Chapter 3

Vanessa frowned and waved dismissively.

“What is all this nonsense? A bunch of old men having a meeting. Who cares?”

“Why are you standing there? Expel him!”

The principal was too stunned to move.

The atmosphere in the office changed in an instant.

Just then, my phone vibrated.

It was a text from Adrian.

“I’m downstairs. The incoming board member wants to meet you. I’ve sent him up.”

I looked up at Vanessa’s impatient, twisted face and slowly raised my phone.

When Adrian answered, I switched to speaker. My voice wasn’t loud, but it carried through the office.

“Honey, is everyone here?”

“Yes. They’re here.” Adrian sounded as steady as ever.

I looked from the ashen principal to the bewildered Vanessa and spoke clearly.

“Good. Send him up.”

“It’s time this school had a new principal.”

A deathly silence followed.

The principal stared at me, wide-eyed.

Vanessa froze, then burst into even shriller laughter.

“A new principal? You? Who the hell do you think you are? God?”

She rocked with laughter, contempt written all over her face.

“Let me tell you something. My uncle personally put this principal in his job! Nobody’s replacing him!”

At that moment, the office door swung open.

Adrian walked in.

He wore a perfectly tailored charcoal suit. He stood tall, his presence commanding.

The moment he entered, the air seemed to leave the room.

Behind him came a silver-haired older man with sharp, alert eyes, followed by several equally imposing middle-aged men.

The instant the principal saw the older man, his knees buckled.

“M-Mr. Whitmore! What… what brings you here?”

The board chairman didn’t even glance at him. He walked straight toward me.

He inclined his head, his manner astonishingly respectful.

“Mrs. Bennett, I’m deeply sorry for what you and your son have been put through.”

Adrian came to my side, took off his jacket, and draped it over my shoulders.

“Are you all right?” he asked gently.

I nodded.

Vanessa’s laugh was still frozen on her face. She looked at me, then Adrian, then the chairman treating us with such deference. She seemed unable to process any of it.

“Who… who are you?” she stammered.

Only then did Adrian look at her.

“Weren’t you just bragging about your uncle?”

His voice was calm.

“He’s right outside. You can ask him who I am.”

As soon as he finished speaking, two security guards in black suits escorted a sweating, heavyset man into the office.

It was Superintendent Wallace, the powerful man from the photo.

The moment he saw Adrian, his face drained of color. Sweat poured down his forehead.

He pulled free of the guards and stumbled to Adrian’s feet.

“M-Mr. Bennett! This is a misunderstanding! All of it!”

“I didn’t know… I swear I didn’t know it was your son!”

Everyone in the office stood frozen at the spectacle.

Vanessa looked as if she’d been struck by lightning. She stared at her uncle, now on his knees, making a complete disgrace of himself.

“Uncle Richard… what… what are you doing?”

At the sound of her voice, Wallace turned and slapped her.

“You idiot! Are you trying to ruin me?”

He pointed at Adrian, his voice shaking.

“Do you know who he is? That’s Adrian Bennett! Chairman of Sterling Group!”

“He funded the entire Southside technology park! Even the mayor treats him with respect!”

“And you dared to go after his family?”

Adrian Bennett. Chairman of Sterling Group.

The principal’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed into his chair.

Every trace of color vanished from Vanessa’s face.

She held her cheek, utterly stunned.

Wallace kept bowing his head and begging Adrian for mercy.

“Mr. Bennett, I was wrong! I was completely wrong! My niece is a fool. Please, be the bigger person. Give me one more chance!”

Adrian didn’t even look at him. He turned to the chairman.

“Mr. Whitmore, it seems both this school and the district administration need a thorough cleanup.”

The chairman understood at once and nodded solemnly.

“Rest assured, Mr. Bennett. I’ll make sure you and your wife receive a satisfactory resolution.”

He turned, his gaze cutting toward the principal slumped in his chair.

“As principal, you twisted the facts and helped a bully escape consequences. Effective immediately, you’re fired.”

Then he looked at Wallace, who was shaking uncontrollably.

“As for you, Superintendent, I suspect the oversight authorities will be very interested in reviewing your years in office.”