disinfectant. "Sorry, but I've never kept my promises to the poor."

The two turned away, laughing heartily. As soon as they stepped out of the infirmary, an alarm was heard.

Rows of uniformed men with their chests adorned with medals stormed into the school, charging toward the infirmary. "Who dares to hurt Mr. Josiah Keats' granddaughter?"