Chapter 2
Nobody answered.
The cafeteria went so quiet that I could hear dirty water dripping from the hem of my sweatshirt onto the tile.
Dad stood near the doors with his hands at his sides.
Anyone who didn't know him might have thought he looked calm.
I knew better.
My father became quiet when he was angry.
Really angry.
Principal Whitmore hurried forward.
“Mr. Carter, I'm sure we can handle this privately.”
Dad didn't even look at him.
His eyes stayed on me.
“Emily?”
I swallowed.
Madison had gone pale.
Chloe stared at the floor.
Brooke looked like she might cry.
I wanted to point.
I wanted to tell Dad everything.
But almost the entire cafeteria was holding phones.
And suddenly I realized something.
If I let my father destroy Madison with one phone call, everyone would learn the wrong lesson.
They wouldn't learn that humiliating someone was cruel.
They would learn that humiliating a billionaire's daughter was dangerous.
I slowly stood.
“Madison poured the water.”
A wave of whispers moved through the room.
Dad looked at her.
“Why?”
Madison opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Principal Whitmore stepped between them.
“Mr. Carter, teenagers sometimes make poor decisions.”
Dad finally turned toward him.
“Pouring filthy mop water over another student's head while dozens of children record it is a poor decision?”
Whitmore's face reddened.
“We don't yet know exactly what happened.”
Ryan laughed once.
It wasn't a happy laugh.
“Seriously?”
The principal shot him a warning look.
Ryan raised his phone.
“I recorded almost all of it.”
Madison spun toward him.
“You recorded me?”
“You were standing in the middle of the cafeteria with a bucket.”
Ryan's voice hardened.
“It wasn't exactly private.”
Dad's jaw tightened.
“Send the video to me.”
Principal Whitmore immediately interrupted.
“Let's not distribute student footage until—”
Dad looked at him.
“Principal Whitmore.”
Two words.
That was all.
The principal stopped speaking.
Ryan sent the video.
Dad watched it right there.
I watched his face.
First Madison approaching my table.
Then my warning.
Then her sentence.
Maybe this will wash the poor off you.
Then the bucket.
When the video ended, Dad handed the phone back to Ryan.
“Thank you for helping my daughter.”
Ryan nodded.
“Of course, sir.”
Dad turned to me.
“Are you hurt?”
“Just cold.”
I didn't mention that my scalp stung.
I didn't mention how badly I wanted to disappear.
Dad took off his suit jacket and placed it over Ryan's jacket around my shoulders.
Then he faced Madison.
“What is your full name?”
She looked terrified now.
“Madison Blake.”
Dad paused.
“Blake?”
Something changed in his expression.
He knew the name.
Madison apparently noticed too.
“My father is Richard Blake.”
“I know who your father is.”
Her shoulders relaxed slightly, like she thought that would save her.
“My dad knows a lot of important people.”
Dad's expression became unreadable.
“I'm sure he does.”
Principal Whitmore cleared his throat.
“I'll suspend Madison immediately.”
Chloe gasped.
Brooke stepped backward.
Whitmore continued quickly.
“And naturally, we'll investigate whether anyone else participated.”
I looked at him.
“Investigate?”
He blinked.
“Excuse me?”
“Everyone saw Chloe and Brooke helping her.”
Chloe snapped her head toward me.
“We didn't touch the bucket.”
“No. You just brought Madison the janitor key.”
Chloe's face changed.
I'd seen it earlier that morning.
She had taken a key from the maintenance office after flirting with a senior who worked as a student assistant.
Brooke whispered, “Emily, come on.”
That made something inside me harden.
Come on?
As if I was being unreasonable.
As if I was embarrassing them.
Madison had poured dirty water over me because she thought I was poor.
And now they wanted mercy because they knew I wasn't.
Dad looked at me.
“Do you want to leave?”
I thought about it.
Every instinct screamed yes.
Go home.
Take a hot shower.
