Chapter 3
Aunt Rebecca closed the office door behind her.
She looked thinner than she did in the photograph I remembered. Her coat was expensive, but one button hung by a loose thread. She kept twisting her wedding ring.
Tyler stared at her.
“Mom, who is he?”
Rebecca looked at Dad.
“My brother.”
Tyler’s mouth fell open.
Then he looked at me.
“That means she’s—”
“Your cousin,” Dad said.
I had imagined meeting my father’s sister before.
I thought she might hug me.
Instead, she stood beside Victor.
Mom pulled me closer.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I whispered.
Dad’s face filled with pain.
“I planned to when you were older.”
Victor laughed.
“Daniel always has a reason for hiding the truth.”
Dad ignored him.
Principal Halpern looked overwhelmed.
“Perhaps this family matter should be discussed elsewhere.”
“It became a school matter when Tyler attacked Lily,” Mom replied.
Aunt Rebecca looked at Tyler.
“Did you touch her?”
Tyler glanced at Victor.
“She embarrassed me.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
“She told me what to do.”
Rebecca stepped toward him.
“Did you grab her?”
Tyler’s silence answered.
Victor caught Rebecca’s arm.
“Don’t interrogate him in front of these people.”
“These people are my family.”
“They stopped being your family years ago.”
Dad’s hands curled into fists, but he kept them by his sides.
Rebecca pulled free.
“Tyler, tell the truth.”
Tyler looked at me with pure hatred.
“Fine. I dumped her backpack. But she could have walked away.”
“You rushed at me,” I said.
“Because you threw me down!”
“You grabbed me first.”
Victor pointed at Dad.
“This is exactly what Daniel taught her. Hurt someone, then pretend it was justified.”
Dad’s voice remained quiet.
“What happened eight years ago has nothing to do with Lily.”
“It has everything to do with her. You put another trained Carter in a school full of defenseless children.”
Mom took out her phone.
“I’m calling our attorney.”
Principal Halpern finally looked nervous.
“There’s no need. Lily will receive a temporary three-day suspension while we investigate.”
“Tyler too?” Mom asked.
The principal hesitated.
“Tyler’s situation is different.”
“How?”
“He claims self-defense.”
Emma’s voice came from the hallway.
“He’s lying!”
Her mother tried to hold her back, but Emma slipped into the office.
Behind her stood Noah and four other children from our class.
Emma pointed at Tyler.
“He has bullied all of us.”
Ms. Hayes followed them.
“I told the children to wait.”
Noah raised his shaking hand.
“Tyler pushed me into a locker yesterday.”
A girl named Ava spoke next.
“He said his dad would get our parents fired if we complained.”
Victor’s face darkened.
“Children repeat nonsense.”
Emma stood beside me.
“He took my snack and threw it away. Lily only stopped him because none of the grown-ups did.”
Ms. Hayes looked ashamed.
“I reported the earlier incidents.”
Principal Halpern turned toward her.
“You described them as adjustment problems.”
“I said Tyler was escalating.”
“You never said he was dangerous.”
“I sent three emails.”
Victor looked at the principal.
The glance lasted only a second, but I saw it.
So did Mom.
“Why are you looking at him?” she asked.
Principal Halpern cleared his throat.
“I’m not.”
Dad walked to the desk.
“Does Victor donate money to this school?”
“That is irrelevant.”
“That means yes,” Mom said.
Rebecca shut her eyes.
Dad faced her.
“How much?”
She didn’t respond.
Victor answered proudly.
“Enough to build the new athletic wing.”
Suddenly, the broken camera made sense.
The principal’s refusal to question witnesses made sense too.
Dad knelt in front of me.
“Lily, did anyone tell you there was no camera footage before your mother arrived?”
“No.”
“Did anyone leave the office?”
“Principal Halpern went into the hallway after he heard Victor’s name.”
The principal’s face turned red.
“That proves nothing.”
Dad stood.
“It proves I want every recording preserved, including the hallway cameras and office security system.”
“They’re school property.”
“Our lawyer can explain evidence preservation.”
Victor moved toward him.
“You never learned when to quit.”
Dad finally met his eyes.
“And you never learned that fear eventually stops working.”
For one moment, I thought Victor might hit him.
Rebecca stepped between them.
“Enough.”
Her voice cracked.
Everyone went quiet.
She looked at Dad with tears in her eyes.
“I didn’t know Lily attended this school.”
“Would it have changed anything?”
“I would have warned you.”
“About your son?”
“About Victor.”
Victor’s face changed.
Rebecca immediately looked down.
Tyler stared at his mother as if he had never heard her speak against his father.
“What does that mean?” he asked.
“Nothing,” Victor said.
Rebecca took a step back.
Dad watched her carefully.
“Are you safe?”
Victor laughed.
“She’s my wife.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
“I’m fine,” Rebecca said too quickly.
Tyler looked embarrassed.
“Can we just leave?”
Victor grabbed his coat.
“Yes. We’re finished.”
“No,” Principal Halpern said. “Tyler still needs to provide a written statement.”
Victor turned slowly.
“I said we’re finished.”
The principal lowered his eyes.
That told us everything.
Victor opened the door, but Dad spoke before he could leave.
“If the classroom footage disappears, I will assume you ordered it.”
Victor smiled over his shoulder.
“You still think evidence protects people?”
“It protects the truth.”
“No, Daniel. Power decides which truth survives.”
Then he walked out.
Rebecca followed, but Tyler stayed behind for a moment.
He picked up one of my notebooks from the floor.
A corner had torn when he kicked it.
He held it toward me.
I thought he might apologize.
Instead, he leaned close.
“You should have stayed hidden.”
Dad stepped forward.
Tyler dropped the notebook and left.
Mom took me and Emma into the hallway.
The other children began telling their parents what Tyler had done. Voices rose around us.
For the first time, he wasn’t controlling the room.
But Dad wasn’t relieved.
He watched Rebecca disappear through the front doors.
“What happened between you and Victor?” I asked.
Dad rubbed a hand over his face.
“Your grandfather built Carter Academy forty years ago. Your aunt and I were supposed to inherit it together.”
“And Victor took it?”
Dad looked surprised.
I had guessed correctly.
“Victor married Rebecca when they were young. He wanted the academy, but Grandpa never trusted him.”
“What did Victor do?”
Before Dad could answer, Ms. Hayes hurried toward us.
Her face was pale.
“Mr. Carter, there’s something you need to know.”
She lowered her voice.
“The classroom camera wasn’t broken this morning.”
Mom looked toward the principal’s office.
“Are you certain?”
“I watched the live feed during lunch.”
“When did it stop working?”
“About five minutes after Victor arrived.”
Dad immediately asked, “Who can access the recording system?”
“Principal Halpern and the head of security.”
The security guard from earlier was no longer in the hallway.
Ms. Hayes looked around nervously.
“His name is Greg Dawson. He used to work at Victor’s martial arts academy.”
Dad went still.
Mom asked the question we were all thinking.
“Where is he now?”
A loud alarm suddenly rang through the school.
Red lights flashed above the doors.
An announcement ordered everyone to evacuate.
As teachers moved the children toward the exits, smoke began curling from the records room at the end of the hall.
May you like
Dad grabbed my hand.
“That isn’t an accident.”
