Chapter 4: The Name Behind the Account
Dad stared at his phone after the call ended.
Nobody moved.
Not Principal Whitaker.
Not Madison.
Not even Richard Carter.
I could still hear the distorted voice in my head.
“You should have taught your daughter to stay invisible.””
“Dad?””
He immediately looked at me.
“I’m fine.””
“That wasn't what I asked.””
His jaw tightened.
Richard stepped closer.
“Elijah, if that account name is connected to Brooks Meridian, we need to figure out how.””
I knew Brooks Meridian.
Everybody did.
My father had founded the investment and technology company before I was born. What almost nobody at school knew was that the quiet girl carrying a bus pass shared a last name with its chairman.
Dad turned to Principal Whitaker.
“Nobody deletes anything. Phones, security footage, emails, messages. Preserve all of it.””
Principal Whitaker nodded.
“Of course.””
“And don't announce Nia's identity to the school.””
Madison gave a bitter laugh.
“A little late for that.””
Her father shot her a look.
Dad ignored her.
“Richard, why have you seen that username?””
Richard rubbed a hand across his forehead.
“Three months ago, Carter Hospitality received consulting invoices from a Brooks Meridian subsidiary. One of the internal reference names looked almost identical.””
Dad's eyes narrowed.
“Which subsidiary?””
“Meridian Outreach.””
Something changed in Dad's face.
I noticed because I knew him.
“What's Meridian Outreach?”” I asked.
“A charitable education program.””
Madison whispered, “Seriously?””
Dad looked at her.
“Yes. It funds tutoring, school technology, and scholarships.””
The irony made my stomach turn.
Someone apparently connected to a program meant to help scholarship students had been paying rich teenagers to humiliate them.
Richard took out his phone.
“I can have my office pull the invoices.””
“No,” Dad said.
Richard frowned.
“Why not?””
“Because until I know who is involved, assume company communications may be compromised.””
That silenced everyone.
A knock came at the door.
One of Dad's security staff entered.
“Mr. Brooks, we have an issue.””
Dad stepped toward him.
“What?””
“The SUVs are surrounded.””
My heart dropped.
“By who?””
“Students. Parents. A couple of local reporters are arriving.””
Chloe groaned.
“The video.””
The security officer nodded.
“It's spreading fast.””
Principal Whitaker grabbed his jacket.
“I'll clear the entrance.””
Dad stopped him.
“No.””
Principal Whitaker stared.
Dad pointed toward me.
“My daughter doesn't leave through a back door because someone humiliated her.””
My chest tightened.
“Dad, I don't need a parade.””
His expression softened.
“I know.””
He turned to me.
“You decide.””
That mattered.
He wasn't rescuing me by taking control.
He was giving it back.
I looked at the three girls.
Madison couldn't meet my eyes anymore.
“I want to leave through the front.””
Dad nodded.
“Then that's what we'll do.””
As we stepped into the hallway, students crowded near classroom doors.
Whispers followed us.
“That's her.””
“That's Elijah Brooks.””
“She’s rich?””
“No way.””
I hated every second.
Yesterday, I had been invisible.
Now strangers were examining my shoes as if my sneakers had suddenly become evidence.
Halfway toward the lobby, someone called my name.
“Nia!””
Marcus Hill pushed through the crowd.
Principal Whitaker started to stop him.
I raised my hand.
Marcus approached slowly.
His expression wasn't curious.
It was terrified.
“I saw the video.””
“I'm okay.””
“No. You don't understand.””
He looked toward my father.
“Mr. Brooks, they did it to me too.””
Dad's attention sharpened.
Marcus pulled out his phone.
“After my uniform got ripped, I started saving messages.””
“Messages from whom?””
“I don't know.””
He opened a folder.
Screenshots.
Anonymous threats.
Photos of Marcus walking home.
One message made my blood run cold.
*Quit the team or your mother loses her job.*
Dad read it twice.
“Where does your mother work?””
Marcus swallowed.
“Brooks Meridian.””
The hallway noise disappeared from my awareness.
Dad looked at his security officer.
“Call Lena Ortiz. Tell her I need internal security activated immediately.””
The officer walked away.
Marcus lowered his voice.
“My mom begged me not to say anything. She thought she'd get fired.””
“My company doesn't fire people because their children are bullied.””
“I know that now.””
Marcus hesitated.
“But someone inside your company knew where she worked.””
Dad's expression hardened.
“And knew where you lived.””
Marcus nodded.
At the front doors, camera flashes were already visible through the glass.
Dad placed a hand on my shoulder.
“You still want the front?””
“Yes.””
We walked outside together.
Questions exploded immediately.
“Nia, did you hide your identity?””
“Mr. Brooks, will the students be expelled?””
“Is your company involved?””
Dad answered none of them.
Then a woman pushed through the crowd.
She wore a Brooks Meridian employee badge.
Her hair was messy, and she looked as if she had been crying.
Marcus froze.
“Mom?””
She rushed to him.
Then she looked at Dad.
“Mr. Brooks, I'm sorry. I didn't know where else to go.””
Dad's face tightened.
“What's happened?””
She pulled a sealed envelope from her bag.
“This was on my desk twenty minutes ago.””
Dad opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
My photograph.
It had been taken that morning as I stepped off the city bus.
On the back, someone had written:
*THE DAUGHTER WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE PART OF THE EXPERIMENT.*
Dad stared at those words.
“What experiment?”” I whispered.
Marcus's mother shook her head.
“I don't know.””
Then she handed Dad a second piece of paper.
A list of student names.
Mine.
Marcus's.
Sofia's.
Jamie’s.
Twenty-three names in total.
Beside each one was a dollar amount.
And at the bottom was a signature Dad recognized.
He looked at Richard.
Richard saw it too.
“Oh, God.””
I grabbed Dad's sleeve.
“Whose signature is that?””
Dad folded the paper slowly.
May you like
Then he looked straight at me.
“My brother's.””