Never return.
Then I looked around the cafeteria.
Some students had laughed when the water hit me.
Now those same students looked frightened because my father had walked through the doors.
I suddenly hated that fear almost as much as I'd hated the laughter.
“No.”
Dad raised an eyebrow.
“I want to change clothes.”
“Then?”
“I want to finish the school day.”
Principal Whitmore looked shocked.
Dad didn't.
He gave the smallest nod.
“All right.”
Madison stared at me.
“You're staying?”
I met her eyes.
“Yes.”
She couldn't understand it.
Maybe that was the point.
Dad walked with me to the nurse's office.
On the way, he said nothing until we were alone in the hallway.
Then he stopped.
“You don't have to prove anything.”
“I know.”
“You can come home.”
“I know.”
His expression softened.
“Then why stay?”
I looked down at the stained sleeves stuck to my arms.
“Because if I leave now, they'll think you rescued me.”
“I did come to rescue you.”
I almost smiled.
“I know, Dad.”
“Then I'm confused.”
“I need them to see I can walk back into that cafeteria without you.”
He studied me for several seconds.
“You sound like your mother.”
My chest tightened.
Mom had been gone six years.
Dad rarely mentioned her unexpectedly.
“Would she stay?”
“She would have made them regret owning the bucket.”
That made me laugh for the first time.
Dad smiled.
Then his face became serious again.
“Emily, I support your decision. But there is one thing you should know.”
“What?”
“Richard Blake has been trying to sell me a piece of commercial property for three months.”
I stopped.
“Madison's father?”
“Yes.”
“And you're supposed to meet him?”
“Tomorrow.”
My stomach sank.
“Dad, don't cancel the deal because of me.”
His eyebrows rose.
“You think I'm that impulsive?”
I stared at him.
He sighed.
“Fair point.”
“Dad.”
“I won't punish a man's company because his daughter behaved terribly.”
“Thank you.”
“But if he raised her to believe people deserve humiliation based on how much money they have…”
His eyes darkened.
“…that tells me something about the man I'm considering doing business with.”
Before I could respond, Principal Whitmore appeared at the far end of the hall.
“Mr. Carter?”
Dad turned.
“We need to discuss the disciplinary process.”
Dad looked at me.
“Can you manage?”
“Yes.”
“I'll call you.”
I grabbed his hand before he walked away.
“Dad?”
He looked back.
“Don't threaten anybody.”
His mouth twitched.
“I never threaten people.”
I gave him a look.
He corrected himself.
“I explain consequences.”
Then he walked away.
The nurse gave me a school athletic uniform because my spare clothes were at home.
When I returned to history class, twenty-three heads turned toward me.
Nobody laughed.
My usual seat was in the second-to-last row.
When I reached it, I found something on my desk.
A folded piece of paper.
I opened it.
I'm sorry I laughed.
No name.
Underneath that note was another.
What Madison did was disgusting.
Then another.
You didn't deserve it.
I sat down slowly.
Ryan was two rows away.
He gave me a small nod.
For a moment, I thought maybe something good could come from this.
Then my phone vibrated inside my backpack.
Unknown number.
I shouldn't have checked it during class.
But I did.
The message contained a screenshot.
Someone had posted Ryan's cafeteria video online.
The caption read:
GOLD DIGGER PRETENDS TO BE POOR FOR ATTENTION, GETS DAD TO DESTROY GIRL'S FAMILY.
My heart stopped.
Below it were thousands of views.
Thousands.
And they were rising by the second.
Another message arrived.
This one had only seven words.
You should have stayed in your own world.
I stared at the screen.
Then a third message appeared.
A photograph.
It showed me walking into school that morning.
Taken from across the street.
Before the bucket.
Before lunch.
Before anyone supposedly knew who I was.
My hands turned cold.
May you like
Someone had been watching me before Madison ever poured that water.
And whoever it was knew exactly where I would be.
